http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Updated daily en-us 02/11/2008 Copyright 2005 ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.law.com/service/terms_conditions.shtml http://www.law.com/img/newswire/nlj_rss.gifhttp://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp Consumer groups and state utility regulators are waging a multibillion-dollar battle with energy suppliers and federal regulators in a Supreme Court case with major ramifications for the nation's volatile energy market. The backdrop to the high-stakes challenge is the Western energy crisis that began in 2000 — when consumers endured skyrocketing energy costs, spot energy shortages, rolling blackouts and brownouts.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469640356&rss=nljLawyers say a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency drive to collect scientific data from companies using nanotechnology materials has their clients concerned about confidentiality and possible disclosure of unwitting violations of federal law. But attorneys add that the program could provide a positive benefit for business by arming them against future products liability lawsuits.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469640537&rss=nljThe good news for associates is that more of them made partner in 2008 compared with last year. The downside is that their firms also got bigger, making new partner growth a relative letdown. While the nation's largest law firms promoted 5.2% more attorneys to partner than they did in 2007, their total attorney count grew by 6.6%, indicating that the boost in partnership promotions didn't keep pace with expansion overall. The result is that relatively fewer associates and counsel moved up the ladder.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385714376&rss=nljAttorneys representing thousands of Gulf Coast hurricane evacuees suing manufacturers of trailers alleged to have unhealthy levels of formaldehyde claim that crucial evidence is being lost every time the Federal Emergency Management Agency reclaims one of the trailers without allowing it to be tested for the presence of the toxic substance.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202136233921&rss=nljThe last of the federal appellate courts to adopt a mediation program, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, recently reported an overall settlement rate of 42% in patent and nonpatent cases taken for mediation last year. Kevin casey, the former president of the Federal Circuit Bar Association, said the statistics exceeded expectations.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202297430987&rss=nljLegislation and lawsuits challenging the traditional notions of alimony — such as how long it should be paid and by whom — are popping up across the nation. At issue is whether judges have too much discretion in deciding how much alimony should be paid, for how long, and whether they unfairly favor ex-wives.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202211781239&rss=nljMichael Ray makes 29 cents an hour as a prison library law clerk, but his legal career involves a feat most lawyers will never accomplish. Ray, a federal inmate for much of the past 20 years, recently helped another inmate author a brief in a case that the U.S. Supreme Court has agreed to review.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202136233915&rss=nljAfter the maker of Thomas the Train toys that contained toxic lead paint reached a settlement last month with parents who sued the company over its products, the battle shifted to the plaintiffs' lawyers over the adequacy of the settlement. Attorneys for plaintiffs in a separate federal lawsuit are seeking to block the Illinois state court settlement, which they say provides too little compensation for their clients.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202297430982&rss=nljA rare Federal Trade Commission ruling has patent lawyers wondering if the FTC is expanding its enforcement reach. The FTC found that a company's patent enforcement actions were anti-competitive, without the typical agency ruling that the company violated the Sherman Act.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469637132&rss=nljA video of a high-speed police car chase strongly influenced the U.S. Supreme Court to rule in favor of police in a deadly force liability case last year. A DVD involving the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill - featuring a drunken captain and visual evidence of the spills impact on the environment - may have a similar effect.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469640351&rss=nljSallie Mae General Counsel Robert Lavet quietly stepped down on Jan. 31 after 16 years at the student loan consolidator formally known as SLM Corp. Plus, more news shorts.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469639706&rss=nljThe good news for associates is that more of them made partner in 2008 compared with last year. The downside is that their firms also got bigger, making new partner growth a relative letdown. While the nation's largest law firms promoted 5.2% more attorneys to partner than they did in 2007, their total attorney count grew by 6.6%, indicating that the boost in partnership promotions didn't keep pace with expansion overall. The result is that relatively fewer associates and counsel moved up the ladder.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385714376&rss=nljAs a group, lawyers and law firms continue to be the No. 1 industry contributor to this year's presidential candidates, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. In fact, more than half of the $46.6 million in donations that lawyers and law firms provided last year to the 2008 presidential election supported the five candidates remaining in the race.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469640345&rss=nljA senior adviser to Pennsylvania's governor joins Ballard Spahr's government relation and regulatory affairs practice as a partner. Plus, more of this weeks movers.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385715324&rss=nljCliff Stricklin, a federal prosecutor who helped convict former Enron executives Ken Lay and Jeffrey Skilling, as well as former Qwest chief executive Joseph Nacchio, will join Holland & Hart on April 1.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385715185&rss=nljSkadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom former partner Kenneth Kaufman has joined the entertainment practice group of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Washington.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469634232&rss=nljGibson, Dunn & Crutcher has added an international arbitration partner to its New York office. Laurence Shore, who focuses on international arbitration and litigation, was previously at Herbert Smith in London, where he served as global head of the international arbitration practice.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385715218&rss=nljBurr & Forman has acquired 18-attorney Bowron Latta and Wasden in Mobile, Ala. The merger adds strength in admiralty and maritime practices for 182-attorney Burr & Forman, which is based in Birmingham, Ala.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469634247&rss=nljCocaine addiction, forgery, false notarizations, and lying to a client and a fellow partner: The alleged ethical violations by former Holland & Knight partner Theodore Silva Jr. are piling up. Silva has already been suspended from practicing law in Virginia for failing to pay dues and complete continuing education requirements. The D.C. Bar Counsel seeks his disbarment in the District over his admitted misconduct while representing a client at Holland & Knight in a real estate deal, which led to his firing.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469634263&rss=nljA rising number of retiring rainmakers are threatening to leave law firms high and dry if they aren't paid for time spent breaking in the next generation of partners. Many midsize — and a few larger — firms still rely on senior partners to establish and foster the majority of their firms' client relationships. But when it comes time for a principal rainmaker to step down, how do the remaining partners prevent a drought? A couple of experts have some answers.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385711022&rss=nljWith rising revenues, Clifford Chance's U.S. operations seem to be thriving. The firm says an emphasis on unity and consistency has stopped a talent drain and helped it rebuild, partly through an influx of lateral partners -- 14 since 2006 alone. For a firm that had lost some of its finest lawyers after a 2000 merger, it's a nice change to be on the receiving end of talent. But for all the positive talk about the joys of lockstep and the esprit de corps, there's still an underlying note of caution.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385710729&rss=nljCadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has recruited the global head of the private equity practice at Latham & Watkins to head its own practice. R. Ronald Hopkinson has represented major private equity firms, including the Carlyle Group and Welsh, Carson, Anderson & Stowe, on a number of high-profile, multibillion-dollar deals. Slumping credit markets recently forced Cadwalader to lay off 35 associates, but Hopkinson said he was focused on the long term and undeterred by current market conditions.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385710774&rss=nljA team of three litigators from McCarter & English have joined Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis as partners in the Newark, N.J., office.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385710685&rss=nljThe 4th Circuit last year upheld the dismissal of a challenge to a parody of the trademarks of a luxury goods marketer. Its Vuitton decision is the first appellate opinion to consider trademark parody since the 2006 enactment of the Trademark Dilution Revision Act. Although the court analyzed each of the statutory factors for blurring claims, it placed great weight on its finding that the defendant had produced a successful parody — the same finding that motivated dismissal of an infringement claim.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202211783148&rss=nljThe Senate Judiciary Committee recently passed a rule that, once enacted, will be the most significant development in attorney-client privilege in decades. Plus, more recent developments regarding attorney-client privilege in the corporate setting.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385709870&rss=nljProfile of Steven Spector, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Arena Pharmaceuticalshttp://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469637137&rss=nljLegalTech is a great opportunity to try new tools, get free stuff and develop your self-promotion muscles. So it was suprising that few law students and junior associates were there last week.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469642573&rss=nljA clothing store manager faces a misdemeanor obscenity charge over how models were dressed in two display photos. Also, a trial judge is in trouble for cursing at a lawyer from the bench and a women is charged with having a lousy lawn in this week's offbeat news.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469637492&rss=nljA senior adviser to Pennsylvania's governor joins Ballard Spahr's government relation and regulatory affairs practice as a partner. Plus, more of this weeks movers.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385715324&rss=nljIn 2007, six federal judges in Wilmington, Del., won a competition most Americans didn't know about: one for the billion-dollar-a-year business of reorganizing the largest bankrupt companies. Of the 13 large public companies that filed in the United States in 2007, 10 chose the Delaware bankruptcy court, which now has six judges. These judges will likely do whatever it takes to keep out-of-state cases coming. Parties other than filers should wonder whether these judges can provide them with fair hearings.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202297430993&rss=nljThe practice of law can leave lawyers longing for something other than helping one company make more money at the expense of another. They want to do something more meaningful. For many, the answer is in a new field, compliance and ethics, which involves an entire practice devoted to getting companies and other large organizations to obey the rules and act ethically. There is stress in this field, but it comes from being the champion of doing the right thing at times when others still need to be persuaded.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385714386&rss=nljLaw school fundraising isn't motivated by a desire to increase resources for U.S. News & World Report rankings, it's to increase affordability and quality of education, responds Fordham University's law dean. Plus, more letters to the editor.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202469637218&rss=nljForeign companies swooping in and absorbing U.S. competitors created new opportunities for lawyers with cross-border mergers and acquisitions skills last year and bolstered the U.S. M&A market, countering the retreat of private equity companies from those deals. The most active sectors for M&A deal activity were energy and power, the financial sector and high technology, respectively.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385711306&rss=nljThe most striking thing about private equity acquisitions in 2007 was that they happened at all. By the middle of the year, the subprime crisis began to look like it might take a broader toll on the economy. As credit dried up, some buyers struggled to get financing to complete transactions and some sellers expected they'd have to hold buyers to their agreements or make them pay for dumping deals. It was up to lawyers on both sides of the deals to redouble their efforts to reach the finish line.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385711317&rss=nljOsler Hoskin's lawyers have advised on some of the biggest deals involving Canada, and they'd like to go on doing so. But the firm has also had a strong impact in the United States — it was involved in seven of the 25 leading U.S. mergers and acquisitions of 2007.http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/PubArticleNLJ.jsp?id=1202385711312&rss=nlj