JD Journal » anti-trust

Government Case Against Microsoft Now Finished

aostler — Sat, 14 May 2011 01:16:22 +0000

In 2008, Microsoft was convicted of anti-competitive practices in a case pursued by the Department of Justice, as well as 19 individual states. After appeal, the ruling was upheld by an Appeals Court in 2001. The ruling called for government oversite of Microsoft to ensure that the company conforms to the mandates of the ruling. This government oversight has now come to an end.

Read the original article here:

At long last, government case against Microsoft has ended

Ropes & Gray Loses 1 Partner to Treasury, Gains Another

Erik Even — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 19:41:39 +0000

Tax partner Stephen E. Shay is leaving Ropes & Gray to join the US Treasury as deputy assistant secretary for international tax affairs.

Before joining Ropes & Gray in 1987, Shay was international tax counsel for the Treasury.

Meanwhile, Mark Popofsky joins Ropes & Gray in Washington DC as co-head of the antitrust practice group. He was previously chair of the Technology and Competition practice group at Kaye Scholer. Before that, Popofsky was senior counsel to the assistant attorney general in charge of the US Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, where he played a key role in United States v. Microsoft.

Popofsky is an adjunct professor at the Georgetown University Law Center, and earned his JD at Harvard Law School, where he was executive editor of the Law Review.

Ropes & Gray LLP is a national law firm with offices located in Boston, New York City, Palo Alto, San Francisco, Washington, Chicago, Hong Kong and Tokyo; and a conference center in London. The firm has over 1,000 lawyers worldwide.

Law Firm Hirings & Firings

Erik Even — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 01:26:46 +0000

Recent laterals and layoffs in the legal sector:

James Donato joins Shearman & Sterling’s San Francisco office as a partner. He was previously with Cooley. Donato is an antitrust lawyer and past president of the Bar Association of San Francisco. Also, Donato served as a trial attorney in the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office.

Jesse Witten joins Drinker Biddle & Reath from the US Department of Justice, where he was co-chair of the Health Care Fraud Task Force. He will join the firm’s white-collar criminal defense and corporate investigations team in Washington, DC. Witten’s JD is from Harvard Law, magna cum laude.

Sue J. Hodges joins K&L Gates as a partner in San Diego, handling corporate and insolvency matters. She focuses on commercial transactions involving debt and equity financing. Hodges joins from Pillsbury, where she was managing partner of the firm’s two San Diego offices.

Howrey + Day Casebeer Merger Is Final

Erik Even — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 18:25:02 +0000

Howrey, which we reported a little over a week ago was in talks to acquire scandal-plagued intellectual property firm Day Casebeer, has announced that the merger is official.

Twenty-five of the 26 attorneys at Day Casebeer joined Howrey’s Palo Alto, California office, effective this week.

The partners include James Batchelder, Linda Sasaki-Baxley, Renee Dubord Brown, Lloyd Day Jr., Robert Galvin, Paul Grewal, Jonathan Loeb, Jackie Nakamura and William Nelson (no, not that Willie Nelson). They bring along 16 associates.

The acquisition of Day Casebeer will give Howrey 115 lawyers in San Francisco and Palo Alto.

Howrey LLP was founded as Howrey, Simon, Baker, & Murchison in 1956, and was the first national anti-trust law firm. It has more than 725 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide.

Howrey Adopts Apprenticeship Model for First Years

Erik Even — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:45:47 +0000

Howrey, which laid off 25 staff in April, is adopting an “apprenticeship” program for its incoming associates, similar to that proposed by Drinker Biddle in May.

Under Howrey’s Tier 1 Program, new associates will spend only one-third of their time in their first year on billable client work. The rest will be spent on pro bono work and training programs.

In the “Howrey Academies,” associates will be taught writing, get assigned to trial teams, plus other programs.

In year two, associates will work on client secondments, judicial externships, and other advanced development opportunities. Billable hours in the second year will be capped at about half of total hours.

The bad news? The Tier 1 Program will be limited to a select number of associates each year. Compensation is annual salary of $100,000, plus $25,000 upon acceptance of the job offer to defray law school loans or third year law school expenses.

In their second year at the firm, participants will receive an annual salary of $125,000 and a $25,000 bonus upon successful completion of the program, and entry into Tier 2 of Howrey’s associate development program. Higher compensation may be offered to candidates with special qualifications, such as advanced technical degrees or clerkships.

Howrey LLP was founded as Howrey, Simon, Baker, & Murchison in 1956, and was the first national anti-trust law firm. It has more than 700 attorneys in 17 locations worldwide.

Hausfeld Firm Moves to New DC Digs

Erik Even — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 22:32:13 +0000

Two months after launching, law firm Hausfeld LLP has moved into permanent space in Washington, DC.

The firm was founded by Michael Hausfeld, former chairman and named partner of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll, which has since changed its name to Cohen, Milstein, Sellers and Toll. Hausfeld was “expelled” in November after 37 years at Cohen Milstein, taking 17 attorneys with him. He has since hired three more.

Up until two weeks ago, his firm had been operating out of temporary space at Venable’s DC office.

The firm represents victims of mass legal violations nationally and internationally.

“We’re the only ones, not only in the city, but in the country that are doing this. So we’re getting a lot of interest,” he said. “We’ve already been appointed as co-lead counsel in 17 major antitrust cases.”

The partners who have joined Hausfeld from Cohen Milstein are: Richard Lewis, Robert Eisler, Michael Lehmann, Charles Tompkins, Brian Ratner and William Butterfield. Additionally, Megan Jones, James Pizzirusso, Hilary Ratway, Andrew Bullion, Brent Landau, Steig Olson, Chris Lebsock and Jon King were elevated to partner status.

Former DOJ Anti-Trust Czar Returns to Covington & Burling

Erik Even — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 23:01:05 +0000

Thomas Barnett, former head of the Justice Department’s antitrust division, will return to Covington & Burling next week to head its global anti-trust and competition practice.

Barnett led the antitrust division for three years, working on matters like the Delta-Northwest merger and Google’s ill-fated joint advertising agreement with Yahoo. Barnett resigned in mid-November.

Barnett first joined Covington in 1990. He spent 14 years at the firm, rising to become one of several vice chairs in its antitrust group.

In April 2004, Barnett left Covington to become deputy assistant attorney general for antitrust. He was elevated to acting assistant attorney general in June 2005, and was confirmed by the Senate to permanently fill the role in February 2006.

Under Barnett’s watch, the antitrust division secured more than $2 billion in criminal fines against 50 corporations and 91 individuals. That includes one of the largest antitrust settlements in US history, when Barnett’s division extracted $504 million from four international airlines to settle air cargo price-fixing charges.

Washington, DC’s Covington had gross revenues of $467 million and profits per equity partner of $1.175 million in 2007.

Arnold & Porter “Best” DC Law Firm for Employees

Erik Even — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 18:47:05 +0000

Fortune Magazine says DC law firm Arnold & Porter is not only the best DC law firm for which to work; it is the 21st best company to work for in the United States.

Fortune cited features like Arnold & Porter’s generous paid maternity leave and on-site child care options. It also offers a sliding scale for health insurance premia, based on income.

Founded in 1946, Arnold & Porter LLP is an international law firm based in Washington, which is well known for its trial, corporate, and antitrust work; and for its pro bono commitments and support for liberal causes.