JD Journal » department of justice

Department of Justice Shutters File Sharing Website

jim — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 19:22:24 +0000

A federal sting that targeted illegal downloads shuttered a popular file-sharing website on Thursday. The website has ties to Hip Hop producer Swizz Beatz, who was in discussions to become the CEO of the site. The website, based in Hong Kong, is that of Megaupload.com. Four of its executives were arrested in New Zealand and an unsealed indictment charging seven people with content piracy was made available to the public. The indictment mentions half a billion dollars in losses.

Hackers took revenge on the Department of Justice, crippling the website for the majority of the day on Thursday. The Anonymous group was responsible for the crippling of the Department of Justice’s website. A spokeswoman for the Department of Justice confirmed the attack with the following statement:

“The Department is working to ensure the website is available while we investigate the origins of this activity, which is being treated as a malicious act until we can fully identify the root cause of the disruption,” said spokesman Laura Sweeney.

Another website, belonging to the Motion Picture Association of America, was also hacked, but was back and running by Thursday night. Beatz’s real name is Kasseem Dean, was not named in the five-count indictment from the government.

Dean married singer Alicia Keys back in 2010 and had been in discussions to take over a high-profile job at Megaupload but a final agreement was never reached, according to the company’s attorney.

“He was in conversations to be named CEO,” lawyer Ira P. Rothken said. “His involvement in the company was highly attenuated. There were discussions and he was involved in a promotional video and in brainstorming future projects, but not much else.”

The association for Beatz with the site surfaced recently when he and friends Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs, Kanye West, and Will.i.am appeared in a video together touting the website. The video caused legal problems with the artists’ label, Universal Music Group. The video was four minutes long and was part of the recent December 9 re-launch of the Megaupload website. The video contained only original material which was not owned by UMG, according to Rothken.

The indictment is 72 pages long and claims copyright infringement along with conspiracy to commit money laundering and racketeering. The indictment also claims that Megaupload rewarded its users who uploaded pirated content and never answered complaints regarding copyrights. Executive gains subject to seizure by the government include a Von Dutch Kustom motorcycle, multiple Mercedes-Benz vehicles, a Rolls-Royce Phantom and a jet ski.

The allegations were described as “grotesquely overblown” before Megaupload was shut down.

“We believe the allegations in the indictment are without merit, and the company will vigorously defend itself,” Rothken said.

Wal-Mart in Compliance with Foreign Corrupt Practices Act?

rebneely — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 12:01:02 +0000

The best defense is a good offense? That’s what one may wonder after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced it is launching its own investigation into whether its policies, procedures and internal controls are in compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act; the legislation deals with anti-bribery.

The retail giant disclosed the investigation to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company has also enlisted the assistance of outside counsel and advisers to implement remedial measures, according to the filing.

Wal-Mart was quoted as having said in the filing, per the December 8^th law360.com article, “Wal-Mart Launches FCPA Compliance Probe”: “We cannot reasonably estimate the potential liability, if any, related to these matters. However, based on the facts currently known, we do not believe that these matters will have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.”

Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar explained, per the article, that the company had, on a regular basis, instituted changes during the past few years to ensure its FCPA compliance programs were more effective. In coordination with that effort, Wal-Mart undertook a global review of its anti-corruption programs.

Tovar was quoted as saying: “We believe this is the right thing to do, in keeping with Wal-Mart’s core values and previous practices.” He also explained the investigation concentrates on “discrete incidents in specific areas”; as well, the company will disclose its findings to federal authorities.

The retail giant operates nearly 9,900 units in nearly 30 countries, including the U.S., Canada, Brazil, China, India, South Africa and Japan. In 2010, the company reported fiscal year 2010 sales of $405 billion, and it employs over 2 million people worldwide.

In recent years, amid the push for financial reform, the housing crisis and the economic downturn, the federal government has moved aggressively to put an end to foreign bribery, and that includes the executives, employees and third parties who allegedly make it possible.

Examples of companies who’ve faced backlash recently include pharmaceutical giant Pfizer Inc… The pharma giant paid over $60 million to settle investigations into whether it used bribes to secure business in foreign countries, according to The Wall Street Journal.

New York-based Pfizer said it had reached agreements in principle with the DOJ and SEC over “potentially improper payments” made by Pfizer and Wyeth Ltd. subsidiaries in connection with certain overseas sales activities.

As well, earlier in 2011, Johnson & Johnson paid U.S. regulators $70 million to settle bribery and kickbacks allegations in connection with overseas business.

The FCPA continues to have a profound impact on the way U.S. firms undertake business in at home and abroad. In 1998, the United States Congress and 33 other countries acted against the bribery of foreign officials, essentially government officials in an attempt to reduce corruption and money laundering through the global financial system. Corrupt political officials and those in high army office were targeted with a view to preventing government officials from exploiting their positions to gain unfair commercial advantage.

DOJ Confirms Appointment of Munger Tolles & Olson Partner Pomerantz to Trial Team in Antitrust Case Against AT&T

rebneely — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:20:00 +0000

According to the November 22nd wsj.com blog, “Munger Tolles’s Merger-Buster Joins DOJ Team”, the Justice Department confirmed in recent days that it had hired Glenn Pomerantz, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Munger, Tolles & Olson, and an experienced litigator, to strengthen its trial team for its antitrust case against AT&T’s $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA.

Pomerantz, per the blog, has been hired as a “special government employee,” a spokeswoman said. This is the same designation given to David Boies in 1998; at that time he led the government’s antitrust case against Microsoft.

Per the blog, the spokeswoman was quoted as saying Pomerantz is “an experienced litigator with substantial expertise in trying complex litigation matters.” In addition, she was quoted as saying that he would be the “perfect complement to the team of experienced telecommunications staff, led by deputy attorney general Joe Wayland.”

In his private practice, Pomerantz has worked mostly with entertainment and media companies. He represented the major Hollywood studios and music labels. In 2011, he won a $105 million settlement for the record labels from the defunct online music sharing service LimeWire.

The hire is further evidence that the Justice Department is preparing for battle, even as AT&T tries to settle out of court. Attorney General Eric Holder recently was quoted as saying of the situation in the blog: “There is a trial team that is in place and they are ready and eager to go to court.”

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP (MTO) is a California law firm that has offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco. Charles Munger founded the firm in 1962 with six other lawyers. The firm is known for its defense of corporations in civil law suits and individuals in criminal trials and investigations. In 2008, Munger, Tolles & Olson ranked as the nation’s top law firm on the American Lawyer A-List based on financial performance, pro bono practice, associate satisfaction and workplace diversity. With nearly 200 attorneys, MTO’s work is national in scope. The firm’s principal areas of practice include bankruptcy, corporate, environmental, labor and employment, litigation, real estate and tax.

In the November 29^th news.cnet.com article, “FCC report slams AT&T’s takeover of T-Mobile”, the FCC, in a nearly 110 page report, said a merger of the two wireless carriers “would substantially lessen competition and its accompanying innovation, investment, and consumer price and service benefits.”

The FCC released the report in spite of AT&T’s and T-Mobile’s objections. It also accused the carriers of making misleading statements about the benefits of the merger.

Per the article, the report states: “The staff finds the applicants’ assertions that the transaction would create jobs in the United States to be inconsistent with AT&T’s internal analyses and record statements concerning cost reductions from the merger. The staff also finds that there are serious questions whether the merger of AT&T and T-Mobile would cause other public harms that are not offset by the claimed benefits.”

Gloomy News for the Justice Department

chelsei — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 01:29:36 +0000

You would think that with Thanksgiving just a few days away that everyone would be in a good, thankful mood. But that isn’t the case at the U.S. Department of Justice. They are having some trouble trying to find things to be thankful about. Because most of the DQJ-related news that is floating around right now is just depressing.

A court-appointed investigator, Henry F. Schuelke, just released what the New York Times has described as a ”scathing” report on one of the DQJ’s most prominent prosecutions in recent years. Schuelke gathered that the prosecution of the late Senator Ted Stevens ”was ‘permeated’ by the prosecutors serious widespread and at times intentional, illegal concealment of evidence that would have helped Mr. Stevens defend himself at his 2008 trial.” Wow. They were right when they said his report was ”scathing.” You can almost feel the venom in the words.

Unfortunately, that is not all of the depressing news that coming out of the Department. There is also the hiring freeze, and the state of Honors Program offers.

The ”temporary” hiring freeze that was issued by Attorney General Eric Holder in January 2011 remains in effect. There has been no news, nor any rumor, about the hiring freezes being lifted at anytime in the near future.

Is the hiring freeze really saving us that much money? There is an argument to be made that it is counterproductive. This is an editorial from the Newark Star-Ledger:

”Chasing down big-time crooks can be incredibly lucrative. In New Jersey, the U.S. Attorney’s office managed to recover $137.5 million from criminals this fiscal year — more than four times its budget for 2011. That money, which goes to the victims and the federal Treasury, adds up to a very cost-effective use of resources.

Yet, the budget for this agency, which prosecutes federal crimes ranging from terrorism to public corruption, has been slashed. Congress didn’t appropriate enough funding over the past two fiscal years to hire the same number of prosecutors that had previously been on the payroll. So since last January, the U.S. Attorney’s Office has had a nationwide hiring freeze, with a few exceptions, leaving New Jersey’s division with 16 vacancies for prosecutors it can’t fill.”

And the recent dysfunction in D.C. over deficit reduction might make this situation even worse:
”Since this is part of discretionary spending, the portion of the federal budget that Congress debated and decides every year, it’s likely to be reduced in any budget deal that relies on across-the-board cuts. Such cuts may be imposed automatically if the deficit-reduction supercommittee can’t agree on a plan before Thanksgiving.

What Congress calls ”discretionary” includes core law enforcement functionaries such as federal prosecution and FBI agents. It also includes military spending, but the decision on where those cuts land will fall to the Armed Services Committee, which can pick and choose. So, why do we rely of a blind ax for the other cuts, resulting in this kind of irrational move?”

Nationally Recognized Advertising Attorney Joins Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

rebneely — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:11:16 +0000

In recent days, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP announced that nationally recognized advertising attorney Edward F. Glynn, Jr. joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office as a partner in its Advertising, Marketing & Media Division.

Glynn joins from Venable LLP, where he was also a partner.

Glynn is widely recognized for his significant track record in successfully representing leading marketers in investigations before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in challenges to advertising at the National Advertising Division of the Council of Better Business Bureaus. He advises regional, national and international clients in connection with the review of advertising and marketing practices for compliance with federal and state regulatory requirements and industry governing guidelines. He also focuses his practice on mergers, acquisitions and joint ventures reviewed by the FTC and the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice.

Linda A. Goldstein, chair of Manatt’s Advertising, Marketing & Media Division was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Ed’s expansive regulatory and compliance experience – on both sides of the equation – greatly enhances our comprehensive advertising capabilities. In this increasingly aggressive regulatory environment, Ed’s depth of knowledge and keen insight into FTC developments and trends will be an enormous asset to our clients in all industry sectors. Ed is widely recognized within the industry and among his peers as one of the leading FTC and regulatory lawyers in the country, and I could not be more delighted to have him as a member of our team.”

Before joining Venable, Glynn served for ten years as the head of the International Antitrust Section of the FTC’s Bureau of Competition. In this role, he was responsible for regulatory oversight of transnational mergers and transnational acquisitions. In addition, he represented the United States on the Committee of Competition Law and Policy of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and was chair of the committee’s working group on competition policy and intellectual property.

Glynn was quoted as saying: “The opportunity to work with such a well-rounded and talented group of lawyers was a pivotal factor in my decision to join Manatt. The advertising group includes many old friends and acquaintances with whom I am delighted to work. This will be a tremendous benefit to my clients, and I am excited to be a part of this dynamic group.”

William T. Quicksilver, Manatt’s chief executive officer and managing partner was quoted as saying: “Ed Glynn brings a sophisticated understanding of the regulatory environment to our nationally recognized advertising team and underscores our commitment to growing our Washington office.”

During the last six months, Manatt has greatly expanded its Washington, D.C. presence; the firm has added environmental lawyers Jeffrey Davidson and James Votaw; insurance recovery litigators David Killalea and Stephen Raptis; as well as former Rep. Daniel Maffei, James Bonham, Julie Minerva and Shawn Hodjati to the Government & Regulatory Policy Division.

Glynn serves as Vice Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee of the Section of Antitrust Law of the American Bar Association.

Founded over forty years ago, Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP is now one of the nation’s leading law firms. Based in Los Angeles, the firm employs over 400 attorneys and other professionals.

DOJ Veteran Joins King & Spalding’s Antitrust Division

rebneely — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 08:00:51 +0000

King & Spalding announced in recent days that a 32-year veteran of the antitrust division of the U.S. Department of Justice Donna N. Kooperstein has joined the firm as senior counsel in Washington, D.C.

She joins King & Spalding’s antitrust practice from the Department of Justice. There, she most recently served as chief of the antitrust division’s transportation, energy and agriculture section.

Jeffrey S. Spigel, leader of King & Spalding’s antitrust practice was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Donna’s tenure at the Justice Department and her extensive experience handling antitrust matters related to the transportation, energy and agriculture sectors give our practice additional depth and increase our capacity to help our clients in their antitrust matters in general and especially in DOJ-related matters. We are pleased to welcome Donna to our team.”

At the Department of Justice, Kooperstein supervised numerous high-profile matters, including the litigation challenging JBS’s proposed acquisition of National Beef; the successful effort in the KeySpan financial derivative case to obtain judicial endorsement of disgorgement as a Sherman Act remedy; and the lawsuit and settlement involving the proposed $27 billion Exelon/Public Service Enterprise Group electricity merger. As well, she played a major role in the department’s civil price-fixing suit against the major domestic airlines, U.S. v. Airline Tariff Publishing Co. In addition, Kooperstein supervised numerous investigations and cases in the oilfield services, agricultural biotech, railroad and maritime sectors, as well as the department’s competition advocacy activities before the Department of Transportation, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and Federal Maritime Commission.

Kooperstein earned her J.D. degree, with high honors, from Rutgers University School of Law, and a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan.

Kooperstein was quoted as saying: “I am excited to join the talented lawyers in King & Spalding’s antitrust practice and look forward to advising our clients in a variety of industries on key legal and policy issues affecting them.”

King & Spalding’s global competition/antitrust practice was recognized by Chambers Global in 2011. The firm represents clients on a regular basis in complicated antitrust matters before the U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Trade Commission, European Commission, state attorneys general and other key competition authorities around the world, drawing on extensive enforcement authority experience and private practice expertise to guide clients safely and successfully through all phases of civil and criminal enforcement actions and merger investigations.

King & Spalding is an international law firm that represents a broad variety of clients, including half of the Fortune Global 100. With 800 lawyers in 17 offices in the United States, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the firm has handled matters in over 160 countries on six continents and is consistently recognized for the results it obtains, uncompromising commitment to quality and dedication to understanding the business and culture of its clients.

The United States Department of Justice is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice. The DOJ is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate and is a member of the Cabinet. At present, the Attorney General is Eric Holder.

Prominent Litigation Attorney and Former DOJ Assistant AG Joins WilmerHale

rebneely — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:00:24 +0000

WilmerHale recently announced that Molly Boast, former Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General, joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Antitrust and Competition Practice.

Boast possesses over thirty years of litigation experience in both the public and private sectors. This includes leadership roles in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in private practice.

As a key member of the firm’s New York office and its global Antitrust and Competition Practice, she will manage high-profile antitrust regulatory and litigation matters for the firm.

From May 2009 to February 2011, she served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. As the senior official responsible for civil enforcement, she oversaw all merger and conduct investigations; this led numerous significant merger and civil non-merger resolutions, including the NBC/Comcast and Oracle/Sun Microsystems ventures. 150 legal professionals were under her supervision in the Antitrust Division; she was one of three division authors of the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines.

Boast served first as Senior Deputy Director and then as Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1999-2001. Many mergers occurred during this period of time; she was responsible for many significant competition investigations and enforcement actions and served as the bureau’s Capitol Hill spokesperson on energy and pharmaceutical industry matters.

Michelle Miller and Thomas Mueller, co-chairs of WilmerHale’s Antitrust and Competition Practice, expect Boast “to bring a depth of experience from her years of government service and private practice that will be of tremendous benefit to the firm’s clients.”

William Perlstein, co-managing partner at the firm was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Molly Boast is one of the top antitrust litigators in the field. Her extensive experience at the senior levels of two government agencies and in leading complex litigation matters is a unique combination that will serve not only our antitrust and competition clients, but also our entire firm.”

Boast is well known in the New York litigation community. She served previously as a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and before that at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. She has handled major antitrust litigation and governmental investigation matters, including a seminal antitrust case before the US Supreme Court. At Debevoise, Boast was the chair of the antitrust group, and at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, she chaired the litigation department.

Additionally, Boast has served on the governing bodies of the litigation and antitrust sections of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. She was also the first woman to chair the federal courts committees of both the Federal Bar Council and the New York City Bar Association. She earned her JD from Columbia University School of Law; there she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and received the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for public interest contributions.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia, with over 1,100 attorneys worldwide.

With one of the leading antitrust and competition practices in the United States and Europe, WilmerHale has decades of experience and over 70 competition lawyers in the US, Europe and China. The practice is consistently ranked in the top tiers of major legal directories such as Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500, Global Competition Review and PLC Which Lawyer.

2006 Reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act Upheld for Second Time

rebneely — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 14:37:24 +0000

In recent days the constitutionality of the 2006 reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act was upheld for the second time, by a federal court in Washington, D.C.

Widely regarded as a landmark in civil-rights legislation, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlaws discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S., according to information at Wikipedia.com. The Act outlaws the practice of requiring otherwise qualified voters to pass literacy tests so they may register to vote. Additionally, the Act established significant federal oversight of elections administration, so states with a history of discriminatory voting practices would not be able to institute changes that would affect voting without first obtaining the approval of the Department of Justice; this process is known as preclearance.

The case in question, Shelby County, Alabama v. Holder, dealt with a challenge to the “preclearance” provision of the Act.

In rejecting this challenge, the Court ruled that Congress appropriately extended the protections of the preclearance requirement in 2006 for 25 more years; the extension was signed into law by President George W. Bush.

John Payton, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) President and Director-Counsel was quoted as saying in a September 21st prnewswire.com press release: “As the Court recognized, Congress’s decision to reauthorize Section 5 in 2006 was guided by its experience-based prediction about the strong medicine that was necessary to ensure equality in America’s democratic process. Today’s ruling embraces the wisdom of that prediction.”

According to the press release, the Court was quoted as having found that, in spite of the “…effectiveness of Section 5 in deterring unconstitutional voting discrimination since 1965, Congress in 2006 found that voting discrimination by covered jurisdictions had continued into the 21st century, and that the protections of Section 5 were still needed to safeguard racial and language minority voters….[T]his Court declines to overturn Congress’s carefully considered judgment.”

Ryan Haygood, Director of LDF’s Political Participation Group was quoted as saying in the press release: “Our experience since the 2006 reauthorization has been characterized by serial efforts to declare the core of the Voting Rights Act unconstitutional, and widespread efforts by states covered by Section 5 to make full political participation more difficult for minority voters. It must seem strange to the average person that we face repeated attacks on the Voting Rights Act in court, even as efforts to narrow voting opportunities with all the markers of intentional discrimination proliferate and threaten to undermine our vigorous commitment to an inclusive democracy.”

The NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund, Inc. (LDF) is America’s premier legal organization fighting for racial justice. LDF seeks to institute structural changes to expand democracy, eliminate disparities, and achieve racial justice through litigation, advocacy, and public education. The organization also works to defend the vast strides made over the last 70 years in the civil rights movement; as well, it strives to improve the quality and diversity of judicial and executive appointments, according to information at the organization’s website.

Senator Carl Levin Calls Goldman Sachs a “Financial Snake Pit”

rebneely — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 13:26:40 +0000

The finger of blame for the 2008 market collapse is pointing squarely in Goldman Sachs direction.

Banks earned billions by creating and selling financial products that essentially backfired in tandem with the housing market, which caused the worst economic crisis in the U.S. since the Great Depression. The recent passage of the Dodd-Frank law is in direct response to this crisis.

Yesterday, Senator Carl Levin (D-MI) released the findings of a two-year probe, and was quoted as saying he wants “the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to examine whether Goldman Sachs violated the law by misleading clients who bought the complex securities known as collateralized debt obligations without knowing the firm would benefit if they fell in value,” according to the April 13^th washingtonpost.com article, “Goldman Sachs misled Congress after duping clients, Senate panel chairman says”.

Levin also said he wants federal prosecutors to determine whether perjury charges should be brought against Goldman Sachs Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein and other employees who testified in Congress last year.

Levin was also quoted as saying that Goldman Sachs is “a financial snake pit rife with greed, conflicts of interest, and wrongdoing,” according to an April 14^th article at vanityfair.com.

Goldman Sachs spokesman Lucas van Praag was quoted as saying: “The testimony we gave was truthful and accurate and this is confirmed by the subcommittee’s own report.”

DOJ Will Not Defend DOMA

joshua — Wed, 23 Feb 2011 19:55:35 +0000

In a letter to the Speaker of the House, Attorney General Eric Holder has informed Congress that on his advice President Obama has ordered the Department of Justice not to defend Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, on the grounds that it violates the equal protection clause of the 5th amendment to the US Constitution. While this clause has withstood challenges in past appellate cases, there are two cases pending in circuits for which this is a matter of first impression.

The two cases, brought in New York and Connecticut respectively, are Windsor v. United States and Pedersen v. Office of Personnel Management. The DOJ’s deadline for filing a brief in each case is coming up but according to AG Holder, the administration will not be defending the law in court.

Ballard Spahr Plants Flag in San Diego

joshua — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:53:14 +0000

Ballard Spahr will open its 13th office with the addition of a group of attorneys from the San Diego litigation boutique La Bella & McNamara LLP. The transition becomes effective November 15, Ballard Spahr Chair Arthur Makadon said in a press release.

The expansion will bolster Ballard Spahr’s white collar and general litigation capability in the state, the firm said

Former federal prosecutor and Southern California-based litigator Thomas W. McNamara will serve as managing partner of the San Diego office, which will be Ballard Spahr’s second in the state. McNamara will be joined by four others attorneys from La Bella & McNamara, which will increase Ballard Spahr’s litigation practice to 200 attorneys across 13 offices.

“We think that Tom McNamara and his team provide a perfect opportunity for the firm to greatly enhance its national litigation practice generally and its white collar practice specifically,” Makadon said. “In Tom, we get a terrific lawyer with a superb reputation, and we would expect the Litigation Department to build the San Diego office with additional high-quality lawyers.”

McNamara served 11 years with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Southern District of California. He now represents clients in white collar criminal and regulatory enforcement matters and complex civil litigation.

McNamara formed La Bella & McNamara with Charles G. La Bella, another longtime federal prosecutor, almost a decade ago. La Bella is returning to the U.S. Department of Justice to serve as Deputy Chief of the Fraud Section in San Diego.

Also joining McNamara at Ballard Spahr are of counsels Daniel M. Benjamin, Andrew W. Robertson and Logan D. Smith and associate Chrysta L. Elliott.

Skadden Arps Partner David Meister Named Head of Enforcement at U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

joshua — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:02:50 +0000

Skadden Arps partner David Meister has been named head of enforcement at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC’s director of enforcement oversees the investigation of instances of alleged fraud, market manipulation and abusive trading practices. The CFTC’s largest enforcement action to date was in 2007, a $303 million settlement with BP for charges of manipulating propane markets.

Meister is a partner in Skadden’s white collar crime practice. A former federal prosecutor, Meister has more than 20 years of white collar experience. He represents financial institutions, other corporations and their senior executives in criminal, enforcement and regulatory matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, state attorneys general, and other federal and state regulators. He has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for boards of directors and board committees concerning fraud, corruption, bank sanctions, money laundering and other potential corporate misdeeds. Mr. Meister has been lead counsel in numerous federal criminal jury trials.

Notable cases include his representation of John Landes, who was the general counsel of ImClone when Martha Stewart was accused of trading its shares on inside information. Additionally, as a US prosecutor in the 1990s, he won a guilty verdict in a case of inside trading on stocks of Motel 6, the US hospitality chain.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates was founded in 1948, and is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 14:22:55 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Tuesday, October 19th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Jones Day said Monday will an office in São Paulo, Brazil…

Cravath Swaine & Moore litigation partner Katherine B. Forrest will leave the firm to serve the U.S. Department of Justice…

Ian Ballon, a shareholder in the Silicon Valley and Los Angeles offices of Greenberg Traurig, received a 2010 IP Vanguard Award…

Cravath Swain’s Forrest Leaves Firm for Department of Justice

joshua — Mon, 18 Oct 2010 20:20:13 +0000

Cravath Swaine & Moore litigation partner Katherine B. Forrest is leaving the firm to serve the U.S. Department of Justice as deputy assistant attorney general in the antitrust division. According to the New York Law Journal, which first reported the news, Forrest is the fourth Cravath partner to leave the venerable firm this year.

Forrest, an antitrust and intellectual property specialist, joined Cravath in 1990 and made partner in 1998. In her role at the DOJ, she will oversee the operations of the antitrust division’s criminal and civil programs, the New York Law Journal reports.

Evan R. Chesler, presiding partner of Cravath, Swaine & Moore, commented on the move in a prepared statement.

“We are very excited for Katherine as she takes on this new challenge,” Chesler said. “The firm has a long tradition of commitment to public service and Katherine is joining a long line of Cravath partners who have accepted important government service roles over the years.”

He added that he hopes Forrest would eventually return to the firm when her term in public service is completed.

Former FDA Official Senger Joins Sidley Austin

joshua — Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:47:59 +0000

Sidley Austin announced that Jeffrey M. Senger, former acting chief counsel and deputy chief counsel of the Food and Drug Administration, has joined the firm as a partner in its global food, drug and medical device regulatory practice. He will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office and will focus on an array of enforcement, compliance and regulatory matters, the firm said in a press release.

Senger also spent 17 years at the Department of Justice and previously served as senior counsel in the Office of the Associate Attorney General, where he assisted in overseeing the work of more than 2,000 lawyers.

“Jeff brings a wealth of insight to Sidley’s FDA practices from his experience at both FDA and the Department of Justice,” said Coleen Klasmeier, global coordinator of the firm’s food, drug and medical device regulatory practice. “He is one of only a handful of highly seasoned lawyers who understand the increasingly complex interrelationships between those two executive agencies.”

Senger called Sidley “the go-to firm for life science companies dealing with challenging legal and regulatory issues.

Sidley’s food and drug practice represents major pharmaceutical, biological, medical device and food clients all over the world.

Sidley Austin is one of the world’s largest full-service law firms with approximately 1,700 lawyers practicing in 17 U.S. and international cities.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:27:07 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, July 29th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton blocked several key provisions of Arizona’s controversial immigration law…

Squire Sanders & Dempsey will close its Tallahassee office…

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell promoted partner Jennifer Kenedy to managing partner of its Chicago office…

BuckleySandler hired four in its Washington D.C. office…

Winstead PC hired two shareholders in its Washington D.C. Office…

Judge Blocks Key Components of Arizona’s Immigration Law

joshua — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 19:14:36 +0000

One day before Arizona’s controversial immigration law goes into effect, a federal judge Wednesday blocked several key provisions to the law, including one that required police officers to check a person’s immigration status while enforcing other laws.

The Associated Press reports U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton also delayed three other controversial components of the law. One required immigrants to carry their papers at all times, another made it illegal for undocumented workers to seek employment in public places, and a third allowed officers to make warrantless arrests of illegal immigrants.

The decision was based on a filing by the Department of Justice that argued state law could not trump federal law with regards to immigration legislation. The judge ruled the more controversial sections of the law should be put on hold until that and other issues are resolved.

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said the state will probably appeal the ruling. Most legal experts expect the controversy to reach the U.S. Supreme Court before finally being decided.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 28 Jul 2010 12:25:46 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, July 28th. Here’s a look back at yesterday’s stories.

Steven Fagell, deputy chief of staff for Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer will leave to return to Covington & Burling LLP…

Stanford Dean Larry Kramer’s goal is to move past Yale and Harvard into the top spot on the U.S. News rankings…

Greenberg Traurig added an ex-health department official to its health and FDA business practice…

Sheppard Mullin added three partners to the firm’s Labor and Employment practice group…

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck hired three top Vegas commercial litigation attorneys from Jones Vargas…

Kaye Scholer added three partners from Dewey & LeBoeuf…

Cozen O’Connor announced it added a 15-lawyer team from Sher & Blackwell to its Washington D.C. office…

Steptoe & Johnson will put a significantly expanded energy practice into action…

Chambers USA recognized Cohen & Grigsby attorneys, and practice group…

U.S. Attorney Hewitt Heading to Jones Day

joshua — Thu, 03 Jun 2010 17:19:15 +0000

Karen P. Hewitt, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California, has agreed to join Jones Day as a partner in the firm’s San Diego office. She will serve in the firm’s trial practice.

Local reports indicate Hewitt ‘s resignation from the Department of Justice is effective June 11. Hewitt joined the DOJ in 1992 and was named U.S. Attorney in 2007 after the firing of Carol C. Lam. During her tenure, Hewitt expanded criminal prosecutions in the Southern District of California to the point where it became the third-busiest U.S. Attorney’s office in regard to felony prosecutions, according to a Jones Day press release.

“Karen is a widely respected attorney and has an impressive record of accomplishments as the top federal law enforcement attorney here in San Diego,” said Anthony M. Insogna, partner-in-charge of Jones Day’s San Diego Office. “Now that she has decided to move into private practice, we’re pleased that she has selected Jones Day as the law firm where she will build the next phase of her career.”

Hewitt’s arrival brings to 14 the number of partners in Jones Day’s San Diego office. There are a total of 34 legal professionals practicing in the firm’s San Diego office.

Jones Day has more than 2,500 lawyers in 32 offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Milberg Offers Help to Whistleblowers with New Web Site

joshua — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 17:42:45 +0000

Milberg LLP announced it has launched a new online service that will help aggrieved investors and consumers, as well as whistleblowers, to investigate corporate wrongdoing.

The new Web site, www.millberginvestigators.com, puts those who suspect or want to report corporate misconduct directly in touch with Milberg’s team of investigators and forensic accountants.

Milberg houses a two-tiered, 12-person investigative and forensic accounting team, according to a firm press release. Most of the investigators have prior experience with the FBI, Department of Justice, New York Police Department or other law enforcement agencies. The team’s forensic accountants include those from top private accounting firms.

“This new service will allow those who believe they have been victimized by corporate wrongdoing to tell their stories to highly qualified professionals,” said Sanford Dumain, a member of the executive committee of Milberg. “At a time when the courts are requiring a great deal of evidence before allowing plaintiffs to prosecute their claims, our investigative team is ready to help ensure that those with valid legal claims can have their day in court.”

Milberg LLC was founded in 1965 and has offices in New York City, Los Angeles, Tampa and Detroit.

Ogden Rejoins WilmerHale After Year as DOJ’s No. 2

joshua — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 19:01:34 +0000

David W. Ogden, who spent more than a year as deputy attorney general of the United States before leaving that post last month, has rejoined WilmerHale as co-chair of its government and regulatory litigation group.

Ogden was previously a partner at WilmerHale from 2001-2009. He joined President Obama’s Justice Department transition team before becoming the second ranking official and chief operating officer at the DOJ. In that role he supervised the department’s 110,000 employees and a budget of almost $30 billion.

William J. Perlstein, co-managing partner at WilmerHale, commented on the addition in a press release.

“During his time as Deputy Attorney General, (Ogden) played a significant role in revitalizing the department and accomplished a great deal while seeking justice for the American people,” Perlstein said. “David is an outstanding lawyer with keen legal judgment. We’re all eager to begin working with him again.”

During his previous stint with WilmerHale, Ogden specialized in high-stakes international legal disputes, major government investigations and litigation, and complex civil matters.

WilmerHale has approximately 1,100 attorneys worldwide. In addition to Washingtonm D.C., the firm has offices in Boston, Los Angeles, Palo Alto, Waltham, Mass., London, Brussels, Berlin, Beijing, Oxford and Frankfurt.

Former DOJ Prosecutor Joins Arnold & Porter

joshua — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:19:01 +0000

Arnold & Porter has added former Department of Justice prosecutor Kirk Ogrosky to its white collar criminal defense and FDA/ healthcare practices. Ogrosky previously served as the DOJ’s deputy chief of the fraud section from 2006 to 2010.

The move by Arnold & Porter follows the addition of three partners from Arent Fox to its white collar defense practice last week.

“This is a challenging time for our clients in the healthcare sector,” Arnold & Porter Chair Thomas Milch said in a press release. “”As regulation and enforcement activities continue to intensify, we want to be in the best position possible to assist them in achieving their business goals.”

Ogrosky spent more than a decade in government service, including a stint as an assistant U.S. Attorney in Miami from 1999 to 2004 and as assistant attorney general in Kentucky from 1996 to 1998. Whit at the DOJ, Ogrosky handled cases involving pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, hospitals, managed care organizations, pharmacies and home health agencies.

He took 36 defendants through trial to jury verdict in criminal cases, according to the release.

Arnold & Porter now has more than 40 lawyers practicing in its FDA and healthcare group. Overall, Arnold & Porter has more than 675 lawyers with offices in Brussels, Denver, New York, NorthernVirginia, London, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Washington D.C.

Support Grows for Department of Justice

joshua — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 18:52:51 +0000

As reported here last week, a group calling itself ‘Keep America Safe’ has taken issue with the Department of Justice for refusing to name attorneys who represented detainees at Guantanamo Bay while in private practice. In response to what it calls “a shameful series of attacks on attorneys in the Department of Justice,” a group of lawyers and the Brookings Institution have joined forces to denounce the criticism.

In a joint statement, the group cites America’s long legal tradition of representing those that are considered “unpopular.”

“The American tradition of zealous representation of unpopular clients is at least as old as John Adams’ representation of the British soldiers charged in the Boston Massacre. People come to serve in the Justice Department with a diverse array of prior private clients; that is one of the department’s strengths,” the letter reads.

Among those that endorsed the letter with Brookings are several biglaw partners as well as other prominent names in the legal field. To read the full letter, click here.

Morning Roundup

sara — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 12:54:35 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, March 1, and here’s a quick look back at Friday’s news…

Profits and revenue decline at Debevoise & Plimpton…

Ogletree Deakins open a new office in Orange County, California…

Donchess & Notinger claim in a court filing that a bankruptcy case is creating a financial hardship for the firm…

Seyfarth Shaw releases details about it’s merit based plan…

Revenue and profits increase at Cahill…

10 lawyers leave McDonough Holland & Allen for DLA Piper…

Revenue decreases at DLA Piper…

U.S. firms scale back London recruitment according to a new survey…

Former University of Maryland law dean Karen Rothenberg is asked to refund $60,000 to the university…

Laurence Tribe accepts a position at the Department of Justice…

Freshfields unfreezes associate lockstep…

Obama nominates 4 U.S. Attorneys…

The Citizens United decision could lead to a constitutional amendment…

Congress considers a U.S. patent overhaul…

Tribe Headed to Justice Department

sara — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 16:45:53 +0000

Laurence Tribe, prominent Harvard Law professor and generally considered one of the foremost liberal constitutional law scholars and Supreme Court practitioners in the country (he has appeared before the Supreme Court 34 times), will join the Justice Department next week to serve as a senior counselor for “access to justice”. In this role Tribe will focus on increasing legal access for the poor. Tribe has taught at Harvard Law since 1968 and will take a leave of absence when he joins the DOJ.

This turn of events comes a week after senior officials at the Justice Department appeared at a Washington conference to draw attention to large caseloads handled by public defenders and other struggles in providing legal aid to economically disadvantaged defendants. For example, there are cases of juvenile defendants forced to go to court without seeing a lawyer because of a lack of access to legal services.

Tribe has had a storied and prominent career. His formers pupils include President Obama, whom he backed in the last election, Supreme Court Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and US Solicitor General Elena Kagen. Tribe was a part of Gore’s legal team during the election recount in 2000. He has argued before the Supreme Court 34 times on behalf of gay rights, in support of busing to integrate schools, to defend “dial-a-porn” services as free speech and against a rule that forbade mentioning abortion in federally funded family planning clinics. In 1987 he was a key witness against Robert Bork during Bork’s nomination hearings.

Tribe has done extensive pro bono work involving victims rights, including representing migrant workers injured by large farming companies, tenant farmers in Hawaii who wanted land reforms and representing plaintiffs who sued Tobacco companies for their deliberate deception of the health effects of cigarettes.

Additionally Tribe has written several works, including “American Constitutional Law”, often referenced as one of the most cited legal texts of the past half century.

Justice at Work

joshua — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 21:28:46 +0000

The Department of Justice and its federal brethren unsealed a pair of indictments Wednesday that merit interest. First, in New York, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District has indicted an alleged Russian arms dealer and his associate with trying to purchase two aircraft from U.S. companies. The suspect, who is currently in custody in Thailand, is also wanted by the U.S. for selling millions of dollars worth of weapons to FARC – a Colombian foreign-terrorist organization. Viktor Bout – aka Boris, aka Viktor Budd, aka Viktor Butt (among others) – has allegedly been an international weapons trafficker since the 1990s. His customers? Regimes in Afghanistan, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, Sierra Leone and more. The intrigue continues in this DOJ press release.

Meanwhile, down in Florida, West Palm Beach man Willoughby Farr is charged with a ‘cramming scheme’ in which extra charges are added to a person’s phone bill for collect calls that were never made. From April 2003 to December 2005 Farr arranged with local phone companies to make collect call charges through three West Palm Beach companies he owned anonymously. One of the reason he hid his ownership in the companies? He was already in prison. More to this story can be found in this DOJ press release.

Report Identifies Attorney-Client Accounts as Major Loophole in Money Laundering Laws

joshua — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 12:46:05 +0000

In its report released last week, the U.S. Senate’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations revealed that Chicago-based Sidley Austin LLP transferred approximately $21 million for a government official, Teodor Obiang, son of the president of Equatorial Guinea, who’d long been suspected of misappropriating the country’s oil and timber resources for personal gain.

The report’s findings may prompt deeper government scrutiny into the bank accounts lawyers hold for their clients. The Subcomittee found these accounts represent a serious loophole in anti-money laundering provisions.

“Larger law firms are certainly more likely to come into contact with suspicious transactions where money laundering could be facilitated,” said Jeffrey Cramer, a former federal prosecutor who heads the Chicago office of Kroll, a risk-consulting company.

Sidley sought clearance from the Department of Justice to make sure the $21 million wire transfer did not violate the law, the report says. This illustrates the challenges often faced in complying with money laundering laws.

“It’s pretty clear from the report that we did what we were supposed to do,” said Janet Zagorin, a spokeswoman for the firm.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:22:25 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, February 2, and here’s a quick peek back at yesterday’s headlines…

Ropes & Gray adds a former Assistant to the Solicitor General…

McDermott Will & Emery added one to its IP practice…

A forthcoming DoJ report will admonish but not sanction the lawyers who authored the “torture memos“…

UC San Diego is working on plans for a new law school…

DLA Piper hired Pfizer’s assistant general counsel…

Lateral moves were at a record high in 2009…

A Federal Court has ruled in favor of a blind law student trying to take the bar exam…

Jones Day has issued a memo in opposition to the NALP recruitment report…

Two more Paul Hasting lawyers moved to Haynes and Boone, bringing the total to six…

Chadbourne & Parke added one to its anti-trust practice…

Latham & Watkins added eight more from White & Case…

And Paul Weiss had record high profits in 2009…

Former Assistant to Solicitor General Joins Ropes & Gray

joshua — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 22:45:29 +0000

Douglas Hallward-Driemeier, formerly Assistant to the U.S. Solicitor General, has joined Ropes & Gray as a partner in its Appellate and Supreme Court practice. Hallward-Driemeir began his legal career as an assoicate with Ropes & Gray so this is a bit of a homecoming for him.

Hallward-Driemeier has handled appeals and Supreme Court litigation for the U.S. Department of Justice for more than a decade. He was Assistant to the Solicitor General in from 2004-09 in which he argued 13 cases before the Supreme Court.

Ropes & Gray has over 1,000 lawyers with offices in Boston, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Tokyo and Washington D.C.

Former Bush Lawyers Will Not Face Sanctions for “Torture Memos”

sara — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 18:51:34 +0000

A forthcoming Department of Justice report from the Office of Professional Responsibility will clear Bush administration lawyers of professional misconduct in their authorship of memos that many consider a justification for torture. Jay Bybee, now a federal appellate court judge, and John Yoo, now a law professor, are the two lawyers mainly responsible for the memos. The probe is extremely critical of the legal reasoning used to justify water boarding and “enhanced” interrogation techniques many consider torture but there are indications that the Justice Department has “softened” the language they use in their condemnation.

Initially the report stated that Bybee and Yoo violated their professional obligations as lawyers when they authored the 2002 memos approving the use of questionable tactics. David Margolis, a department veteran and the “reviewer” of the report, has reportedly downgraded the language of the report to say that the two lawyers showed “poor judgment”. Under department rules, poor judgment does not constitute professional misconduct. The original finding would have triggered a referral to state bar associations for possible disciplinary action, which could have led to an impeachment inquiry in Bybee’s case.

The report is still being declassified but will provide new details about how water boarding was adopted and the role top White House officials played in the process.

Carl Nichols Joins WilmerHale

joshua — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:16:41 +0000

Carl Nichols, a former senior litigator for the Department of Justice has joined WilmerHale as a partner.

Nichols worked in the DoJ under President George W Bush from 2005 until 2009, serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, and later as the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. While with the Justice Department, Nichols handled several high profile cases, including cases enjoining state investigations into alleged acts of the National Security Agency and various lawsuits filed against telecommunications companies over their participation in national security programs. Prior to his stint at Justice, Nichols was with Boies, Schiller & Flexner.

At WilmerHale, Nichols practice will be in the Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Government and Regulatory Litigation and Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice Groups, as well as the Business Trial Group.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the US, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale & Dorr and the Washington’s Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,100 attorneys worldwide. As of 2008, it was the 23rd largest law firm in the world in terms of revenue.

Former Jones Day Partner Rejoins Firm After a Stint at DoJ

joshua — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:31:11 +0000

For the past eight years, Gregory Katsas has held high level posts at the Justice Department. Mr. Katsas served as Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division of the U.S. Department of Justice from June 2008 to January 2009. Between 2001 and 2008, Mr. Katsas also served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General, and Acting Associate Attorney General. Prior to that, he was an issues and appeals partner with Jones Day, and today the firm announced that he is rejoining Jones Day as a partner in the same practice group. Read the full press release here.

Jones Day is an international law firm headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. It was founded in 1893 by Judge Edwin J. Blandin and William Lowe Rice. Jones Day is the 8th largest law firm in the world by revenue. It is currently the second largest law firm in the United States, with approximately 2,400 lawyers and gross annual revenue in excess of $1.5 billion.

The DoJ is Hiring an Attorney for the Office of Vaccine Litigation

joshua — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 16:11:56 +0000

The DoJ is gearing up for a fight with the anti-vaccination crowd, and they’re looking for a new attorney to help out. The Department is hiring one attorney to represent the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services in the Office of Vaccine Litigation. The job involves litigating cases that arise from claims of injury from certain vaccines. Swine flu vaccinations aren’t mentioned in the job description but it’s no stretch to assume it will be a major part of the job. For the full job listing, see the DoJ’s job page here.

DOJ Investigating IBM for Antitrust Violations

joshua — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 20:12:55 +0000

The Department of Justice has launched an antitrust investigation of IBM. Big Blue’s rivals allege that IBM has engaged in anticompetitive practices in the mainframe market. The complaints spell out practices that echo some of the antitrust problems Microsoft has faced, such as requiring purchasers of IBM’s software to also purchase IBM hardware to run it.

The DOJ and IBM have tangled before – in 1969 the DOJ brought a suit against IBM for monopolizing the computer industry. The investigation lasted over 10 years, into the early 80′s, before being dropped. IBM has said they will cooperate fully in any investigation. I smell billable hours on the horizon!

Three New Prosecutors for the US Attorney’s Office in DC

joshua — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 17:03:09 +0000

Acting U.S. Attorney Channing Phillips announced the hiring of three new assistant U.S. attorneys today in the D.C. office. The three attorneys are Andrew Finkleman, Stephen Rickard and Carl Ross. Finkleman will join the appellate division, Rickard will work in the misdemeanor unit and Ross joins the civil division.