Law Firm News

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Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP

Health Care Attorney Kathleen McDermott Joins Sonnenschein
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP today announced that Kathleen McDermott has joined the law firm as the newest member of its national Health Care Group. McDermott, a partner who will reside in Sonnenschein’s Washington, D.C. office, is a nationally recognized health care fraud and abuse lawyer with 15 years of experience both in and out of government.

As an Assistant U.S. Attorney in Maryland for eight years (1991-1999), McDermott investigated and litigated some of the nation’s most significant—and cutting edge—health care fraud cases. She also served on both the Attorney General’s Advisory Committee for Health Care Fraud and the FBI’s Health Care Fraud Working Group. Since moving to private practice, McDermott— selected by Washingtonian magazine as one of the D.C. area’s top health care lawyers—has defended some of the nation’s largest and most prominent hospitals, health systems, clinical research organizations, medical device manufacturers and insurers in a wide range of complex government investigations and whistleblower actions.

“Katie is a perfect fit for Sonnenschein,” stated Health Care Group Co-Chair Gadi Weinreich. “She is a battle tested and extremely successful health care fraud and abuse litigator with years of experience on both sides of the enforcement fence. Add to this her strong and unwavering commitment to client service, her practical approach to problem-solving, her keen intellect, and her boundless energy, and you have a very valuable—and unique—resource for our clients to call upon.”

“This was an opportunity that I simply could not pass up,” said McDermott. “Sonnenschein has dynamic new leadership, a focused and thoughtful strategic plan, and one of the deepest and fastest growing health law platforms in the country. I am thrilled to be part of the Sonnenschein team.”

In addition to her government investigation and litigation practice, McDermott provides compliance counseling to health care organizations on a wide array of topics, including federal and state anti-kickback, physician self-referral, off-label promotion, and drug pricing laws. McDermott also serves as co-chair of the ABA White Collar Committee’s Qui Tam Subcommittee, is a past vice chair of the AHLA’s Fraud and Abuse Practice Group, and speaks and publishes regularly on a variety of health law issues.

Prior to joining Sonnenschein, McDermott was a partner at Blank Rome LLP. She received a J.D. degree, with honors, from Suffolk University Law School and a B.A. degree, with honors, from Wright State University.

03-21-2007

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Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz, P.A.

HP&K Welcomes Former Ehrlich Deputy Legal Counsel
Hodes, Pessin & Katz, P.A. (HP&K), is pleased to welcome Chrysovalantis P. Kefalas as an Associate in the Firm’s Litigation Department.
Prior to joining HP&K, Mr. Kefalas served as Deputy Legal Counsel to Governor Robert L. Ehrlich, Jr., where he provided legal advice to the Governor, Chief Counsel and Cabinet Secretaries on criminal law, constitutional law, electricity deregulation, employment and labor, and government information law. Mr. Kefalas also supervised the Governor’s Executive Clemency initiative, represented the administration in legislative proceedings, and served as a Policy Assistant to the Homeland Security Task Force, Ehrlich-Steele Transition, Inc.

Mr. Kefalas will focus his practice in the areas of civil and commercial litigation. He is admitted to practice in Maryland and is awaiting admission to Washington D.C.

Mr. Kefalas received his B.A., with honors, from Loyola College in Maryland and his J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Baltimore School of Law, where he was a member of the Heuisler Honor Society and Editor of the University of Baltimore Law Forum.

Mr. Kefalas is a resident of Baltimore County and is an active member in the St. Nicholas Greek Orthodox Church.

03-21-2007

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Hiscock & Barclay, LLP

Hiscock & Barclay's Kresse Leads Niagara River Greenway Commission to Approval of New Plan
Hiscock & Barclay Of Counsel Robert J. Kresse celebrated a milestone this week in his work as Chairman of the Niagara River Greenway Commission. Thirteen municipalities in Erie and Niagara counties unanimously approved a region-altering plan to revitalize the Niagara River waterfront. The adopted plan calls for a connected system of trails, parks and conservation areas along a 35-mile stretch of the Niagara River, from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, that will review funds from a 50-year, $450 million relicensing settlement with the state Power Authority. According to Kresse, “The greenway plan is going to bring us together [as a region] and bring economic development.” The plan has been sent to the state parks commissioner for approval.

03-21-2007

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Healy & Baillie, L.L.P.

New Jersey Senate Confirms Steven D. Weinstein as Member of Commission on Higher Education
Blank Rome’s Steven D. Weinstein was nominated by Governor Corzine and confirmed by the New Jersey Senate to serve as a Board Member of the state’s Commission on Higher Education. Mr. Weinstein serves as a Partner and Administrative Head of Blank Rome’s Cherry Hill, New Jersey office and is a member of the Firm’s Partner Board.

“We are pleased to have Steve join the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education,” said Laurence M. Downes, Chairman of the Commission. “I am certain that his professional experience and commitment to higher education will help us in advancing our goals of creating and sustaining a higher education system that is among the best in the world.”

As a member of the 14-member board, Mr. Weinstein will help to advance the mandate of the New Jersey Commission on Higher Education to provide statewide coordination, planning, policy development and advocacy for the state’s higher education system. The Commission is also responsible for licensing of institutions and the administration of the Educational Opportunity Fund. In addition, the Commission serves as the principal advocate for an integrated system of higher education which provides a broad scope of higher education programs and services for over 380,000 full- and part-time credit-seeking students statewide.

“I am honored to serve New Jersey’s higher education community,” said Mr. Weinstein. “I look forward to working on behalf of both the students and the institutions that enroll them to help foster and maintain the state’s excellent higher education system.”

At Blank Rome, Mr. Weinstein’s civil litigation practice includes complex matters, contract, commercial, and environmental litigation, administrative law, governmental relations, local and state government law, local and state redevelopment and incentives. In addition, Mr. Weinstein’s practice focuses on public finance, including representation of numerous local government units, authorities, underwriters in municipal bond transactions and related matters, administrative matters, litigation and government relations. Mr. Weinstein is also certified as a New Jersey State and Federal Mediator.

Mr. Weinstein is actively involved in numerous educational and community organizations, including serving as Vice President of the Haddonfield Board of Education, Board Member of New Jersey Future, Board Member of the New Jersey Alliance for Action and Chair of the United Way of Camden County Workplace Campaign for 2006-07 and 2007-08. Mr. Weinstein is also former Chair of both the Rowan College Board of Trustees and the West Jersey Health and Hospital Foundation.

Admitted to practice in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, Mr. Weinstein received his law degree from Rutgers-Camden School of Law and his Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration from Rutgers College.

03-21-2007

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Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer

Freshfields advises on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange debut of China Agri-Industries
International law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has advised on the initial public offering (IPO) and Hong Kong Stock Exchange listing by China Agri-Industries Holdings Limited ("China Agri-Industries"), the leading producer and supplier of processed agricultural products in China, which completes today. The retail portion of the global offering was more than 606 times over-subscribed. Due to the oversubscription, a clawback mechanism has been applied and the total number of shares offered to retail investors has now been increased to 50 per cent of the total number of shares offered. In total, approximately 861 million shares or 24.67 per cent of China Agri-Industries' share capital were sold. Total gross proceeds from the IPO were US$333m (HK$2.6bn) and will exceed US$380m (HK$2.96bn) once the 15 per cent over-allotment option is exercised in full.

Freshfields acted as Hong Kong and US counsel to the underwriters. Goldman Sachs is the sole global coordinator and sole sponsor. Goldman Sachs and BOCI Asia are the joint bookrunners of the IPO.

China Agri-Industries is the spin off subsidiary of COFCO International, a company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Its main businesses are bioful and biochemical, oilseed processing, rice trading and processing, brewing materials and wheat processing. Parent company COFCO Group is headquartered in Beijing and is a leading cereals, oils and foodstuffs producer and trader in China, focusing on agricultural products trading, bio-energy developing, foodstuff processing and real estate as well as finance services.

The Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer team was led by Beijing-based partner Chris Wong and Hong Kong-based U.S. partner Tim Steinert. Chris commented "We are very pleased to have completed another IPO for Goldman Sachs. This deal is very special as it is both innovative and challenging, involving an asset injection and disposal, spin-off, distribution in specie, redistribution and backstop ... all within one deal!"

Partner Chris Wong was assisted by Hong Kong-based Zhaoyu Ren and Nicole Lew and Beijing-based Lisa Fang and Layla Fan. U.S. partner Tim Steinert was assisted by US securities associate Jean Wu.

03-21-2007

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Day Pitney LLP

Day Pitney Consolidates New York Offices Following Merger
Day Pitney LLP, a leading full-service law firm formed by the January 1, 2007 merger of Pitney Hardin LLP and Day, Berry & Howard LLP, with offices in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Boston, and Washington, D.C., announced today that its Third Avenue location will transition to its Times Square location on March 23, 2007.

“While the physical move is only a few blocks, combining offices allows us to better leverage the synergies created by the merger and provide better service to our clients,” said Ronald Janis, an executive committee member resident in the firm’s New York office.

The consolidated New York office will house more than 40 lawyers practicing in the areas of intellectual property, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, securities law, commercial litigation, and wealth transfer, among others.

“With the merger now complete, we are moving aggressively to increase our talent and
resources to best serve the needs of our clients,” said Jim Sicilian and Dennis LaFiura, co-chairs of Day Pitney’s executive committee. “The consolidation of our two locations is the first step in our mission to grow in the New York and the broader Northeast market.”

Legal services include:

Litigation
Day Pitney offers clients the historical strength of a highly respected trial practice. The firm’s attorneys have a broad range of trial experience, representing large national and international corporations and smaller individual businesses. Day Pitney attorneys work on almost every type of litigation, including antitrust and unfair competition, commercial litigation, construction, consumer finance, environmental and toxic tort, franchise, government investigations, insurance and reinsurance disputes, intellectual property, product liability and mass tort, real property, securities enforcement, white collar crime, and zoning and other land use litigation.

Corporate
Day Pitney attorneys serve as securities and corporate counsel to an array of NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX listed companies in industries such as energy, banking, defense, communications, manufacturing, and technology. The firm’s core group of transactional attorneys is among the most respected in the region, offering clients “Wall Street sophistication” with a “Main Street feel” in areas such as capital markets, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, securities law, compliance, state corporate law, and tax and benefits. The firm has broad environmental, land use and real estate capabilities, representing lenders, developers, owners and prospective purchasers of real estate projects of all kinds.

Intellectual Property
Day Pitney’s Intellectual Property Practice offers a variety of counseling and litigation services including patent prosecution, litigation and transactions, and trademark prosecution and litigation. The firm’s team of interdisciplinary attorneys has a wide range of technical experience in computer science, media and communications and science and engineering. Day Pitney’s diverse client base includes national and international Fortune® 500 companies and small start-ups in industries such as digital technology, telecommunications, computers, electronics, software, business models, Internet sites and process, new media, consumer electronics, mechanical and electromechanical devices, aerospace, photocopying, photonics, industrial chemicals, chemical processes, textiles, pharmaceuticals, and biotechnology.

Individual Clients
Day Pitney’s Individual Clients Department provides the full range of services needed by individuals and their families with respect to estate and tax planning, business succession planning, administration of decedent's estates, administration of trusts, guardianships, conservatorships and other matters relating to incapacity, divorce law, and probate litigation.

03-21-2007

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Curtis, Mallet-Prevost, Colt & Mosle, LLP

Curtis Represents Federal Government in Loan Restructuring
the Emergency Steel Loan Guarantee Board, represented by Curtis, entered into an agreement to restructure its $250 million federally guaranteed project loan to Wheeling Pittsburgh Steel Company. The loan proceeds were used to construct a state of the art electric arc furnace at the company's plant in Steubenville, Ohio. The restructuring cleared the way for Wheeling's merger with Esmark Corporation, a downstream steel finishing and fabrication company. Wheeling was required to raise $50 million in new subordinated convertible debt and prepay $37.5 million in principal and one year of interest on the federal loan, in exchange for which Wheeling was granted financial covenant relief and consent to consummate the merger on specified terms and conditions. The covenant relief was structure to averted a "going concern" qualification to PricewaterhouseCoopers' audit opinion on Wheeling's 2006 financial statements. The engagement was handled for Curtis by Daniel Lenihan and Evan Borenstein, working in conjunction with the Steel Board's financial advisor, Lazard Freres & Co., and the loan's administrative agent, Royal Bank of Canada. The Steel Board was established by Act of Congress in 1999 and has been represented by Curtis since its inception. The Board is comprised of the Vice Chairman of the Federal Reserve Board, the Deputy Secretary of the Department of Commerce, and one of the five Commissioners of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

03-21-2007

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