Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Jenner & Block LLP

Firm Obtains Asylum for Four Tibetan Refugees
In just over two months, a team of Jenner & Block attorneys secured asylum in the United States for four Tibetan Buddhist refugees who had been persecuted by the Chinese government in Tibet due to their political and religious beliefs.

Supervised by Jenner & Block Partners James A. McKenna and Donald R. Cassling, the team was comprised of Associates Aaron M. Forester, Kathy A. Karcher, Keith V. Porapaiboon, Mitchell K. Rovner and Bilal Zaheer.

The clients, two men and two women, were all devout Buddhists and followers of the Dalai Lama. Each escaped Tibet through an arduous journey across the Himalayas into Nepal, where they lived in hiding and in fear of repatriation to Tibet. Upon their arrivals in the United States, the clients were arrested and imprisoned in the McHenry County Correctional Facility, under the auspices of the Department of Homeland Security, while they waited for their immigration hearings to take place.

“Given that our clients were being held in detention, these cases were heard on an expedited basis and required very intensive work by our attorneys,” said Mr. McKenna. He also noted that the clients spoke no English, which required the Jenner & Block attorneys to retain Tibetan translators to travel with them on their meetings with the Tibetan clients.

Each of the clients had an evidentiary hearing before an Immigration Judge, at which they were subjected to thorough cross-examination by the government attorney and by the Court. Through careful preparation and convincing arguments, the Jenner & Block team persuaded the Immigration Judges that their clients had established a well-founded fear of future persecution if they were to be returned to Tibet and were therefore entitled to asylum. The clients, who range in age from 21 to 31 years old, now reside in New York and Minnesota.

The Jenner & Block attorneys volunteered their time on a pro bono basis, working with attorneys for the National Immigrant Justice Center (NIJC), as part of the NIJC’s Detained Immigrant Protection Project.

03-06-2007

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Jenner & Block LLP

Jenner & Block Helps Non-Profit to Secure $2.5 Million for New Facility
Several attorneys from Jenner & Block’s Real Estate Practice recently aided pro bono client Breakthrough Urban Ministries in closing a $2.5 million construction financing for a new center to help Chicago’s homeless and unemployed.

Breakthrough Urban Ministries provides overnight transitional housing and programs for the homeless and unemployed at several facilities on Chicago’s north and west sides. In 2004, the organization purchased a dilapidated 25,000 square foot facility with plans to convert the space into a ministry center for its men’s program and administrative offices.

The new building will allow the organization to provide on-site job education training, on-site health care and job retention services, among other things. Construction will be completed on the facility in August 2007.

After acquiring the property, the non-profit led a successful capital campaign to raise funds and financial support commitments to rehabilitate the building. LaSalle Bank provided construction financing to Breakthrough Ministries. The Jenner & Block team served as borrower’s counsel for the construction financing, documented the transaction and helped to complete the deal.

The Jenner & Block team on this matter included Partners Donald S. Horvath and Michelle M. McAtee, and Associate Vito M. Pacione.

Partner Terrence J. Truax serves as Chair of Breakthrough Urban Ministries’ Board of Directors.

03-06-2007

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Hogan & Hartson LLP

Hogan & Hartson Advises Norilsk Nickel Group in $408 Million Acquisition of the Nickel Business of OM Group c
Hogan & Hartson LLP advised Norilsk Nickel Group (Norilsk Nickel) in its purchase of the Nickel Business of the OM Group, Inc. (OMG) for $408 million in cash. Through this purchase, Norilsk Nickel becomes the owner of the OMG nickel refining operations in Harjavalta, Finland; OMG's Cawse nickel mining and leaching operations in Western Australia; OMG’s 20% stake in MPI Nickel Pty. Ltd. (MPI), which operates the Black Swan and Silver Swan nickel mines in Australia; and up to 11.1% of OMG’s holding of the common shares and convertible debt in Talvivaaran Kaivososakeyhtiö, a biological heap-leaching project in Finland. As part of the transaction, Norilsk Nickel also will enter into agreements to supply OMG with up to 6,500 metric tons per year of cobalt in various forms, along with other nickel-based raw materials used in OMG's specialty chemicals business.

Norilsk Nickel continues to expand its operations internationally and strengthens its position in the global mining and metals industry with this transaction.

Todd Schafer was the principal lawyer on the matter, with substantial assistance from Lex Eley in the New York office, Catriona Hatton in the Brussels office, and Kimberly Reed in the Moscow office. The interdisciplinary team also consisted of Hywel Jones, John Pheasant, Jonathan Ivinson, Matthew Giles, Marta Kochanowska, Rebecca Ridley, and Rachel Squires (London); Wim Nauwelaerts and Jean-Michel Coumes (Brussels); David Dunn, Stacey Joslin, and Cheryl David (New York); Joe Krauss (Washington, D.C.), and Jun Wei and Michael Zou (Beijing).

03-06-2007

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Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne Wins Appellate Victory in Patent Case for Avent Ltd.
Chadbourne & Parke LLP won a decisive victory in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in a patent case representing Avent Ltd.

Avent, a subsidiary of Royal Philips Electronics, had been sued in the United States District Court for the Western District of Louisiana, for infringement of two patents directed to non-spill drinking cups.

Chadbourne had been successful in getting the case dismissed based on summary judgment that one patent is not infringed and the other patent is invalid.

In an opinion issued February 23, 2007, the Federal Circuit affirmed in all respects.

In affirming the judgment of noninfringement, the Federal Circuit agreed with the District Court that the claim term "opening" had to be limited in accordance with the patentee's prosecution arguments. Significantly, the Federal Circuit held that those patentability arguments, which were made in a parent application, constituted a disclaimer of claim scope in a continuation application where the patentee had failed to rescind his earlier patentability arguments.

Working for Chadbourne on the case were New York office intellectual property partner Joseph A. Calvaruso and associate Richard Martinelli.

03-06-2007

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Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, LLP

Firm Advises Topps Company in Sale to Investment Vehicle Led by Michael Eisner
longtime Willkie client The Topps Company, Inc. announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to be acquired by Michael Eisner's The Tornante Company LLC and private equity firm Madison Dearborn Partners, LLC for approximately $385.4 million. Under the terms of the agreement, stockholders of Topps, the iconic baseball-card maker, will receive $9.75 per share in cash. Tornante, founded by former Walt Disney Co. chairman and CEO Michael Eisner, makes investments in and develops companies and opportunities in the areas of media and entertainment. Founded in 1938, Topps is a leading creator and marketer of sports and related cards, entertainment products, and distinctive confectionery, including "Bazooka" bubble gum. The transaction was handled by partners Steven Gartner and William Gump, and associates Mark Getachew and Manuel Miranda.

03-06-2007

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Thelen, Reid, Brown, Raysman & Steiner, LLP

Thelen Hosts Director of International Affairs for Brazilian Central Bank
Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner recently hosted a business briefing with the Banking and Capital Markets Committee of the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, Inc. (BACC). The event, held in our New York conference facilities, featured guest speaker Paulo Vieira da Cunha, Director of International Affairs for the Central Bank of Brazil.

Prior to joining the Central Bank, Mr. Vieira da Cunha was Managing Director and Head of Latin American Research for HSBC Securities, Inc. in New York. His work with HSBC's emerging markets group included regular features on macroeconomic and political developments in Brazil and Mexico, as well as HSBC's business operations in Latin American capital markets and foreign exchange.

Thelen is pleased to be a longtime member and sponsor of the BACC. Business and Finance partner Doug Davidson and associate Gabriela Labouriau are active members (of BACC), and have hosted several events for the Chamber in the firm’s New York office. Most memorably, in October 2004, Thelen welcomed a large business and political delegation from Brazil, which included the Governor of Pernambuco, for a reception commemorating the 350th Anniversary of the arrival of the first Jews in New Amsterdam.

03-06-2007

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Snell & Wilmer, L.L.P.

SNELL & WILMER’S VAN VELSOR WOLF ELECTED VICE CHAIR OF AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY
Van Velsor Wolf Jr., an environmental attorney with Snell & Wilmer’s Phoenix office, was elected Vice Chair of the American Cancer Society’s National Board of Directors at the American Cancer Society Annual Meeting in November. Wolf is a 20-year Society volunteer and has been a member of the National Board of Directors since 1999. Wolf recently completed two years as national treasurer for the organization. He was one of 11 newly elected officers. He has also served as president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, the 501(c)(4) sister entity that focuses on lobbying and electoral activities. Wolf is the former Chairman of the Arizona and Southwest Divisions and is Articles Nexis Director of the Great West Division of the American Cancer Society.

Wolf received his juris doctor from Vanderbilt University in 1973 and his bachelor of arts from Yale University in 1966. He practices environmental and natural resources law at the local, state, and federal levels. He has been named in the Best Lawyers In America® for the last several years and is a recognized environmental law practitioner in Chambers USA.

The American Cancer Society, a nationwide, community-based voluntary health organization, founded in 1913, is dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem by saving lives, diminishing suffering, and preventing cancer through research, education, advocacy and service. The American Cancer Society is the largest voluntary health organization in the United States.

03-06-2007

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