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Hogan & Hartson LLP

ITC Terminates Energizer Patent Investigation Against China Battery Industry
The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) has decided for the second time to terminate its investigation concerning whether foreign battery makers infringe the patent of Energizer Holdings, Inc. and Eveready Battery Company. Lawyers with Hogan & Hartson LLP represented a group of Chinese battery companies named in the complaint as respondents in this investigation.

On February 23, 2007, the ITC concluded that Eveready’s U.S. Patent No. 5,464,709 is invalid and that, even if the patent were valid, the products of the respondent China battery companies would not infringe its claims. The decision allows Chinese battery makers to continue importing into the U.S. zero-mercury-added alkaline batteries, which cause less environmental damage than batteries with mercury added. China is the largest supplier of non-rechargeable or primary batteries, providing more than 33 percent of the global battery output. Its battery industry is worth more than $4 billion.

Eveready, which brought its complaint to the ITC in April 2003, had sought an order prohibiting imports of primary batteries. Eveready previously had sued battery industry competitors Duracell, Rayovac and Matsushita in separate federal court actions charging them with patent infringement. Each of these lawsuits was settled. According to Eveready itself, “many of the largest battery manufacturers in the world paid significant sums of money to Eveready to take a license” for the ‘709 patent. These licensees included Duracell, Rayovac, Matsushita, FDK, Gold Peak and Hitachi Maxell, among others.

The Commission previously determined on October 1, 2004, to terminate the investigation with a finding of no violation based on its ruling that the asserted claims of the ‘709 patent were invalid for indefiniteness. Eveready appealed the Commission’s final determination to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which reversed the finding of indefiniteness but adopted respondents’ proposed claim construction.

Hogan & Hartson represented these nine Chinese battery companies named as respondents in the complaint: Fujian Nanping Nanfu Battery Co., Ltd., Golden Power Industries, Ltd., Zhongyin (Ningbo) Battery Co., Ltd., Ningbo Baowang Battery Co. Ltd., Guangzhou Tiger Head Battery Group Co., Ltd., Sichuan Changhong Electric Co., Ltd., Zhejiang 3-Turn Battery Co., Ltd., Hi-Watt Battery Industry Co., Ltd., and Guangdong Chaoan Zhenglong Enterprise Co., Ltd.

This matter was handled by Washington, D.C. partners Steven Hollman and Susan Cook, Los Angeles partners William Thomson, Jr. and Wei-Ning Yang, Beijing partners Roy Zou, Jun Wei and Steve Robinson, and associates Olga Berson, Yoncha Kundupolglu, Robert Wolinsky, and Jessica Ellsworth.

03-01-2007

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Dykema Gossett PLLC

Dykema Announces 2007 Diversity Scholarship Recipient
Dykema, a leading Midwest-based law firm, today announced Grace Aduroja as the recipient of the firm’s 2007 University of Michigan Diversity Scholarship. Dykema chose Aduroja for the honor based on her professional achievements, academic strength, and commitment to diversity.

"Diversity has long been a key component of management and professional standards at Dykema, and we are pleased to honor our second scholarship recipient," said Margaret Costello, Chair of Dykema’s Diversity Committee. "We our proud of our continued partnership with the University of Michigan Law School and the support we can provide to talented law students."

The scholarship is one element of a multi-faceted program in place at Dykema to promote diversity through internal education; intensified recruiting, retention and mentoring efforts; and involvement in organizations and events that champion diversity. The firm’s Diversity Committee is charged with the responsibility of coordinating the firm’s diversity efforts and promoting Dykema as a recognized law-firm leader in diversity initiatives.

Dykema recently was named one of the Top 100 Law Firms for Diversity by Multicultural Law, a publication that promotes diversity in the legal profession.

Dykema established the Diversity Scholarship at the University of Michigan Law School in 2005. The first scholarship recipient, Chase Cantrell, joined Dykema as a 2006 summer associate in the firm’s Detroit office.

The award recipient receives $7,500 toward tuition and fees in the second and third years of law school and is invited to work at the firm as a summer associate after the first year of law school.

The firm initiated a similar scholarship at the University of Illinois Law School for the 2007-2008 school year. Each scholarship is designed not only to promote diversity in the legal profession, but also to encourage students to remain in their respective geographic markets upon graduation.

03-01-2007

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Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne Represented Kazakhstan Real Estate Company in $104 Million IPO in London
Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented Chagala Group, a Kazakhstan real estate company, in a $104 million initial public offering on the main market of the London Stock Exchange.

Chagala sold 10.7 million global depository receipts at $9.75 each, the maximum price in the range that ING used to market the sale. The shares rose $1.25, or 13 percent, to $11 on February 26, their first day of trading on the London Stock Exchange. The IPO gives the company an implied market value of just over $200 million.

Chagala Group builds hotels, apartments, offices and leisure facilities that serve international business executives based in Kazakhstan and working in the energy industry. Chagala will use the proceeds of the IPO to fund construction costs, expand its land holdings and buy out its partner in its Bautino hotel in Kazakhstan, amongst other things.

The Chadbourne team was led by Almaty office managing partner Kenneth Mack, with the assistance of London managing partner Claude Serfilippi and London partner Charez Golvala. Also working on the deal were Almaty associates Victor Mokrousov, Yelena Pestereva, Yevgenia Nossova and Mukhit Yeleuov, and London associate Lauren Caplan.

The IPO is one of 14 that Chadbourne has been involved with around the world since the end of 2004. The IPOs have been in banking, white goods manufacturing, telecommunications, mining, alternative energy, technology company, oil refining, television, geothermal power, specialty and commodity chemicals, and the ceramic tiles industry.

The Firm's Securities and Capital Markets practice has extensive experience advising underwriters and placement agents, as well as issuers and initial purchasers, in public and private U.S. and global offerings of securities, including SEC registered offerings of equity and debt, Rule 144A and Regulation D private placements and Regulation S offerings. These transactions range from IPOs by start-up companies to registered shelf offerings and private placements of debt and equity securities by Fortune 500 issuers.

Chadbourne's Russia, CIS and central European offices have been especially prominent when it comes to advising on capital markets transactions, including private placements and public offerings by local and foreign issuers, since advising on the first ever IPO of a Russian company, Vimpelcom, in 1996.

03-01-2007

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Firm Advises Cintra in First Privatization of Toll Road in Texas
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP advised Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte, S.A., a Spanish transportation company, in its successful bid to develop State Highway 121 into a toll road through Collin and Denton counties. The award to Cintra, approved by the Texas Transportation Commission, is the first privatization of a Texas toll road.

Bracewell is acting as project counsel to Cintra with respect to the 50-year concession from the Texas Department of Transportation. Cintra will pay a $2.1 billion upfront and annual lease payments totaling $700 million.

"Cintra was awarded this project because of its proven expertise and competitive proposal," said Thomas O. Moore, partner with Bracewell & Giuliani. "This is the largest transportation deal of 2007. This is one of only five deals in the country."

Three firms have competed for the Comprehensive Development Agreement for State Highway 121 since last summer. The proposals were reviewed and scored based on selection criteria set forth by the Regional Transportation Council, the metropolitan planning agency for the Dallas-Fort Worth area.

This CDA is a public-private partnership that allows the provider to handle all facets of developing the toll road, including completing construction and operating and maintaining the corridor.

Cintra, a subsidiary of Grupo Ferrovial specialized in toll roads and car parks, is one of the world's leading private-sector developers of transport infrastructure.

Bracewell & Giuliani attorneys that advised on this matter include:

Partners: Thomas O. Moore, Roger D. Aksamit, Kevin A, Ewing, George Y. Gonzalez, Jason B. Hutt, Nancy Jo Nelson, Andrew M. Taylor and Jose Luis Vittor.

Associates: Todd G. Amdor, Eamonn K. Bakewell, Patrick A. Caballero, Erik E. Petersen, Lisa A. Smith and Trevor Wommack.

03-01-2007

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Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, L.L.P.

FORMER RNC CHAIRMAN KEN MEHLMAN RETURNS TO AKIN GUMP
Kenneth B. Mehlman, the former chairman of the Republican National Committee, will return to Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP as a partner, the firm announced today. Mr. Mehlman will focus on developing solutions for clients facing challenges in the legislative, regulatory, constituency, corporate and public relations arenas at the state, federal and international levels.

Ambassador Robert S. Strauss, Akin Gump’s founder, stated, “As a former chairman of the Democratic National Committee, I am delighted that Ken Mehlman, former chairman of the Republican National Committee, will be back at Akin Gump. We are a diversified and bipartisan firm, and Ken fits in perfectly.”

Mr. Mehlman added, “It will be great to be back home. I look forward to working with some of the world’s best lawyers and advisors to develop some of the most creative and effective solutions to solve problems at the nexus of business and public policy.”

Elected in 2005 as the 62nd chair of the Republican National Committee, Mr. Mehlman served in that position for two years. As the national spokesperson for the party, he developed close working relationships with members of Congress, governors, and business leaders across the nation and around the world.

Mr. Mehlman began his political career as legislative director to Rep. Lamar Smith (R-TX) and subsequently became chief of staff to Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX). He served as national field director for Bush-Cheney 2000, helping to organize the Iowa caucuses, and from 2001 to 2003 was the White House political director, helping to plan and execute the historic 2002 midterm elections in which for the first time since 1934, the president’s party gained seats in its first midterm election. From 2003 to 2004 he served as campaign manager for Bush-Cheney ’04.

A graduate of Franklin and Marshall College and Harvard Law School, Mr. Mehlman began his legal career in 1991 as an associate in Akin Gump’s Washington, D.C., office, where he practiced for three years before entering politics.

Mr. Mehlman is a trustee of Franklin and Marshall College and serves on the executive leadership cabinet of the Martin Luther King, Jr. National Memorial Foundation.

Joel Jankowsky, chair of Akin Gump’s policy and regulatory practice, stated, “Ken has developed a reputation for creativity and boldness in problem-solving that is nearly unmatched. His expertise gained from navigating the waters of national politics and policy, combined with the firm’s extensive resources, will significantly help clients seeking to overcome challenges and seize opportunities at the nexus of business, politics and public policy. We are very pleased to welcome Ken back to Akin Gump.

03-01-2007

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Adams & Reese LLP

Adams and Reese Partner, Paul Pastorek Selected as New State Superintendent of Education
Adams and Reese Partner Paul G. Pastorek was chosen as Louisiana’s new Superintendent of Education in an emergency meeting held Thursday by The Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. BESE voted 10-1 to appoint Pastorek, and the vote was followed by a unanimous motion of support.

Pastorek replaces Cecil Picard, who died last month after 11 years as state superintendent. The superintendent recommends and carries out policies that affect about 650,000 public school students.

Pastorek served for eight years on the BESE Board, including his final three years as the panel’s president. He was one of the chief architects of the state's accountability and high-stakes testing programs for public schools.

Pastorek plans to focus on expanding quality pre-Kindergarten education, increasing teacher pay and developing a clear vision for the future of the Recovery School District in New Orleans. “I want to do whatever I can to move our education system to the next level,” he said.

Pastorek currently serves as Chair, Recovery School District Advisory Committee to the Louisiana State Superintendent of Education and formerly served on the BESE Board from 1996-2004.

On his departure from the Board, Louisiana was noted as having the best-rated statewide accountability program in the United States. Accountability is the process of holding teachers and schools accountable for increased academic improvement in the public schools. Pastorek was a key policymaker who contributed to this achievement. He also served as chief (volunteer) lobbyist to the Governor’s office and the Legislature during that time and was responsible for developing the strategic approach for the amount and the manner of the state’s contribution to the local school districts’ budgets for the 66 school districts.

Pastorek was appointed by President George W. Bush to serve as General Counsel to NASA in February 2002, after practicing law for 23 years with Adams and Reese in its New Orleans office. In mid-summer 2004, Pastorek returned from Washington, D.C. to Adams and Reese, and presently serves as a Partner in the Special Business Services Practice Group, providing corporate counseling advice with an emphasis on Governmental Relations.

As General Counsel at NASA, Pastorek served as both the chief legal official for the agency and as a trusted advisor to fellow Louisianan, NASA Administrator and current LSU Chancellor Sean O’Keefe. Pastorek served on several senior management and leadership committees and led a number of management teams, including the team that developed NASA’s “transformational” reorganization plan announced in June 2004.

Prior to serving as General Counsel to NASA, Pastorek served as Practice Group Leader for one of the firm’s three practice groups, the Special Business Services Practice Group, while practicing as a full time lawyer handling commercial litigation, but also providing corporate counseling and strategy on multidisciplinary legal matters.

Pastorek has represented a number of companies in general counseling and serving as a legal strategist and coordinating lawyer for commercial transactions dealing with achieving the client’s business strategies, including mergers and acquisitions, environmental matters, acquisition of businesses in a distressed condition, warranty provisions and other general contractual matters.

03-01-2007

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Wolf Block Schorr & Solis

WolfBlock Expands IP Practice With Addition of Dr. Beverly Lubit
– WolfBlock is pleased to announce that Dr. Beverly W. Lubit has joined the firm as a partner in the Intellectual Property/Information Technology Practice Group and will be resident in the firm's New York office.

"Beverly is a tremendous addition to our IP team. We're thrilled that she is joining us ," said Abby Wenzel, managing partner of WolfBlock's New York. "Her in-depth knowledge of IP law, combined with her comprehensive understanding of such a broad array of scientific areas, will serve as a significant asset to our intellectual property clients."

Dr. Lubit focuses her practice on Hatch-Waxman issues relating to litigation and transactional matters, patent prosecution, patent litigation, dietary supplement regulation, interference practice, IP due diligence evaluations, opinion letters and licensing matters, with a specific focus on life sciences. Among her many areas of technical knowledge in scientific disciplines are antibodies, biotechnology, cell biology, chemistry, cytogenetics, electrophoretic techniques, drug delivery, electron microscopy, ELISA, enzyme biochemistry, innunocytochemistry, immunology, in situ hybridization, molecular biology, muscle physiology, neuroanatomy, neurochemistry, nucleic acid chemistry, primary cell and tissue cultures, protein chemistry, radiounnunooassay, receptor biochemistry, recombinant DNA technology, separation technologies and Western blots. Dr. Lubit has published more than 18 scientific articles in peer-review scientific journals as well as more than 13 scientific abstracts.

Dr. Lubit is admitted to practice in New York, New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, the U.S. Court for the Eastern District of New York, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. She is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, American Chemical Society, American Intellectual Property Law Association, Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Association of University Transfer Managers, New Jersey State Bar Association, New York Academy of Sciences, New York State Bar Association and NJIT Technology Commercialization and Business Acceleration Board.

Dr. Lubit holds numerous degrees: J.D, magna cum laude, 1998, New York Law School; M.B.A., 1992, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Ph.D., 1977, Columbia University; M.Phil., 1975, Columbia University; M.A., 1974, Columbia University; and B.A., cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, 1972, New York University.

03-01-2007

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