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Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP

$1 Million Verdict Upheld on Appeal
The District of Columbia Court of Appeals issued an opinion this week affirming RDB’s trial victory in the case of Estate of Marshall Coyne v. Aon Risk Services, Inc. RDB represented the Estate of Marshall Coyne and Madison Management Company in a professional negligence action against Aon last October. The two-week trial in D.C. Superior Court resulted in a $1 million verdict for the plaintiffs. Aon appealed the trial court's judgment and the Court of Appeals affirmed

RDB partners Wally Christensen and Marc Rindner represented the plaintiff.

02-09-2007

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Odin, Feldman & Pittleman PC

OF&P Attorney to Teach Construction Scheduling Seminar in March
Odin, Feldman & Pittleman attorney Bob Richardson will teach a construction scheduling class on March 6, 2007 in Fairfax, Va. through the National Business Institute.

The one-day seminar entitled “Construction Scheduling: Protecting the Bottom Line” will focus on contract clauses and theories bearing on delay claims; critical path method scheduling; tips and techniques for handling common scheduling issues; tools for successfully assessing, managing and updating schedules; and legal issues involving construction scheduling, delay claims and recovery of damages.

02-09-2007

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Mayer Brown LLP

In the Matter of Rambus, Inc. Docket No. 9302 FTC Directs Compulsory License to Remedy Anticompetitive Conduct
The Federal Trade Commission held recently that it may order compulsory licensing with maximum royalty rates calculated through agency-directed ratemaking to remedy the anticompetitive effects of deceptive conduct during standard setting proceedings.In the Matter of Rambus, Inc., Docket No. 9302, Opinion of the Commission on Remedy (Feb. 5, 2007), available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9302/index.htm.

In a prior opinion, the Commission held that Rambus, Inc., had engaged in unlawful monopolization by concealing patents it owned that read on computer memory standards being developed by the Joint Electronic Device Engineering Council ("JEDEC").In the Matter of Rambus, Inc., Docket No. 9302, Opinion of the Commission (Aug. 2, 2007), available at http://www.ftc.gov/os/adjpro/d9302/index.htm.The Commission had held that JEDEC participants expected Rambus to reveal the existence of these patents, and that Rambus did not inform JEDEC members of them until after the members had adopted and become "locked in" to JEDEC's SDRAM and DDR SDRAM standards.

The Commission's prior opinion left open the issue of remedy, and the Commission sought additional briefing.Rambus argued that its current royalty rates were actually competitive, so that any remedy should be limited to an order directing Rambus not to engage in deceptive conduct in standard setting.Commission staff argued that the Commission should impose a compulsory, royalty-free license because, had Rambus disclosed its patents, JEDEC members would have designed a standard that did not infringe Rambus' patents.

The Commission staked out a middle ground, setting maximum royalty rates that were greater than zero but less than Rambus' current rates.Chairman Majoras, writing for the majority, stated that the Commission did not "relish imposing a compulsory licensing remedy," but that Rambus' deceptive conduct made a private determination of a royalty rate by market participants impossible.To calculate its reasonable royalty rate, the majority considered royalty rates for similar technologies and then made downward adjustments.The majority concluded that a rate of one percent or less (depending on the technology) was appropriate, but that after three years the royalty would drop to zero.The Commission declined to apply this maximum royalty to JEDEC's next generation DDR2-SDRAM standard, holding that the Staff had not established a sufficient causal nexus between Rambus' conduct and the choice of that standard.The Commission ordered other relief as well, including barring Rambus from making misrepresentations or omissions to standard setting organizations, and requiring it to employ a Commission-approved compliance officer to ensure that Rambus discloses its patents and patent applications to industry standard setting bodies in which it participates.

The key to the decision was the compulsory license with an imposed "reasonable" rate, a remedy that has rarely been employed.In its decision, the Commission enunciated a number of significant principles, including the following:


* The Commission's authority to issue orders extends to the authority to impose compulsory licenses and establish reasonable rates;
* The Commission will, under the proper factual circumstances, impose a royalty-free license to remedy anticompetitive conduct; and
* The Commission can extend a compulsory license, including a zero royalty license, to next generation technologies if there is a sufficient causal link between alleged misconduct and the development of the standard.


Two commissioners filed separate opinions, both concurring in part and dissenting in part.Commissioner Rosch argued that the majority opinion should have ordered Rambus to license its technologies royalty-free to users of the JEDEC standards.Commissioner Rosch found that the record supported the Staff's contention that, but for Rambus' deception, JEDEC would not have incorporated Rambus' technologies and accordingly Rambus would not be in a position to collect royalties from users of the standards.

Commissioner Harbour agreed with Commissioner Rosch, but went a step further, arguing that a royalty-free license should have been imposed on technologies included in all JEDEC standards that were developed or in development at the time Rambus began enforcing its patents, including the next generation DDR2-SDRAM standard.

This is not the first case that has directed a compulsory license to remedy anticompetitive conduct.However, currently it is unusual for an antitrust enforcement agency or a court to require a compulsory license and set a "reasonable" rate as an antitrust remedy.Prior antitrust cases and consent decrees that have required a compulsory license have generally imposed no royalties.The Commission's middle ground approach may validate a less drastic remedy for companies accused of violating the antitrust laws, but also creates more uncertainty because of the many factors associated with deciding what rate is reasonable.

Rambus has already announced its intention to appeal the decision.It may appeal to any one of the 12 circuit courts of general jurisdiction, but may not appeal to the Federal Circuit, which lacks jurisdiction to hear an appeal of a Commission decision.On appeal, the Commission's findings of facts will be affirmed if supported by "substantial evidence," while its legal determinations will be considered de novo but with some deference.The appeals court will certainly have to grapple with balancing the Commission's desire to remedy anticompetitive conduct with the antitrust law's general hostility to judicial ratemaking.

If you have any questions about this opinion, please feel free to contact Christopher Kelly or John Roberti in our Washington, DC office.

02-09-2007

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Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps, LLP

5 Luce Forward Partners Named Super Lawyers; Kathy A. Jorrie Named One of Top 50 Women
Laura J. Carroll, Kathy A. Jorrie, John A. Moe, John T. Rogers, Jr. and Bruce S. Ross were selected for inclusion in the 2007 edition of Southern California Super Lawyers.

Selection for Super Lawyers is based on a three-step process in which over 800,000 attorneys are invited to participate in a survey and then asked to nominate outstanding attorneys based on their actions both in and out of the courtroom. Nominations are reviewed and selected attorneys are then grouped by practice area and asked to participate in a peer evaluation panel. Published by Key Professional Media, Southern California Super Lawyers is a comprehensive and diverse listing of exceptional attorneys, featuring the top five percent of attorneys in Southern California (with the exclusion of San Diego County).

Laura Carroll was selected in the Environmental Law category; Kathy Jorrie and John Moe were selected in the Business Litigation category; and John Rogers and Bruce Ross were selected in the Estate Planning and Probate category.

Kathy Jorrie was also named one of the Top 50 Women for Southern California Super Lawyers. She received this honor by being one of 50 female attorneys to receive the highest point totals in all three steps of the selection process.

02-09-2007

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Zuckerman Spaeder LLP

Six-Year Struggle Ends in Victory for Zuckerman Spaeder LLP and Veteran DC Police Detective
Zuckerman Spaeder attorneys Barak Cohen and Blair Brown helped ensure that the Metropolitan Police Detective Nelson Valdes' conviction for accepting an illegal gratuity was vacated for the second time.

Valdes' conviction was overturned last year in a 2-1 vote but the government had requested that the case be reheard. On February 9th, 2007 the court voted 7-5 in Valdes' favor.

In an en banc review, Brown and Cohen filed a friend of the court brief for the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL) on Valdes' behalf.

02-09-2007

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Tucker Arensberg, P.C.

TUCKER ARENSBERG ATTORNEY APPOINTED TO ALS ASSOCIATION BOARD
Scott R. Leah, an attorney with the law firm Tucker Arensberg, P.C., has been elected to the Board of Directors for the ALS Association of Western Pennsylvania-West Virginia.

The ALS Association is the only national, not-for-profit organization dedicated solely to the fight against ALS (better known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease"). The Association funds research, provides patient and community services, and educates the medical community. For more information on the association, visit www.cure4als.org.

Scott is an attorney in the firm’s litigation department and a member of the firm’s labor and employment and health care practice groups. His practice consists of general civil litigation with an emphasis on commercial and employment litigation. He received his undergraduate degree from Indiana University of Pennsylvania and his law degree from Duquesne University School of Law. Following law school, Scott served for 4 years in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps and is presently a Commander in the Navy Reserve.

02-09-2007

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Preston, Gates, Ellis, Rouvelas & Meeds, L.L.P.

K&L Gates Chairman and Global Managing Partner Peter Kalis Inducted to West Virginia University’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis (K&L Gates) Chairman and Global Managing Partner Peter J. Kalis will be inducted today into West Virginia University’s (WVU) Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

The WVU Alumni Association’s Academy of Distinguished Alumni was founded in 1987 by the WVU Board of Directors and held its first induction ceremonies in 1988. The Academy honors WVU graduates who have attained national or international distinction in their profession or discipline. During the past 20 years, this prestigious award has been bestowed on more than 70 West Virginia University alumni, including Jerry West, NBA Hall of Famer; Charles Vest, President Emeritus of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and Curtis Barnette, Chairman Emeritus of Bethlehem Steel Corporation.

A native of Wheeling, West Virginia, Kalis received a bachelor’s degree from WVU in 1972 and was named WVU’s seventeenth Rhodes Scholar. He received a PhD in politics from the University of Oxford in 1976 and his law degree from Yale Law School in 1978. Kalis served as law clerk to the late J. Skelly Wright, Chief Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and for the late Associate Justice Byron R. White of the United States Supreme Court.

At K&L Gates, Kalis provides strategic advice to many of the nation’s largest corporations. He has worked extensively with chief executive officers, boards of directors and general counsel in the development and execution of proactive or defensive litigation strategies and strategies to preserve and access corporate insurance programs in response to a variety of novel and substantial claims. Kalis has published more than 50 articles in professional journals and academic law reviews on a variety of subjects, and he is an author of Policyholder’s Guide to the Law of Insurance Coverage (with T. Reiter & J. Segerdahl), an editor of Tobacco Litigation and Insurance, and served as the editor-in-chief of the Journal of Insurance Coverage, a quarterly publication of Aspen Law & Business.

Kalis is a member of the American Law Institute and has served on task forces of the American Bar Association, routinely addressing professional congregations on both practice and law firm leadership topics. Additionally, Kalis has served as the ABA’s National Law Day Chair and served ex officio on the ABA’s Commission on Civic Education and Separation of Powers and the Standing Committee on Public Education.

Kalis also serves on the boards of directors of the Allegheny Conference on Community Development and National Pancreas Foundation. He served on the executive committee of the board of directors and chaired the finance and investment committee of the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute. He is a past director of the Duquesne Club, Carnegie Museum of Natural History, The Children’s Center of Pittsburgh, Three Rivers Young Peoples Orchestras and National Kidney Foundation of Western Pennsylvania.

At WVU, Kalis is a founding member of the Eberly College of Arts & Sciences Advisory Board, as well as the WVU Political Science Department Advisory Board. He established an endowment for the Eberly College to support and strengthen liberal arts education. In 2006, the college recognized his commitment and service to his alma mater with the Alumni Recognition Award.

02-09-2007

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