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Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, L.L.P.

Chambers USA 2007 Results Reveal 100 WilmerHale Lawyers at the Top of Their Practice and a Leader in 35 Practice Areas
Chambers and Partners consistently names WilmerHale as a leading law firm, home to top lawyers and premier legal practices. In the fifth edition of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, an impressive 100 WilmerHale lawyers will be recognized as key players in their respective practice areas, while the firm will be listed as a leader in 35 practice areas. This upcoming edition of Chambers USA will include national rankings for several practice areas that Chambers has not previously researched on a nationwide basis. Of these new areas, WilmerHale is to be named a leader in Antitrust, Appellate Law, Intellectual Property, Life Sciences, Private Equity and Securities Litigation.

Final rankings and editorial content will be made public with the launch of this edition of Chambers USA in late Spring 2007.

02-08-2007

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Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr, L.L.P.

WilmerHale Successfully Represents Fabre-Kramer Pharmaceuticals in Collaboration with GlaxoSmithKline
WilmerHale successfully represented its client Fabre-Kramer Pharmaceuticals in its worldwide development and commercialization agreement with GlaxoSmithKline for Fabre-Kramer's gepirone ER product, a 5HT1a agonist expected to be submitted in the first quarter of 2007 for FDA review in the US for major depressive disorder (MDD). Under the terms of the agreement, Fabre-Kramer Pharmaceuticals will receive an upfront cash payment followed by additional development and commercialization milestone payments and double-digit percentage royalty payments on worldwide sales of gepirone ER and follow-on products. In return, GlaxoSmithKline was granted an exclusive, worldwide license to develop, manufacture and commercialize gepirone ER and follow-on products.

The WilmerHale lawyers working on the transaction included David Redlick, Steven Barrett, Allison May and James Czaban.

02-08-2007

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White & Case, LLP

White & Case Acts on €3.4 Billion Telecoms Transaction
White & Case acted for Weather Investments S.p.A. ("Weather"), a privately held telecommunications investment company controlled by the Sawiris family and Naguib Sawiris, in its acquisition of Greek mobile operator TIM Hellas Telecommunications S.A. ("TIM Hellas"); a deal worth €3.4 billion. TIM Hellas was sold by Texas Pacific Group and Apax Partners. White & Case advised Weather on all aspects of the deal, including the acquisition and the financing. Completion of the transaction is subject to applicable competition and regulatory approvals.

"This deal highlights the increasingly important role of private equity investors in the restructuring and consolidation of the European telecommunications market. Such investors have shown significant appetite for European telecommunications assets recently, buying and selling substantial telecommunications companies, including former state owned incumbents, in both Western and Eastern Europe," commented Mats Sacklén, lead White & Case partner advising on the transaction.

For Weather, which is affiliated with Orascom Telecom ("OT"), the acquisition of TIM Hellas represents a further extension of the group's strategy to build out across the Mediterranean, where it is already well established (e.g., Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt). OT, which is not a party to and is not affected in any way by the TIM Hellas transaction, has a direct footprint that ranges from Algeria to Bangladesh and, through its shareholding in Hutchison Telecom, it is invested in various Asian markets.

"Another trend underscored by this transaction is the continued emergence of Middle Eastern telecommunications companies on the world stage, including in Europe. Weather is the first Middle Eastern telecommunications company to enter the European market, having already acquired Wind in Italy," remarked David Eisenberg, global co-head of the Firm's TMT practice group, who also advised on the deal.

The London-based White & Case team advising Weather on the acquisition was led by partner Mats Sacklén, working with partner David Eisenberg and associates Alan Burke and Raghubir Menon on the M&A aspects of the transaction. Partner Brian Conway led on the financing of the transaction, working alongside counsel Brad Kurkowski, with partner Chris Utting providing additional counsel on finance issues. Mark Powell, a partner in Brussels, provided advice on competition law.

This is not the first time that White & Case has acted for the group. Last year the Firm also advised affiliates of Weather on a comprehensive $3.575 billion refinancing involving a $2 billion Senior Secured Credit Facility, an €825 million Exchangeable Bond Offering and a €500 million Amended and Restated Term Loan Facility. The TIM Hellas transaction is also the latest in a string of recent deals in Europe involving private equity investors buying or selling telecommunications assets on which White & Case has acted. Earlier this year, the Firm advised Mid Europa Partners in its €0.45 billion acquisition of Baltic mobile operator Bité from private equity-owned TDC.

02-08-2007

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Thelen, Reid, Brown, Raysman & Steiner, LLP

Litigation Is War: Strategy & Tactics for the Litigation Battlefield
Litigation Is War” is a new book from Frederick L. Whitmer, Esq., a noted author and senior litigation partner in the New York office of international law firm Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLP.

Litigation Is War represents a unique approach to the development of litigation strategy. In Litigation Is War, Mr. Whitmer describes and demonstrates how application of time-tested military strategies apply toward winning legal disputes. Litigation Is War draws its principal strategic insights from the classic military strategy book, Clausewitz’ On War, which has long been studied in the military’s war colleges as the basis for strategic thinking.

Paraphrasing Clausewitz’ most famous observation that “war is the continuation of policy by other means,” Mr. Whitmer believes that modern commercial litigation is “the continuation of business by means of litigation.” Accordingly, in Litigation Is War, Whitmer outlines a comprehensive strategic framework for litigation.

“The strategic concepts laid out in this book will help practitioners better their litigation strategy skills,” said Mr. Whitmer, who has applied these principles throughout his 30-year career as a highly-successful trial lawyer. Following the publication of the book, Whitmer will host a series of educational workshops modeled after the war colleges administered by the armed forces. The “Litigation War College” will offer further insights and explore how best to develop successful litigation strategies.

Litigation Is War will be published in May 2007 by West Legalworks, a Thomson business.

02-08-2007

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Schiff Hardin LLP

APPEALS COURT UPHOLDS LANDMARK ANIMAL CRUELTY DECISION
In the largest civil action for animal cruelty in American history, the Animal Legal Defense Fund with representation from Schiff Hardin LLP won a landmark decision Tuesday in the case against the owners of more than 350 dogs kept in squalid conditions in North Carolina.

The North Carolina Court of Appeals affirmed a civil judgment after trial that removed the abused and neglected dogs from the home of Robert and Barbara Woodley in Sanford, N.C. A team from the Animal Legal Defense Fund saved the dogs from deplorable conditions at the Woodley home. The dogs — including Boston Terriers, Boxers and other breeds — were suffering from a multitude of painful and preventable diseases. Many were blind, or nearly so, from chronic neglect and exposure to toxic levels of ammonia due to years of unremoved waste. Others had painful eye ailments. A majority of the dogs had dental problems which required the extraction of some or all of their teeth, and many had bone decay and loss caused by the filthy conditions. A significant number of the dogs had broken bones that had never been treated but had healed over time, while the dogs suffered through the process. The dogs had never received veterinary care while being forced to live amid (and often covered in) their own feces and urine.

"This was an appalling case of animal cruelty. The levels of ammonia from the urine-soaked home were so high it burned my eyes and nose as I helped carry the dogs out of that house," said Bruce Wagman, an animal protection attorney with Schiff Hardin LLP in San Francisco. Wagman led the Animal Legal Defense Fund's legal team throughout the litigation, trial and appeal and, along with ALDF volunteers, was involved in the final rescue of the last 220 animals.

The North Carolina law utilized by ALDF is unique, in that it allows private litigants to take the burden off of municipalities and assist in the prosecution of cases of animal cruelty. While all states have criminal statutes governing animal cruelty, prosecutors and animal control agencies in most jurisdictions can be overwhelmed by the demands of prosecuting such a case. The court ruled that North Carolina's Civil Remedy for Protection of Animals statute (Chapter 19A) allows organizations like the Animal Legal Defense Fund to utilize the law on behalf of abused animals. In the Woodley case, the couple was also convicted of 10 counts of animal cruelty in a parallel criminal trial.

"If they really care about animal welfare, more states should look at enacting similar civil provisions for animal cruelty cases so organizations like the Animal Legal Defense Fund can help rescue animals from horrible circumstances like this," Wagman said.

Cases of animal hoarding — the keeping of abnormally large numbers of cats, dogs, or other animals in substandard and abusive conditions — have more than doubled since 2000 and affect more than 250,000 animals nationwide, according to statistics kept by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.

Schiff Hardin attorneys based in San Francisco oversaw the investigation, factual development and filing of the initial lawsuit against the Woodleys in North Carolina. Schiff Hardin attorneys guided trial counsel and played an integral role in the drafting of both the appellee's and amicus briefs presented to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

All of the dogs that survived rescue from the Woodleys' home have been rehabilitated and placed in loving foster homes. Assuming the Court of Appeals decision becomes the final result, the dogs will be immediately sterilized and permanently adopted to live out their lives in peace and comfort.

The Animal Legal Defense Fund (ALDF) is the only national non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the lives of animals through the legal system. Schiff Hardin's San Francisco office — previously Morgenstein & Jubelirer LLP before the firm combined with Schiff Hardin in January 2007 — has represented the ALDF for more than a decade. Wagman runs the non-profit organization's national civil litigation program as its Chief Outside Litigation Counsel.

A frequent lecturer on the subject of animal law, Wagman is an adjunct professor of animal law at the law schools at University of California, Hastings, University of California at Berkeley, Stanford University and the University of San Francisco. He is a coauthor of Animal Law, the first casebook for animal law courses in law school.

Wagman coordinates and works with pro bono counsel nationwide as part of his administration of ALDF's nationwide program, including in this case Adam Charnes and Jim Hefferan of Kilpatrick Stockton of Winston-Salem, North Carolina, who presented the case to the North Carolina Court of Appeals.

02-08-2007

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Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP

RDB Represents Humane Society in Case Against Amazon.com
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) filed a suit today against Amazon.com and four of its suppliers, including The Gamecock and The Feathered Warrior magazines, alleging that the sale of animal-fighting literature and videos sold on Amazon.com violates the Animal Welfare Act and the Federal Depiction of Animal Cruelty Act.

The HSUS has repeatedly asked that the offending material be removed from Amazon.com, but they have been refused. There is no First Amendment protection for the sale of animal cruelty videos. The suit alleges that Amazon's sale of the DVD violates the District of Columbia Consumer Protection Act because the material violates a federal law that makes it a crime to create, possess or sell a depiction of animal cruelty for financial gain.

The lawsuit was filed in the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by the Animal Protection Litigation section of The HSUS, with the pro bono assistance of Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP.

02-08-2007

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Rider & Bennett, L.L.P.

RIDER BENNETT AND FOX 9 NEWS TEAM UP TO PRESENT
Tune in to My Fox Law and jumpstart your day with legal advice on issues that affect you!

My Fox Law is Fox 9's newest morning feature, broadcast live on alternating Thursdays from 7:20am - 7:45am.

On Thursday, February 15, Fox 9 welcomes Kathy Kimmel, a partner in Rider Bennett's Litigation Department.

On Thursday, February 1, Sheila Engelmeier discussed Minnetonka's electronic billboard controversy, as well as "Top 9 Tips for Employers and Employees." (For a synopsis of Sheila's presentation, please click on the PDF icon above.)

For more information on Clear Channel Outdoor, Inc. v. City of Minnetonka, visit http://www.courts.state.mn.us/district/4/.

Sheila Engelmeier, a partner in Rider Bennett's Litigation Department, approaches every legal problem with both considerable intellect and common sense. Her first priority is always avoiding a lengthy legal battle. When proactive planning does not facilitate a swift resolution, Sheila is an aggressive litigator who strongly advocates her clients’ positions. Creative and persistent, Sheila was described by one client as “the edge that made the difference” in that company’s success in a hard-fought action. Over the course of her legal career, Sheila has worked on a variety of lawsuits ranging from contract, professional liability, defamation, family law, insurance defense and personal injury to complex public utility, securities fraud and transactional disputes.

Kathy Kimmel is a partner in the Litigation Department and represents parties in the areas of business and commercial litigation, employment litigation and real estate litigation. She represents parties involved in contract disputes, trust litigation, and represents shareholders (both majority and minority), officers and directors in intra-corporate disputes. Kathy also represents businesses in protecting trade secrets and intellectual property from improper disclosure and use. As an employment lawyer, Kathy advises both employees and employers on employment agreements, including non-compete agreements, and has defended businesses in lawsuits brought by employees. As co-chair of the Firm's Temporary Restraining Order Group, Kathy frequently represents clients either seeking, or defending against, emergency relief from the court. Kathy has tried cases in both federal and state courts and in arbitration proceedings.

02-08-2007

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