Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Bracewell & Giuliani Quoted in Investment Dealers' Digest
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP partner Julian Rainero was quoted in the cover story of Investment Dealers' Digest, Feb. 5, 2007. In "Regulation without Borders," an article about Nasdaq's quest to take over the London Stock Exchange, Rainero says, "Our system has begun to be incredibly detailed - there are so many disputes and disagreements. The U.S. puts out more pages of rules and explanations of rules in a year than (European exchanges) have in total, because of our competing SRO (self-regulatory organization) systems.

02-05-2007

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Bracewell & Giuliani Ranks Top 3 in the Nation by SNL Financial
According to SNL Financial's Bank and Thrift Legal Advisor rankings, Bracewell & Giuliani LLP ranked third in the nation by number of bank and thrift deals and among the Top 15 by deal value in 2006. With over 20 years' experience covering banks & thrifts, SNL Financial is recognized as the essential source for complete news, data and analytics on the sector.

02-05-2007

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Bracewell & Giuliani LLP

Bracewell & Giuliani Partner to Moderate Panel Presentation at 2007 International Association of Defense Counsel Midyear Meeting
Bracewell & Giuliani LLP partner Warren W. Harris will speak at the International Association of Defense Counsel 2007 Midyear Meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif. on Feb. 20.

Mr. Harris will moderate a major CLE program “Effective Appellate Advocacy: A Mock Oral Argument.” Panelists for this program will include a California Supreme Court Justice and a former Texas Supreme Court Justice.

02-05-2007

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Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

Noted Attorneys Join Womble Carlyle
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC., has added five experienced attorneys to the firm, including North Carolina State Senator Peter Brunstetter.

These talented individuals will combine their skills with Womble Carlyle’s corporate and securities and tax attorneys to provide unparalleled client service, particularly in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, public finance and health care law. No other North Carolina law firm can match Womble Carlyle’s combined bench strength and expertise in these fields.

Brunstetter, along with Jeffrey Lawyer and Michael Drye, have joined the firm effective February 2nd. David Broughton and Ryan Opel joined the firm in January. Brunstetter, Drye, Broughton and Opel have joined the Corporate and Securities Practice Group, while Lawyer has joined the Tax Practice Group. All five previously practiced at Kilpatrick Stockton L.L.P. in Winston-Salem.

Combined, these attorneys bring nearly 70 years’ experience to Womble Carlyle and its clients.

Peter S. Brunstetter
Sen. Brunstetter has been named to the 2007 edition of The Best Lawyers in America for his work in both the corporate and health care practice areas. He handles a wide variety of business and finance transactions, such as mergers, acquisitions, sales of businesses, public-private partnerships and joint ventures. He has worked extensively in the health care field, where he has assisted with large-scale transactions and advised boards of directors on regulatory matters and governance issues.

At Kilpatrick Stockton, he served as the firm’s Deputy Managing Partner and as a member of its Executive Committee for many years.

In addition to his practice as an attorney, Sen. Brunstetter also has enjoyed success in the political arena. He served on the Forsyth County, N.C., Board of Commissioners from 1991 to 2004, including 10 years as chairman. During his tenure, Forsyth County successfully lured a heavily-recruited Dell computer plant in what was one of North Carolina’s largest-ever economic development efforts.

He also served on the Piedmont Triad International Airport Authority when the state successfully recruited a FedEx hub.

"The Dell and FedEx deals helped broaden my understanding of public finance and economic development," Brunstetter said. "I've experienced these negotiations as a participant, not just an attorney."

Brunstetter was appointed to the North Carolina State Senate for District 31 (Forsyth County) in May, 2006, by Gov. Mike Easley to fill an unexpired term. In November, he was elected to a full term by the voters.

He joins former North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt, retired U.S. District Court Judge Frank Bullock, Judge Burley Mitchell, former Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court and former State Senators Sandy Sands (North Carolina) and Charles Tanksley (Georgia) as notable public servants at the firm.

Jeffrey T. Lawyer
Mr. Lawyer focuses his practice on corporate tax matters. His clients include public and private companies, hospitals and other health care providers, colleges and universities, foundations and various tax-exempt organizations.

He advises clients on all aspects of federal and state tax planning, ranging from tax issues associated with mergers and acquisitions to corporate restructuring.

Before becoming an attorney, Mr. Lawyer spent six years as a Certified Public Accountant with a major accounting firm and has practiced tax law for 20 years.

Michael L. Drye
Mr. Drye practices corporate law in a broad array of areas, including corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, Securities Exchange Act reporting and other compliance measures, secured and unsecured financing transactions and other general corporate matters.

In the past two years, he has represented companies in acquisitions totaling more than $100 million.

Mr. Drye also has advised companies on various governance issues, such as the structure of boards of directors, compensation committee issues, D&O insurance and preparing board guidelines and charters.

In addition to his experience as a corporate and securities attorney, Mr. Drye is a Certified Public Accountant and practiced as an accountant for nine years before becoming an attorney. This perspective helps him provide prudent fiscal advice to corporate clients.

David P. Broughton
Mr. Broughton works in the areas of securities transactions and regulation, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and other general matters of corporate law.

He is a former vice president of an investment banking firm. This background helps him understand corporate finance and transactional issues from the client’s perspective, allowing him to provide them better service.

Mr. Broughton works with clients on forming and structuring business entities, venture capital funds, private equity groups and syndicated loans. He also advises clients on corporate guidance issues.

Ryan B. Opel
Mr. Opel practices in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, corporate finance, securities regulation, corporate governance, franchising and general corporate law.

His clients include both public and private companies in a wide range of industries. He has assisted a national company in negotiating and enforcing franchise agreements. In the securities field, he has assisted clients with compliance matters, periodic reporting and proxy statement preparation. He has worked with public and private borrowers to help secure financing and advised companies and their boards of directors on various governance matters.

Mr. Opel also serves on the boards of directors for Piedmont Opera, Inc. and Winston-Salem Symphony Associations, Inc.

All five attorneys will be based in Womble Carlyle’s Winston-Salem office. Brunstetter also will work in Womble Carlyle’s Raleigh office.

02-05-2007

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Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC

Womble Carlyle Grows Winston-Salem Office with the Addition of Five Attorneys
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, PLLC today announced the addition of five lawyers -- Peter Brunstetter, Jeff Lawyer, Michael Drye, David Broughton and Ryan Opel -- to the firm's Corporate and Securities and Tax Practice Groups in its Winston-Salem, NC office. All five attorneys come to Womble Carlyle from Kilpatrick Stockton LLP.

"We are delighted that this team of outstanding lawyers has joined our firm," said Keith Vaughan, Womble Carlyle's managing member. "The addition of these lawyers will allow us to do an even better job of serving public and private corporations and other rapidly growing business organizations in the Triad and throughout the Southeast. These five attorneys bring nearly 70 years of combined experience in corporate and tax law that will further Womble Carlyle's reputation for providing extraordinary client service."

North Carolina State Senator Peter Brunstetter joins Womble Carlyle's Corporate and Securities Practice Group as a member. He will focus his practice on advising public and private corporations in the areas of business transactions, corporate and public finance, mergers and acquisitions, and health care.

Brunstetter was appointed Senator for North Carolina Senate District 31, Forsyth County, by Governor Mike Easley in May 2006 and went on to be elected in November 2006 without opposition. He also served, with distinction, as a member of the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners from 1991-2004, including a ten-year term as chairman.

Brunstetter is the immediate past chairman of the board of trustees of Novant Health, Inc. He is a member of the board of directors of Winston-Salem Business Inc. and the Winston Salem Alliance. At Kilpatrick Stockton, Brunstetter served as the firm's Deputy Managing Partner and as a member of the Executive Committee from 2001-2005. He served as a lieutenant in the United States Navy for four years and resigned his commission from the United States Naval Reserve as a lieutenant commander.

Brunstetter received his bachelor's degree in political science from Tulane University and his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law where he was a member of Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina.

"We are very excited to join Womble Carlyle," said Peter Brunstetter. "I believe that our combined team brings a strong and unique blend of experience that will be a benefit to our new and existing clients and will serve us well as we assist them with their business matters."

Jeff Lawyer joins the firm's Tax Practice Group as a member. His practice is focused exclusively on tax matters for public and private clients, including federal and state tax planning for mergers and acquisitions, real estate transactions, joint venture formations, partnerships and choice of entity and financing. A significant part of Lawyer's practice focuses on tax planning for health care and other tax-exempt organizations, including planning business transactions and joint ventures with tax-exempt organizations. Lawyer practiced for six years as a certified public accountant with the Big 8 accounting firm Deloitte Haskins & Sells, now Deloitte and Touche. He is actively involved with the North Carolina John Muir Foundation, Earth Share of North Carolina, and Catholic Social Services. Lawyer is currently serving as chair of the Tax Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. He is listed in the 2007 edition of the Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law and was named as a 2007 North Carolina Super Lawyer by Law & Politics. He obtained his bachelor's degree in accounting, summa cum laude, from Florida State University and received his J.D., with highest honors, from Duke University School of Law where he was a member of Order of the Coif. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina and before the United States Tax Court.

Michael Drye joins the firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group as a member. He focuses his practice on advising public and private corporations in the areas of finance, mergers and acquisitions, corporate governance, Securities Exchange Act reporting, secured and unsecured financing transactions and other business transactions. Drye worked as a certified public accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers for six years prior to law school. Drye received his bachelor's degree in business administration, with honors, from the University of Central Florida and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He is an active member of the American Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association and the Forsyth County Bar Association. He is licensed to practice law in North Carolina.

David Broughton joins the firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group as an associate. Broughton brings over eight years of investment banking, business and finance experience to his corporate law practice where he will focus in the areas of general corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, corporate finance and securities regulation. He is a member of the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association and Forsyth County Bar Association. He serves on the Vestry and is actively involved with various committees at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Winston-Salem. He received his bachelor's degree in economics and English from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from the University of North Carolina School of Law where he was co-founder and co-editor in chief of the North Carolina Banking Institute. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina.

Ryan Opel joins the firm's Corporate and Securities Practice Group as an associate concentrating his practice in the areas of general corporate law, mergers and acquisitions, commercial contracts, corporate finance, corporate governance, securities regulation and franchising. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Piedmont Opera, Inc. and the Winston-Salem Symphony Association, Inc. Opel is actively involved with the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association and the Forsyth County Bar Association. He obtained his bachelor's degree in psychology and politics, with honors, from Wake Forest University and his J.D., cum laude, from Duke University School of Law. Opel also obtained his masters in psychology from Duke University. He is admitted to practice law in North Carolina.

02-05-2007

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

ITC Decides in Favor of WilmerHale Client Philips Regarding Joint Licensing of CD-R/RW Technology Patents
WilmerHale secured an important victory for US Philips Corporation, a US subsidiary of the Dutch technology company, before the International Trade Commission on remand from the firm’s previous victory before the Federal Circuit. In a 108-page opinion, the Commission held that Philips' package licensing of its patents for recordable and rewritable compact disc technology, including joint licensing with two other companies, did not constitute patent misuse on any of various theories put forward by unlicensed manufacturers, a Commission administrative law judge, and the Commission's staff. As a result, the Commission issued a general exclusion order barring infringing discs from entering the US and cease and desist orders against the Taiwanese manufacturers and US importers that were the named respondents (whose discs had previously been held to infringe Philips' patents).

WilmerHale had previously won a victory for Philips at the Federal Circuit, reversing the ITC's initial determination that Philips' package and pool licenses improperly “tied” certain essential and supposedly non-essential patents. On remand, the Commission considered an array of alternative theories of misuse, including several variants of price fixing, price discrimination, and collusion, rejecting them all. The WilmerHale team representing Philips on remand included Doug Melamed, Bill Kolasky, Ed DuMont, Jonathan Cedarbaum, Mike Esch, Ben Mizer, and Mike Spence.

02-05-2007

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Willkie, Farr & Gallagher, LLP

Willkie Wins Key Interlocutory Appeal At CAFC
Willkie client Cordis Corporation, a Johnson & Johnson company, won a highly contested decision from the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit regarding whether a U.S. District Court may exercise supplemental jurisdiction over foreign patent infringement claims. In a 54-page decision, including a 23-page dissent, the CAFC vacated the order granting leave to amend the complaint to add claims of infringement of five foreign patents, and remanded to the District Court. The CAFC stated: “We find that considerations of comity, judicial economy, convenience, fairness and other exceptional circumstances constitute compelling reasons to decline jurisdiction under §1367(c) in this case and therefore, hold that the district court abused its discretion by assuming jurisdiction.” Cordis’ position was supported by amicus curiae briefs filed by the Department of Justice and the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Federal Circuit Bar Association, the American Intellectual Properly Law Association and the Intellectual Property Owners Association. This case, with important implications for patent litigation, was identified by IP Law & Business as a 2007 “Case to Watch.” The matter was handled by partners John DiMatteo and Kelsey Nix, and associates Diane Ragosa and Alexander Swirnoff.

02-05-2007

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