Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Robinson & Cole LLP

Robinson & Cole LEB Attorneys Present a Labor and Employment Law Update to NECCA
Robinson & Cole attorneys Alida Bogran-Acosta, Jeffrey L. Hirsch, Peter J. Moser, Catherine E. Reuben, and David B. Wilson will lead a workshop, "2007-2008 Labor and Employment Law Update," to members of the New England Corporate Counsel Association, Inc. (NECCA). The panel will discuss such topics as the Supreme Court's Ledbetter decision regarding the time period for bringing claims, the latest in wage and hour class action suits, "family responsibilities" discrimination, pending state and federal legislation that would impact union organizing, non-competition agreements, mandatory arbitration agreements, tax issues with respect to severance and settlement agreements, new posting and EEO reporting requirements, as well as possible trends for 2008.

08-29-2007

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Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP

Paul Hastings Advises on HK$3.3 Billion Global Offering of Franshion Properties
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker LLP (Paul Hastings), a leading international law firm, represented Deutsche Bank, the sole global bookrunner, on the global offering of Franshion Properties (China) Ltd, which comprised a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and a 144A
placement.

Franshion Properties offered 1.41 billion new shares, raising HK$3.3 billion (US$424 million), which will be used to develop real estate projects and fund acquisitions.

Franshion Properties is a subsidiary of Sinochem Corporation, a state-owned enterprise, specializing in real estate development and investment.

Benny Pang, a partner in the Corporate department at Paul Hastings’ Hong Kong office commented, “We are delighted to have advised Deutsche Bank in Hong Kong and the United States on this global offering. The oversubscription achieved in both the retail and institutional tranche clearly signifies continued investor interest in China's real estate sector and I am confident we will see a series of PRC real estate listings in the near future."

The Paul Hastings team in Hong Kong was led by partners Raymond Li and Benny Pang and supported by of counsel Andrew Hutton and associates Frances Li, Iris Yeung, Candy Pang and Haeyeon Yoon.

With its combined strengths in corporate finance and PRC real estate, Paul Hastings’ Capital Markets Group has been involved in ground-breaking transactions across the region including the only three REITs to list in Asia that are backed by PRC properties (GZI, CapitaRetail and RREEF).

Recent equity capital markets deals include:

* The US$800 million A share listing of Western Mining Co Ltd on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (advised the issuer as international counsel)
* The US$2 billion A share listing of China COSCO on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (advised the issuer as international counsel)
* The US$320 million listing of RREEF China Commercial Trust on the Main Board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange (advised the issuer). This is only the second-ever REIT backed by PRC properties to list on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange
* The S$250 million global IPO of the CapitaRetail China Trust REIT on the Singapore Stock Exchange(advised the issuer). This was the first Singapore-listed PRC property REIT
* The HK$2.1 billion IPO of CITIC 1616 on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange(advised BNP Paribas as the underwriter).
* The US$179 million global IPO of Neo-Neon Holdings Ltd on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (advised Deutsche Bank and ICEA Capital as the underwriters).

08-29-2007

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Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Fulbright’s Global Energy Projects Team Expands in London
Project finance lawyer Andrew Hart is joining Fulbright & Jaworski as a partner in its London location, where he will practice as part of the international firm's strong global energy projects team.

Download Fulbright's Energy Trends Report

He comes to Fulbright from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he has been a partner since 1999. Hart worked in both the London and Hong Kong offices of his previous firm, gaining significant projects experience across a wide variety of sectors in Mainland China, Thailand, the Philippines, Korea, Australia, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan and the Middle East.

“Andrew brings London-based projects expertise to our growing energy and infrastructure practice, which is expanding in Africa, the Middle East, India, and Asia,” said Steven B. Pfeiffer, Chair of Fulbright’s Executive Committee. “A significant amount of global projects work is governed by English law. It is obviously often associated with London, where we have enhanced our projects team to serve our clients’ needs.”

Hart’s wide-ranging experience includes advising on Greenfield project financings, upstream and downstream LNG projects, and secondary market M&A transactions in relation to project assets. Additionally, he has experience advising export credit agencies and multilateral financial institutions on major international projects, which will nicely complement Fulbright’s work in the same realm.

“Our international projects practice has been built on a strong foundation including significant energy, infrastructure and finance experience in London,” said Michael Irvin, the head of Fulbright’s global energy practice. “Andrew is the latest addition to our experienced team of lawyers at Fulbright, where we have assisted the energy industry for more than half a century and continue to compete successfully for energy projects worldwide.”

Lista Cannon, the head of Fulbright’s London location, said Hart is a great fit as Fulbright continues strategically expanding its international presence.

“Our London office is a key center for energy infrastructure finance and a hub of our international energy projects work,” she said. “Andrew’s strong international experience will serve our clients well. He is modest, yet self-assured and has a strong sense of professionalism and collegiality. His addition is further evidence of our commitment to the expansion of our worldwide energy capacity, and we are delighted that he has decided to join us.”

Fulbright offers a focused commitment to project finance and energy-related work, a global network of strategically placed offices from which to serve clients worldwide and a collegial atmosphere among top-notch legal talent.

“With Fulbright’s international reach and the depth and quality of its existing client base and people, it is well-positioned to continue to be a leader in global energy and infrastructure work,” he said. “I look forward to playing a key role as Fulbright meets its clients’ international project finance and energy needs.”

In London, Hart will join Fulbright’s team of experienced energy and project finance lawyers, including Partners Christopher Clement-Davies and Jeremy Sheldon and Counsel David Moroney.

Clement-Davies has a broad range of commercial and financial law experience, working extensively on the privatization of the electricity and rail industries in the U.K.and advising clients in the power, energy, water, telecoms, transport and healthcare industries. Sheldon is recognized for his international work in power generation, distribution, infrastructure and waste-to-energy projects and has advised energy companies in regions ranging from Africa to the Middle East and countries from Canada to Kazakhstan. Moroney has more than 35 years’ experience in the structuring, negotiation and documentation of upstream and downstream oil and gas, electricity, mining projects and investments.

Hart is admitted as a solicitor in Scotland, Hong Kong, England and Wales. He received his law degree from Edinburgh University.

08-29-2007

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Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Philadelphia Litigator Speaks at Second Life Community Convention in Chicago
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney shareholder Frank Taney provided a program titled "IP Rights and the Law in Second Life," at the August 24-26, 2007, Second Life Community Convention in Chicago.

Taney's program addressed the intellectual property law issues affecting merchants and content creators within the virtual world platform known as Second Life. Taney also discussed the current status of the groundbreaking lawsuit brought on behalf of one of his Second Life clients for copyright infringement and trademark misuse of the client's content within Second Life.

Second Life is a 3D virtual world imagined, created and owned by its "residents." Since opening to the public in 2003, it has grown explosively and today is inhabited by a total of 9,146,049 "residents" from around the globe.

About Taney

Francis X. Taney Jr., chairs Buchanan's Information Technology Litigation Practice Group and is a member of the Technology Transactions Group. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation in a variety of substantive areas. He has experience in construction, antitrust, copyright, trade secret and information technology ("IT") litigation, as well as disputes involving eminent domain and government contracts.

Taney received his J.D. degree from the University of Pennsylvania, where he was associate editor of its Law Review. He received his B.A., summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from Drew University, where he won the Wall Street Journal Award for best economics graduate.

08-29-2007

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Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, L.L.P.

The American Lawyer Ranks Squire Sanders Among the Top Firms for International Arbitration
In a recent survey, The America Lawyer recognized Squire Sanders as one of the top firms representing clients in major international arbitrations. In addition to listing several of the firm's major cases, one was recognized among the "Ten Big Awards" for the last two years. They wrote, "Kudos are due to law firms that succeed in converting eyebrow-raising demands into eye-catching awards. …Squire, Sanders & Dempsey, representing Gas Natural SDG S.A., secured a declaration reducing the price by more than a half billion dollars of liquefied natural gas from Nigeria LNG Ltd."

Squire Sanders is a leader in energy, treaty investor and commercial arbitration. Its practitioners are sophisticated, flexible and globally experienced to minimize our clients exposure or to maximize the value of our clients' claims. Arbitration specialists are located in many of the firm's offices worldwide in Asia, Europe and the Americas. In fact, our lawyers have recently acted as counsel in arbitrations with aggregate claims exceeding US$6 billion.

08-29-2007

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Holland & Hart, L.L.P.

Kelly Barbour, William Batt, Cecelia Gassner, And Erik Stidham Join Holland & Hart's Boise Office
Attorneys Kelly Barbour, William Batt, Cecelia Gassner, and Erik Stidham joined the Boise office of the Rocky Mountain regional law firm Holland & Hart LLP.

"The Boise office is growing to meet the diverse needs of our clients," said Larry Prince, administrative partner of Holland & Hart's Boise office. "Adding the experience of these four seasoned attorneys enhances our ability to provide a full range of legal services to our clients."

Barbour's practice emphasis is in real estate. He has represented regional commercial developers in drafting and negotiating documents related to land acquisitions, lot sales, and obtaining entitlements. He has also assisted clients in the drafting and negotiation of development agreements, commercial declarations, common maintenance agreements and leases. He received his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. magna cum laude from Albertson College of Idaho.

Batt represents business clients of all sizes, from entrepreneurs to Fortune 500 companies, in all aspects of business law. His practice includes corporate law, company counseling, mergers and acquisitions, finance and venture capital, securities, insurance regulation, public utility law, legislation, and governmental relations. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, he founded Batt & Fisher LLP, a Boise-based corporate and business law boutique, and served as its managing partner. He received his J.D. cum laude from the University of Idaho College of Law and his B.S. magna cum laude from Albertson College of Idaho.

Gassner, who previously served as a deputy attorney general for the State of Idaho, focuses her practice on intellectual property, technology transfer, information security, and business transactions. She has conducted intellectual property due diligence on mergers and acquisitions totaling more than $3 billion in assets. She works with life science and technology companies in the negotiations of all transactions related to their key clinical trials and research, as well as the protection of their intellectual property assets. She also assists companies in creating privacy and information security policies and compliance with data security laws. As a deputy attorney general, Gassner advised and represented the Idaho Public Utilities Commission and other state officials on matters of telecommunications, gas, water, and energy. She received her J.D. from Boston University School of Law, where she was an editor of the American Journal of Law and Medicine, and received her B.S.E. in biomedical engineering from Duke University.

Stidham is a trial attorney who represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex litigation. He has a national practice, having served as lead trial counsel in lawsuits in more than 20 states. He focuses on business disputes, construction litigation, product liability claims, and civil fraud claims. Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Stidham was a partner in a large, regional law firm and an Idaho-based litigation boutique. He earned his J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. summa cum laude from Arizona State University.

As the largest law firm based in the Rocky Mountain area, Holland & Hart has offices in Boise and throughout the region. The Holland & Hart Boise office provides a full range of legal services including litigation, corporate, and environmental representations and counseling for businesses, individuals, and communities throughout Idaho and the West.

08-28-2007

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Foster Pepper PLLC

Seven Tips To Avoid Being Overwhelmed By The Repeat Public Records Requester
The recent case of Zink v. City of Mesa (Div. III Aug. 23, 2007) exemplifies the challenges public records requests can impose on small local governments. It also serves as a stark example that “trying your best” is not enough under the Public Records Act (“PRA”) , no matter how small an agency or municipality you are.

The Zink case presents a not-uncommon situation. After the City of Mesa took an adverse action against the Zinks (“expiring” a building permit), the Zinks began making public records requests. These requests originally focused on the building permit, but pretty soon the Zinks began to think of themselves as the City “watchdog” and the scope of their requests broadened. They eventually made over 170 different requests over the course of three years.

The City clerk’s office, which handles the City’s public records requests, was overwhelmed. It only had three to four employees, and one of those employees was spending half her time responding to the Zinks’ requests. Thus, the City began limiting the Zinks to one hour a day for reviewing documents and handling requests from others before it handled the Zinks’ requests. Not surprisingly, the Zinks were not happy with this limitation or the completeness of the City’s response, so they sued. The trial court ruled in favor of the City, finding that the City “more than substantially complied” and based on the volume of requests, “it was practically impossible for the City to strictly comply” with the request.

The appellate court reversed, holding that the PRA requires strict compliance. It also held that an agency’s good-faith effort is only relevant to the amount of any penalties. The time limitations was in direct violation of the statute. Thus, the appellate court reversed and remanded to the trial court to determine the extent of the City’s violations of the PRA.

The appellate court’s ruling that the PRA requires strict compliance is based on well-established case law. But the burden of the Zinks’ voluminous requests is undeniable. So what can a small agency do to ensure it strictly complies with the PRA without interfering with its essential functions? Here are seven simple steps an agency can take to stay out of trouble.

08-28-2007

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