Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP

Jones and Salzman named "Up & Coming Lawyers
Blackwell Sanders Partners Kimberly Jones and Kirstin Pace Salzman were named as two of Missouri’s “rising stars” and were recognized in recent issue of Missouri Lawyers Weekly. The 10th annual “Up and Coming Lawyers” issue honored 35 Missouri attorneys.

There were a record number of nominations this year, which a selection committee read through in search of those attorneys who “do something extra to distinguish them as rising bar members.” Each honoree shows exemplary dedication to the practice of law and a commitment to making their communities better places to live.

Kim Jones has become an authority on class and collective actions; her successful national practice has led her to spend substantial time in California in recent years. She has been successful where California attorneys have found defending these actions to be difficult. In addition to her successful defense of companies, she is also a superb trainer, proactively working with clients to show them how to follow the law and reduce or eliminate the risks associated with lawsuits and trials. Kim’s commitment to fairness extends beyond her representation of clients. Kim is the chair of Blackwell Sanders’ Diversity Committee. Kim is a board member of The Central Exchange, Kansas City's premier organization providing leadership development opportunities for women. Kim also sits on the Steering Committee of the Human Rights Campaign of Kansas City.

Kirstin Salzman has distinguished herself as a leading transactional and securities attorney and has earned the respect and admiration of clients and adverse parties alike. Her breadth and depth of securities and public companies experience is a unique asset for someone her age. Kirstin counts among her clients YRC Worldwide, NovaStar Financial and Tortoise Capital Advisors. In her work for Tortoise, Kirstin has worked on several registration statements to register the offering of hundreds of millions of dollars of securities. Kirstin also regularly gives legal guidance on compliance issues to public companies, and she advises the independent members of the board of directors of the UMB Scout funds. In her transaction experience, Kirstin has impressed both sides of the table. In one instance, she represented the seller in the sale of a business. At the end of the transaction, the buyer praised Kirstin’s skills and asked to work with her in the future. She had the opportunity to represent that buyer last year. After the transaction, the representative of that buyer sent an unsolicited email to firm leadership, praising Kirstin’s skills.

Both Kim & Kirstin helped to found True North, Blackwell Sanders’ Women’s Initiative. True North helps Blackwell Sanders’ female attorneys form stronger relationships and participate in leadership development activities with each other and with their female clients.

08-27-2007

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Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP

Leading Commercial Litigator Joins Morgan Lewis in Boston
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP is pleased to announce that Todd Shepherd Holbrook has joined the firm as a partner in its Litigation Practice, resident in the Boston office. Admitted to practice in Maine, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island, Mr. Holbrook is well-respected for his efforts on behalf of Fortune 500 companies, such as Owens-Illinois and Honeywell International, in the areas of toxic torts, products liability, and intellectual property litigation.

"Todd's stature, experience, and New England ties add to the national reach of a team that is already unique for its size, depth of bench strength, and range of industry expertise," said James D. Pagliaro, head of Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice. "We are delighted to have Todd join us in Boston, where he will help us forge new client relationships and expand on existing ones."

In the 2007 edition of Chambers USA, Mr. Holbrook was named as one of the leading U.S. lawyers for commercial litigation, based on the views of clients, peers, and other industry professionals. Chambers notes that Mr. Holbrook is "energetic and responsive and takes an active role in cases."

Morgan Lewis's Litigation Practice consists of a 700-litigator contingent across 18 offices whose creativity, sophistication, and cross-practice capabilities have resulted in a mounting number of calls from Fortune 100 firms. Mr. Holbrook's practice will focus on providing litigation services nationally to a range of businesses and individuals in patent, trademark, trade dress, trade secret, copyright, toxic tort, and general contract litigation. Specifically, he will manage the firm's efforts on behalf of Tyco and serve as an experienced, trial-ready litigator in the New England area.

Prior to joining Morgan Lewis, Mr. Holbrook was a partner of a Northern New England law firm, having previously served as a law clerk to Chief Justice Daniel E. Wathen of the Maine Supreme Court. He is a past co-chair of the Trademark Litigation Subcommittee of the American Bar Association's Litigation Section and is co-editor of the forthcoming ABA Model Jury Instructions Manual for Copyright, Trademark and Trade Dress Cases.

08-27-2007

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Jenner & Block LLP

California Court Strikes Down Act Prohibiting Sale of Violent Video Games as Unconstitutional
In another victory for Jenner & Block’s video game industry clients, a California district court granted the Firm’s motion for summary judgment against the enforcement of a California law that would have required violent video games to be labeled as “violent” and would have prohibited the rental or sale of those games to minors. The court found the law to be an unconstitutional violation of the video game makers’ and retailers’ freedom of speech.

Enforcement of the law would have restricted the sale or rental to anyone under the age of 18 of computer and video games that were classified as "violent video games" if the depictions of violence in the games were “offensive to the community” or if the violence depicted were committed in an "especially heinous, cruel, or depraved" manner.

In its motion for summary judgment, the Firm argued that the law was unconstitutional and asserted that video games are a form of expression protected by the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. In addition, Jenner & Block argued that the law’s definition of "violent video game" is unconstitutionally vague, and the labeling provisions of the law run afoul of the First Amendment.

In his decision, Judge Ronald Whyte of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California stated that “courts that have found similar laws unconstitutional have had before them much of the same evidence that is presently offered by the State” and “no court has been satisfied that a sufficient causal link has been established between the playing of violent video games and the physical and psychological well-being of children.”

In December 2005, the Firm was successful in securing a preliminary injunction of the law from the same court. Judge Whyte ruled that the law did not satisfy the strict scrutiny test for content-based regulations.

Since March 2006, Jenner & Block has successfully challenged similar laws on constitutional grounds in Oklahoma, Minnesota, Louisiana, and Michigan. The Firm’s team also persuaded a court in Illinois in 2005 to strike down analogous laws, and successfully challenged laws in Washington State and St. Louis in 2003.

Partners Paul M. Smith, Katherine A. Fallow, and Associate Amy L. Tenney challenged the laws on behalf of the Entertainment Software Association and the Video Software Dealers Association.

08-27-2007

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Holland & Knight, L.L.P.

Holland & Knight Partner Tommy Boroughs Appointed to Governor Crist's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change
Tommy Boroughs, a partner in the Orlando office of Holland & Knight and chair of the Florida Energy Commission, has been appointed by Governor Charlie Crist to the Florida Governor's Action Team on Energy and Climate Change.

The team, which consists of 21 members appointed by the Governor, is charged with developing Florida’s Energy and Climate Change Action Plan. The team will develop a comprehensive strategy to achieve targets for statewide greenhouse gas reductions, including policy recommendations and changes to existing law.

Boroughs, who co-chairs the firm's Florida Land Use Team, focuses his practice on the areas of zoning and land use regulatory matters together with real estate acquisition and sales. In addition to his experience in zoning and land use, he also has extensive experience in transactional aspects of real estate, including purchase and sale negotiations, structuring and financing of complex commercial real estate transactions.

08-27-2007

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Edwards & Angell, L.L.P.

High School Students Spend Summer Vacation at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge
The global law firm of Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP hired two students from Hartford’s Weaver High School to do research for them this summer. Students, Kimberly Flynn and Annmarie Clark worked full time in the firm’s Hartford office following their high school graduation. The two spent their days going through the firm’s Insurance & Reinsurance Department mailing list, carefully researching each entry to be certain that they were current and accurate.

“We feel that it is important to give back to the city. We were looking for bright, eager young adults willing to work on projects for us throughout the summer and wanted to explore the opportunities that Weaver High School had to offer,” said Alan Levin, Chair of the Insurance & Reinsurance Department and member of the firm’s Executive Committee. “Kimberly and Annmarie did a great job this summer and we were proud to have them on our team!”

Annmarie Clarke and Kimberly Flynn wrapped up their work at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge on August 22 to prepare for their first years at college. Ms. Flynn is attending Rhode Island College and Ms. Clarke will be attending Eastern Connecticut State University. The firm presented each with laptops and a fond farewell after a summer of hard work.

08-27-2007

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Adams & Reese LLP

Adams and Reese receives "Equal Access Star" for pro bono work in Houston
The Houston Bar Association and its Volunteer Lawyers Program selected Adams and Reese as its “Equal Access Star” for September. The HBA will highlight Adams and Reese lawyers in its upcoming HBA Bulletin for their commitment to pro bono legal representation in the Houston metropolitan area.

Each month, the HBA and the Houston Volunteer Lawyers Program select a law firm as an “Equal Access Star.” The designation is based on outstanding pro bono legal contributions and other work in the community, said Tara Shockley, editor the Houston Bar Bulletin.

Adams and Reese’s Houston office has handled 20 pro bono legal matters this year, ranging from family disputes, such as divorces and child custody battles, to family wills and also guardianships for mentally handicapped and disabled adults.

The work of the Houston office reflects Adams and Reese’s overall commitment to pro bono legal service. Similar pro bono initiatives have been implemented throughout the firm’s 10 offices as the result of the firm’s first formal requirement, mandating each of its nearly 300 attorneys perform at least 10 hours of pro bono legal service for their respective communities.

By year’s end, Adams and Reese attorneys will have logged more than 5,000 total pro bono hours, and to build on this success, Adams and Reese has already increased the pro bono minimum for next year to 20 hours per attorney.

“We are proud of this recognition. While 20 to 25 hours of our time may appear a relatively minor economic value to us, it can make a world of a difference to people in need of high quality legal help,” said Alex Cosculluela, Adams and Reese partner who leads the pro bono efforts in the Houston office.

Robyn Hill, an Adams and Reese attorney in the Houston office, worked more than 100 hours on a Houston divorce and child custody dispute. Hill represented a mother of two young children seeking the children’s sole custody. The mother worried the children’s father would abduct the children and flee to his native Bahrain in the Persian Gulf. The children’s father, on the other hand, also sought sole custody, alleging the mother’s mental and financial instability, concerns also raised by the children’s maternal grandmother.

Hill secured a favorable result through which the divorced parents share custody of the children on an equal basis while the mother enjoys exclusive custody of the children’s passports.

“Apart from the emotional rewards of representing a family truly in need, this was definitely the most interesting case I ever handled,” Hill said.

Cosculluela said the average pro bono family disputes take between 20 to 25 hours of legal work, while about 10 to 15 hours are spent on will cases.

Houston’s upcoming pro bono legal efforts include participating in the HBA’s Volunteer Legal Line Program September 19, where attorneys staff phones for three hours to answer questions for anybody in need of legal help.

“The Houston business community has been very welcoming to Adams and Reese and that has resulted in our firm’s success. In turn, we are compelled to give back to the community, and one of the ways we can do so most effectively is to represent people truly in need of legal services,” Cosculluela said.

08-27-2007

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Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP

Patent Rule Limits Applications, Impacting Device Makers’ Filing Strategies
A highly anticipated final rule from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office puts new limits on the number of applications a company can file for any single invention, potentially requiring changes in device manufacturers’ patent strategies. Published August 21 in the Federal Register, the rule focuses on reducing the number of “continuing applications” that may be filed with the PTO. Continuing applications currently are unlimited and allow applicants over time to add new claims to an original “parent application.”

Les Bookoff of Finnegan Henderson comments, “Practically speaking, you may have a finite number of cases in which to prosecute your inventions.” The term “patent protection” refers to the interaction between patent applicants and the PTO. However, “the medical device community may rely more on continuing applications than other industries,” Bookoff noted, in large part because lengthy research and development activities and clinical trials cause the commercial product to lag behind the invention’s initial filing. Patent attorneys will be “studying these rules very carefully” and will begin setting new patent prosecution strategies, he said.

While Bookoff said it is premature to predict the impact of the rule on patent protections, he maintained that it will increase the need for companies to properly prepare a prosecution strategy for each case and may require more resources per application.

08-27-2007

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