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MehaffyWeber, P.C.

Pat Chamblin - President Elect Jefferson County Bar Association for 2006
Pat Chamblin began practicing at MehaffyWeber in 1978 after her graduation from the University of Texas School of Law and became a Shareholder in the firm in 1982. Ms. Chamblin has been board certified in personal injury trial law since 1985. She is licensed to practice by the State Bar of Texas. She is licensed to practice in the Eastern, Southern and Western Districts of Texas, the Fifth Circuit and before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Ms. Chamblin was elected to the American Board of Trial Advocates. She is a member of the Texas Bar Foundation. She was named Outstanding Young Lawyer for Jefferson County in 1990. She is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association. She is a member of the Texas Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, the Texas Association of Defense Counsel and the Defense Research Institute. Ms. Chamblin has served on the Board as a Trustee of the Jefferson County Bar Association as a member of the District 3A Grievance Committee, as board member and officer of the Mediation Center of Southeast Texas, and as Director at Large of the TADC.

07-25-2006

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Bernstein Litowitz Berger & Grossmann LLP

New Jersey Law Journal selects BLB&G Partner J. Erik Sandstedt to its “40 under 40” List
The New Jersey Law Journal ("NJLJ") has selected BLB&G Partner J. Erik Sandstedt to its list of the top young attorneys - the NJLJ “40 under 40."

This list recognizes New Jersey lawyers born after August 1, 1966 who have built a significant record of achievement in a relatively short period of time, given the relatively brief duration of their practice. Over 120 lawyers were nominated for this honor, and forty were selected based on their unique practice niches, demonstrated leadership abilities, development of significant new business, and solid record of trial, appellate, and transactional success. Pro bono and other charitable activities were also taken into consideration.

The NJLJ recognized Mr. Sandstedt, who is 35 years of age, as a “seasoned criminal lawyer... [and] a premier securities litigator in New Jersey and more so on the national stage." Cited among his many accomplishments was his involvement as co-lead counsel in prosecuting the ground-breaking In re WorldCom Securities Litigation case and helping secure a $6.15 billion recovery for defrauded investors.

Mr. Sandstedt is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney from the District of New Jersey, and heads BLB&G’s New Jersey Office.

07-24-2006

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Ashurst LLP

Ashurst advised Electra Private Equity on the £98.25 million sale of Amtico
Ashurst advised Electra Private Equity on the sale of Amtico Holdings Limited to ABN Amro Capital. The transaction values Amtico at £98.25 million.

Amtico is a designer and manufacturer of flooring products which employs over 700 people in the UK, USA and Australia.

The Ashurst team was led by corporate partner David Carter with corporate associates Hanif Mohamed and Nick Goddard. Associates Tom Cartwright (tax), Jonathan Hoare (property), Terence Firman (property), Luke Ainger (competition), Stephen Ravenscroft (employment) and Fuat Sami (pensions) also advised.

07-24-2006

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Ashurst LLP

Ashurst advised Imperial College on a £50 million private placement
Ashurst advised Imperial College on a £50 million private placement, arranged by The Royal Bank of Scotland.

Imperial College in London is a science-based university, renowned internationally for the quality of its scientific research and teaching. The placement will help fund new student facilities and support the institution's future academic programmes.

The Ashurst team comprised international finance partner Gonzalo Fernandez with solicitor Paul Parker.

07-24-2006

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Ashurst LLP

Ashurst advises Camfil on the acquisition of Kaefer Raco from HTE
Ashurst Germany advised Camfil Holding GmbH on its acquisition of power plant engineering company Kaefer Raco Engineering GmbH from HTE Hochtemperatur Engineering GmbH for an undisclosed sum.

Camfil Holding based in Reinfeld, Schleswig-Holstein is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Camfil A.B., a Swedish manufacturer of special filters. The Wiesbaden-based HTE specialises in the manufacture of components for high temperature processes and is a portfolio company of Deutsche Beteiligungs AG.

Corporate partner Dr. Nikolaus von Jacobs and Dr. Matthias Wiedenfels of Ashurst's Frankfurt office advised Camfil on the deal.

HTE was advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer as well as in-house counsel Peter Stowasser.

07-24-2006

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Allen & Overy LLP

Combating IP infringements by newly proposed criminal law provisions by the EC
The European Commission has published a proposal for a directive to harmonize the criminal enforcement of IP infringements throughout the EU member states. The amended proposal comes a year after the commission’s first draft, and takes account of subsequent ECJ case law regarding the method of adoption for directives containing criminal sanctions.

On 2 May 2006, the Commission proposed a new directive aimed at harmonising the criminal enforcement of intellectual property (IP) infringements throughout the EU member states (the new Draft Directive).

The genesis of the proposal for this Draft Directive can be traced back to the Directive 2004/48/EC of 29 April 2004. That Directive harmonised many provisions concerning civil and administrative measures, procedures and remedies throughout the EU member states.

Unlike the original Commission proposal for a directive, the adopted version of Directive 2004/48/EC does not contain provisions on criminal sanctions. The criminal sanctions were dropped in favour of a speedy legislative process as it was feared that the then-impending enlargement of the EU in May 2004 might hamper the ability to obtain consensus on several matters, particularly as some of the new accession states had weak piracy and counterfeiting laws.

However, it was still felt that there was a need to harmonise the criminal enforcement of IP infringements. On 12 July 2005, the Commission introduced a proposal for a directive and a proposal for a Framework Decision designed to effect such harmonisation throughout the EU member states.

At the time of these proposals it was generally accepted that criminal provisions did not fall under the decision-making auspices of the first pillar (the supranational approach), but instead were covered by the third pillar (the intergovernmental approach). Therefore, it was considered that a separate Framework Decision setting out the specific penalties was needed.

All change: from third to first pillar

However, all this changed when, some months after these proposals, ie on 13 September 2005, the European Court of Justice's decision in Commission v. Council (case C-176/03) was issued. This case concerned a Framework Decision setting out criminal sanctions for certain environmental offences. The ECJ followed the reasoning of the Commission and stated that where ""effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties"" are an essential measure for combating serious environmental offences, these penalties may fall under the decision-making process of the first pillar.

Taking this decision to heart, on 24 November 2005 the Commission published a communication on the implications of the ECJ's decision, stating that it affected several of its pending proposals, including its proposals of 12 July 2005. Soon afterwards, the Commission retracted those proposals, replacing them on 2 May 2006 with an amended proposal for a directive. This amended Draft Directive will be fully subject to the co-decision procedure, meaning unanimity is no longer required for the adoption of this Draft Directive.

Substantively, this Draft Directive introduces criminal sanctions for infringements on IP rights that are (a) intentional and (b) occur on a commercial scale. The criminal sanctions apply not only to actual infringements, but also to attempts to infringe and the aiding or abetting and inciting of infringements.

New criminal sanctions proposed

The criminal sanctions introduced by this Draft Directive are as follows:

1.Provision for custodial sentences for natural persons. The Draft Directive does not generally specify a minimum sentence, but provides that the maximum custodial sentences must be at least 4 years' imprisonment (a) if the infringements occur under the auspices of a criminal organisation or (b) if the infringements pose a health or safety risk.

2.Provision for fines to be imposed both on natural and legal persons. The Draft Directive does not specify a minimum fine, but provides that the maximum fine must be at least EUR 100,000 in most cases and at least EUR 300,000 in the case of the two specific circumstances mentioned in 1 above.

3.Provision that the EU member states must provide for several other remedies in their national law, such as the confiscation of the object, instruments and products stemming from the infringements, the destruction of the infringing goods, a permanent or temporary ban on engaging in commercial activities, judicial winding-up and publication of judicial decisions.

The Draft Directive has already been subject to vehement criticism, not in the least because the adoption of the Draft Directive via the first pillar intergovernmental approach may result in some EU member states being forced to adopt a directive that they do not fully support.

The discussions in the coming months look set to be spirited.

07-24-2006

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McAfee & Taft A Professional Corporation

Robison Interviewed on Successful Defense of Former Executive on Violation of Federal Kickback and Securities Laws
Reid Robison, a veteran McAfee & Taft trial lawyer, was interviewed by The Dark Report about his successful defense of a former public laboratory company executive charged with participating in alleged criminal conspiracies to commit Medicare fraud and securities fraud.

Following a three-week trial in June 2006, a jury deliberated approximately seven hours before acquitting Robison’s client, along with two other co-defendants, on all counts of conspiring to provide kickbacks and commit securities fraud. The case of the three UroCor executives was significant in that it was believed to be the first criminal case to involve public laboratory company executives charged with federal kickback violations. It was also significant in that it defied the statistical odds against the defendants. According to Robison, 95% of all federal indictments are ultimately resolved by a plea bargain. Of the remaining 5% which go to trial, 75% of those defendants are convicted.

07-24-2006

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