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Barnes & Thornburg LLP

Former Special Counsel to Indiana Gov. Daniels Re-joins Barnes & Thornburg LLP
Jason Barclay, former special counsel and policy director to Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels, re-joined the Litigation Department at Barnes & Thornburg LLP today, where he will practice in the firm's White Collar Crime Practice Group. The group is chaired by Larry Mackey, a former federal prosecutor, who successfully prosecuted the U.S. government’s cases against Oklahoma City bombing conspirators Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.

“It is an honor to be asked to join a respected white collar crime practice and a fine group of former prosecutors and government attorneys,"" Barclay said. “I take great pride in serving this Governor and being part of the administration that began Indiana’s comeback. I will bring that spirit of public service to the practice of law.”

Barclay will represent clients in complex criminal investigations in both state and federal courts. While in the Governor’s office, Barclay was the author of legislation that created the Office of the Inspector General and strengthened the state’s ethics and public integrity laws. He also advised the governor on public safety, homeland security and gaming matters. In 2005, Barclay negotiated a constitutional rights settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of the State of Indiana.

""We are pleased that Jason has chosen to return to Barnes & Thornburg to practice in this expanding area of white collar crime law,"" said Alan A. Levin, Barnes & Thornburg LLP. ""The wealth of experience he brings from his time in public service will no doubt serve him well as he represents firm clients on various matters.""

Barclay will continue to chair the Board of Trustees of the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute on behalf of the Governor and serve as the Governor’s designee on the Board of Directors of the Indiana Sports Corporation.

07-24-2006

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Dinsmore & Shohl LLP

Kenneth N. Dickens Joins Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Dinsmore & Shohl LLP has hired associate Kenneth N. Dickens to practice in the Litigation Department for the Charleston office. Dickens' practice will focus on Coal Mine Health and Safety law.

Dickens received his J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law (1997), his M.A. from Empire State College/State College of New York Saratoga Springs (1991) and his B.A. from the West Virginia Institute of Technology (1987). Prior to joining Dinsmore & Shohl he was the Administrator at the State of West Virginia Board of Coal Mine Health & Safety.

07-24-2006

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Bracewell & Patterson, L.L.P.

Bracewell & Giuliani Attorney Assumes Presidency of Argentine Energy Business Group, IAPGH
José Luis Vittor, an international attorney in the Houston office of Bracewell & Guliani LLP, has taken office as president of the Instituto Argentino del Petroleo y del Gas, Houston (IAPGH).

IAPGH is an independent non-profit business development organization comprised of multinational energy companies. Its mission is to provide a forum for the exchange and dissemination of technological, scientific and environmental innovations impacting the industry and facilitating the understanding of the Argentinean energy business environment, as well as its regulatory framework. Among the members are representatives of companies such as Repsol YPF, Shell, BP America, ChevronTexaco and Conoco Phillips.

Vittor, whose legal expertise assisted in privatizing the oil and gas industry in Argentina, served IAPGH, during the past year as a member of the board and president-elect. During this time the IAPGH succeeded in bringing the governor of the Argentinean Río Negro Province to Houston--in conjunction with the Greater Houston Partnership—to discuss exploration opportunities in the Río Negro region with IAPGH and Houston business community members.

As president, Vittor’s leadership goals include strengthening IAPGH’s relationship with its sister organization in Argentina and local counterparts of international energy organizations; promoting education and raising funds for Argentinean student scholarships at U.S. universities; and creating an open forum for the Latin American oil and gas industry to discuss issues and current challenges. To achieve the latter, Vittor plans to expand the forum in Houston for all Latin American oil and gas institutes.

“Houston is the recognized energy center of the world, so it's very important for regulators, government officials and industry community leaders here to foster relationships and understand the status of Latin America’s industry,” said Vittor. “I look forward to providing the grounds for an open dialogue with industry representatives from Latin America's private and public sector.

A native of Argentina who leads Bracewell's Latin American Business Practice, Vittor is a 15-year legal veteran. His international legal work focuses on commercial and corporate transactions, privatizations, project development and finance in Latin America, the United States, Europe and Asia. He has served as legal advisor to numerous energy companies on regulatory and privatization aspects in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Uruguay, Peru, Venezuela and Mexico.

Among his groundbreaking Latin American work, Vittor has represented investor George Soros in his company's investments in Argentina, Brazil and Venezuela; Mexican oil giant Pemex; Chile's largest oil and gas company ENAP, and other international energy companies in the areas of LNG, renewable energy and project development and finance.

07-24-2006

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Foley & Lardner

Through National Nonprofit, Foley Partner Promotes Diversity
The first thing Foley & Lardner partner Teveia R. Barnes did before sitting down to be interviewed by Ramona Polk was present the teenager with a business card because, Barnes said, ""that's what lawyers do.""

""You turn it around so that your name faces the person you're giving it to,"" she instructed. ""And you always look them in the eye.""

This was the preamble to a question-and-answer period between Barnes and 13-year-old Polk who, along with other soon-to-be high school students from Marin City, are exploring myriad jobs held by African-Americans in their community.

Barnes, a partner in Foley's finance and financial institutions practice in San Francisco, is founder, president and executive director of Lawyers for One America. The 5-year-old organization is a national nonprofit based in San Rafael that promotes diversity in the legal community, serves the working poor and counsels other nonprofits in business matters.

As part of a summer project for the Marin City Network, four African-American students - all of whom will be freshmen in the Marin high schools this fall - visited Barnes's headquarters Tuesday to interview her and her sister, Deputy Executive Director Bonita F. Barnes.

The Marin City Network, one of Lawyers for One America's pro bono clients, conducts afterschool programs and provides career development and support services to middle-school students and their families.

The students embarked on their career exploration Tuesday, and a facet of the project entails collecting footage for a documentary they're producing with the help of a professional videographer.

""Where were you when you were our age, and how did you get from there to where you are today?"" Polk asked, while 14-year-old Robert Burton manned the video camera.

""I knew pretty early that I wanted to be a lawyer,"" Barnes said. ""Teachers told me I should be a secretary, which is a fine profession, but you don't get to talk as much.""

Barnes recalled how she was considered the ""nerdy kid with thick glasses"" who was sought out by others to settle their disputes. Growing up, there were very few female attorneys and people of color in the legal community, she said. But she entered New York University School of Law where 50 percent of the class was women, ""which was rare for that time.""

Daaimah Brown, 13, and Willie Smith, 14, looked on and prepared for their interview with Bonita Barnes.

After the interview, Polk said she was interested in a legal career because she wanted to help innocent people.

""I don't want to see kids grow up without their dad,"" said Polk, who will enter Larkspur's Redwood High School in September. ""I want to help people get back their normal life.""

Teveia Barnes heads the organization's diversity center, which aims to diversify all sectors of the legal community at all levels. On several occasions, she's given talks about the profession to curious students at middle and high schools in Marin City, an unincorporated area of Marin County.

According to the 2000 U.S. Census, Marin City is nearly 40 percent African-American compared with just 3 percent in the rest of the county.

""Generally the students are interested in how much money we make more than anything else,"" Barnes said. ""But we try to present the whole gamut.""

Lawyers for One America was created following President Clinton's summons of hundreds of the nation's leading attorneys to the White House in 1999. In order to fight poverty and discrimination, Clinton challenged attorneys to increase pro bono legal services, mentor minority law students and assist inner-city businesses and entrepreneurs.

According to the organization's mission statement, it has aimed to ""promote greater racial and ethnic diversity in the legal profession nationwide, so that our law schools, judicial systems and lawyers more accurately reflect the communities they serve.""

""The point was not to duplicate what was already being offered by Legal Aid or the Volunteer Legal Service program, but to answer the needy who were not being served,"" Barnes said. ""And there's a lot of them.""

Barnes served as an associate general counsel and senior vice president at Bank of America before joining Foley and was active in the bank's diversity programs. Following tenure as executive director of the San Francisco Bar Association from 2001-2003, where she worked closely with the Homeless Advocacy Project in the city's Mission District, Barnes added pro bono work to her diversity advocacy activities.

""When I left the bar, I really wanted to work with the working poor,"" Barnes said. ""These are people who work for just a little money.""

Barnes uses her legal acumen to provide civil legal counseling to individuals and general commercial and business education to microbusinesses and other nonprofit groups, including Performing Stars, the Helen Vine Detox Center and Women Helping All Women. Her husband Alan R. Sankin, vice president of international tax at Oracle Corp., provides tax counseling.

Benjamin R. Stewart is a staff consultant to the Marin City Community Land Corp., a private nonprofit that owns land parcels in Marin City.

Stewart said Lawyers for One America, in conjunction with Foley attorneys, recently provided the equivalent of more than $43,000 in pro bono work to Land Corp. in a lawsuit filed by the California Housing Finance Agency.

Land Corp. leased a parcel totaling six acres to a developer. The 200-plus low-income housing complex contained multi-million dollar defects. During an ongoing dispute between Loan Corp. and the developer, the land went into to default. The California Housing Finance Agency sued for foreclosure and receivership of the land.

""The [pro bono attorneys] gave us the direction to reach our major objective,"" Stewart said. ""We were treated as if we were a top-paying client.""

Eight months of litigation ended last month, resulting in Land Corp. maintaining the multimillion-dollar property and ensured the proceeds of the judgment went directly to correcting the construction defects that led to the suit.

""Foley is very supportive and committed to pro bono,"" Barnes said. ""There are several lawyers there who contribute to LFOA regularly as well as our summer associates.""

Barnes named Morrison & Foerster; Hanson, Bridgett, Marcus, Vlahos & Rudy; Farella Braun + Martel and other firms as supportive of Lawyer's for One America's activities.

""I feel like I'm doing what lawyers are supposed to do,"" Barnes said. ""At Foley, I have a sophisticated financial practice that keeps me stimulated. The Foley side is where my mind is and LFOA is where my heart is, so my head and my heart are in sync.

07-24-2006

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Cozen O' Connor

Victoria L. Zellers Joins Cozen O’Cconnor Philadelphia Office as Associate
Victoria L. Zellers recently joined Cozen O'Connor’s Philadelphia office as an associate in the labor and employment law practice group. Prior to joining the firm, Zellers was an associate with Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling, PC in Philadelphia.

Zellers represents and counsels management clients in all areas of labor and employment matters. She has significant federal and state court litigation experience representing both private and public employers under Title VII, the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, the Family and Medical Leave Act, the Pennsylvania Human Relation Act, the New Jersey Law Against Discrimination Act, and various other employment-related claims. Zellers has also successfully represented employers in obtaining injunctions in covenant not to compete cases.

Zellers’ practice also includes litigation under the Fair Labor Standards Act and the Railway Labor Act. She also represents management in labor arbitrations in a variety of administrative matters before various federal and state agencies. Zellers is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. She is a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association and the Temple Law Alumni Association.

Zellers earned her undergraduate degree from James Madison University (B.A., magna cum laude, 1996), and her law degree from Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law (J.D., cum laude, 2000), where she was a member of the International and Comparative Law Journal. She also received the Stewart P. Keeling Award for receiving the highest GPA in her graduating class for the third year of law school. Zellers served as a law clerk to the Hon. Ronald J. Freeman, J.S.C., Superior Court of New Jersey Family Division.

07-24-2006

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Sughrue Mion PLLC

SUGHRUE FULL OF LEADING TRADEMARK PRACTITIONERS
Sughrue Mion’s senior trademark lawyers all named in Managing Intellectual Property’s 2006 edition of “The Legal Media Group Guide to the World’s Leading Trade Mark Law Practitioners.” Based on the independent votes of their peers and users of trademark law services, Cindy Weber, Gary Krugman, Kevin Smith, Jody Drake and Mack Webner were identified as internationally recognized leading practitioners. The recipients were unanimous in agreeing that their recognition is a salute to the quality of Sughrue’s Trademark Group and acknowledged with appreciation the votes of their clients and colleagues.

07-24-2006

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Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co., LPA

SZD Welcomes Ellinger to Labor and Employment Practice
Schottenstein Zox & Dunn Co., LPA is pleased to announce the addition of Eve M. Ellinger as Associate to its Labor and Employment Practice Area.

Ellinger began her legal career as a staff attorney for the Honorable Dale A. Crawford (retired), of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2003, she entered private practice as a litigation associate with a local Columbus law firm.

Honored as an Ohio Super Lawyer Rising Star in 2005 and 2006, Ellinger is an active member of the national, state and local bar associations and serves the Central Ohio community through her involvement with the Junior League of Columbus, the United Way Young Leadership Group and the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Franklin County. She also serves as a Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Team in Training Mentor, Broadleigh Elementary School Volunteer and serves on the Columbus Pi Beta Phi Alumnae Club Executive Committee.

Ellinger received her undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University, Magna Cum Laude in 1998, and her law degree from Capital University Law School, Cum Laude in 2001.

07-24-2006

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