Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Chadbourne Represented WestLB in $140 Million Ethanol Plant Financing
Chadbourne & Parke LLP represented WestLB AG, New York Branch, in a $140 million financing for Illinois River Energy LLC's expansion of an ethanol plant near Chicago.

The deal closed on July 24 with WestLB acting as administrative agent and as lead arranger, sole bookrunner and syndication agent. Chadbourne also represented Amarillo National Bank, which served as collateral agent and accounts bank in the deal.

The deal finances an expansion of an existing ethanol plant in Rochelle, Ill., and refinances existing debt for the original construction of the facility. The senior debt financing was roughly 1.5 times oversubscribed by a mix of traditional project finance banks, U.S.-based agricultural lenders, regional banks and institutional lenders.

The credit includes a $130 million construction and term loan facility and a $10 million revolver loan. Illinois River is looking to double its output at the plant to 100 million gallons of ethanol a year. The existing plant started operations in December 2006.

Working for Chadbourne on the deal were DC office partner Rohit Chaudhry and associates Mary Beth Steele and Gregory Schelbe on project finance matters, as well as DC partner Andrew Giaccia and associate Sue Cowell on environmental issues, New York counsel Tom Charbonneau and associates Stephanie Chaice and Jennifer Roselius on real estate matters, and partner David Schumacher on gas supply and transportation issues. DC partner Noam Ayali also worked on the deal, representing Amarillo National Bank.

07-31-2007

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Blank Rome LLP.

Peter Kelsen Appointed Member of the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission
Blank Rome partner Peter Foster Kelsen has been appointed as a member of the Philadelphia Zoning Code Commission, in recognition of his outstanding reputation and contributions in the field of tax law. Nominated by Councilwoman Joan Krajewski, Mr. Kelsen will be in charge of re-writing the Philadelphia Zoning Code, as authorized in a referendum passed in the May primary. He will also be involved in reviewing all legislation concerning zoning map changes and zoning code amendments, as well as making recommendations on adjustment applications for the City of Philadelphia.

At Blank Rome, Mr. Kelsen concentrates his practice in the area of land use and real estate development, serving as counsel to a wide range of clients, including developers, owners, financial institutions, and municipal agencies in a variety of industries. Mr. Kelsen advises his clients in the areas of zoning and land-use law, real estate tax assessment/exemption litigation, commercial development, and condemnation.

Mr. Kelsen is a frequent lecturer on current trends in the practice of land-use law and presents on a wide variety of topics, including real estate development, eminent domain, zoning law, real estate tax assessment, and taxes affecting real estate. Mr. Kelsen also serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish National Fund of the Pennsylvania/New Jersey region, is a member of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Building Industry Association, and serves as campaign chair for Akiba Hebrew Academy’s $10 million capital campaign.

Admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, Mr. Kelsen received his law degree from Case Western Reserve University School of Law, and his bachelor of arts from the University of Pennsylvania.

07-31-2007

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Adams & Reese LLP

Adams and Reese, Louisiana Appleseed, ConocoPhillips receive “Innovator of the Year� award for exclusive pro bono partnership
Adams and Reese, Louisiana Appleseed and ConocoPhillips, have been selected by New Orleans CityBusiness among their “Innovator of the Year� honorees, for partnership efforts to advance and promote the pro bono services of Louisiana Appleseed.

Each year, New Orleans CityBusiness honors companies who have introduced an innovative service or product in the marketplace. Louisiana Appleseed will be recognized at a special awards luncheon on September 7, 2007, at the downtown New Orleans Sheraton Hotel, and they will also be featured in the sixth annual New Orleans CityBusiness “Innovator of the Year� special section on September 10, 2007.

Louisiana Appleseed is a chapter of National Appleseed, a network of public interest law centers in the U.S. and Mexico dedicated to building a just society through legal, legislative and institutional structural reform. Louisiana Appleseed asks top private practice lawyers, corporate counsel, law schools, civic leaders and other professionals to commit pro bono time to address problems at their root causes, producing practical, systemic solutions to effect change.

In January, National Appleseed entered into an agreement with Adams and Reese to provide one of its partners, Christy Kane, as the ConocoPhillips/Adams and Reese Fellow. Kane’s full-time role is to manage and direct Louisiana Appleseed. Adams and Reese Partner Martin Stern was also recently elected to the National Board of Directors of Appleseed.

“Appleseed Centers have the expertise, the flexibility and the independence to listen to unheard voices, uncover injustices and win the battles no one else fights,� Kane said. “Its Centers work both independently and collectively, bringing their own experiences to create local solutions that are nationally relevant.�

To date, Louisiana Appleseed has enlisted more than two dozen volunteer attorneys across the state to work on projects such as writing mental health and child custody handbooks, resolving title-clearing issues for Road Home applicants and bridging the gap between low-income communities and mainstream banks and financial institutions.

With a growing population of Hispanics in Post-Katrina New Orleans, Louisiana Appleseed, in partnership with the Urban League, Catholic Charities/Hispanic Apostolate and Puentes New Orleans, is educating members of underserved communities about how to access financial services, while at the same time conducting a survey of local banks to determine what products and services are already offered to low-income community members. With support from the LSU AgCenter, Louisiana Appleseed also hopes to work with Puentes New Orleans on financial literacy classes geared toward the Hispanic community, providing training and materials in Spanish.

Louisiana Appleseed’s legal efforts are backed by Adams and Reese’s decision to be at the forefront of pro bono community service by requiring all of its nearly 300 attorneys to do at least 10 hours of pro bono service this year. The firm projects more than 5,000 hours of pro bono work this year and has already increased the pro bono minimum for next year to 20 hours per attorney.

“We believe it is every attorney’s ethical obligation to perform pro bono work and, in support of our affiliation with Appleseed, we have made these hours obligatory,� said Adams and Reese Managing Partner Charles (“Chuck) P. Adams. “Community service is part of being an Adams and Reese attorney; it’s a core component of our corporate culture.�

07-31-2007

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Tyler Cooper & Alcorn, LLP

New Addition To Family Law Practice
Laura S. Mitler has joined Tyler Cooper as a partner in the firm’s New Haven office. She will concentrate her practice in the area of Family Law.

Before coming to Tyler Cooper, Laura had been in solo practice, focusing on Family Law matters including marriage dissolutions, custody, alimony and asset distribution. At Tyler Cooper, she joins attorney James R. Greenfield in the Family Law group.

Laura is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University and Western New England College School of Law. She is a member of the Connecticut, New Haven County, and West Haven bar associations. She was recently elected President of the West Haven Bar Association after serving as Secretary and Treasurer for many years.

Laura was awarded the University of Connecticut Certificate of Mediation in 2000 and has served for the past four years as an arbitrator for the Connecticut Better Business Bureau. In addition, she has served as a Special Master for Family Matters in the Milford and New Haven Superior Courts, assisting attorneys and litigants in the resolution of complex issues regarding marriage dissolution.

A resident of Woodbridge, Laura has served as a member of the town’s Commission on the Use of Publicly Owned Property and has been a Justice of the Peace since 1999.

07-31-2007

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Smith, Sovik, Kendrick & Sugnet, P.C.

Kevin E. Hulslander, Esq., Obtains Defense Verdict in Medical Malpractice Trial in Tompkins County
Kevin E. Hulslander, Esq., secured a defense verdict in a medical malpractice trial in Ithaca (Tompkins County). Kevin represented a neurosurgeon who performed a multilevel lumbar laminectomy and foraminotomy on the plaintiff. Plaintiff claimed that his condition severely worsened after the surgery. Plaintiff also claimed that the surgery was unnecessary, should have been performed without a fusion and that the neurosurgeon performed the procedure without informed consent. The jury rejected plaintiff's claims and returned a defense verdict after two and a half hours of deliberation.

07-31-2007

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Smith, Sovik, Kendrick & Sugnet, P.C.

Defense Verdict for Michael P. Ringwood, Esq., in Onondaga County
Michael P. Ringwood, Esq., represented a local OB/GYN in a medical malpractice case venued in Supreme Court, Onondaga County. Hon. Donald Greenwood presided over the trial, which focused on plaintiff's claim that the OB/GYN perforated plaintiff's uterus during a laparascopic endometrial resection procedure in 2002. Mike defended the case, with the help of the OB/GYN and medical experts, arguing that there was no evidence of a through perforation nor was there a deviation in the standard of care. The jury agreed and found in favor of the OB/GYN.

07-31-2007

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Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges, LLP

Fred Bennett Elected to the AAA Executive Committee
Fred Bennett, a senior partner at Quinn Emanuel’s Los Angeles office, was recently elected to the Executive Committee of the Board of Directors of the American Arbitration Association (AAA). Fred was also reelected to the AAA’s Board of Directors for another four-year term. Fred is a specialist in arbitration. He heads the firm’s International and Domestic Arbitration Practice, having over thirty years of experience as an advocate and arbitrator. He serves as an arbitrator on the AAA’s Large Complex Case Panel for commercial and construction disputes as well as the AAA’s International Panel. He is also an arbitrator for the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and a past member of the US National Committee for the ICC. Fred developed Quinn Emanuel’s mock in-house arbitration program, which provides clients with an opportunity to see their cases tested before a panel of experienced mock arbitrators. He is also a contributing editor to the Fourth Edition of Hunter and Redfern’s Law and Practice of International Commercial Arbitration, one of the world’s leading treatises on international arbitration.

07-31-2007

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