Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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McGuireWoods LLP

McGuireWoods Lawyer Appointed Chair of Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association
Robert R. Niccolini, a partner in McGuireWoods’ Baltimore office, has been appointed Chair of the Labor and Employment Practice Group of the American Health Lawyers Association (AHLA). Niccolini has served for the last several years as Vice Chair of Publications for the practice group.

The AHLA is the nation’s largest, nonpartisan, educational organization devoted to legal issues in the healthcare field with more than 10,000 members. The association’s Labor and Employment Practice Group addresses issues of interest to employers in the healthcare and life science industries, including providers, facilities, payors, suppliers, and manufacturers. Among the issues on which the group focuses are healthcare employment law, employment discrimination, immigration, union-management disputes and legal matters, NLRB law, alternative dispute resolution in labor and employment, OSHA enforcement, workers' compensation and other labor and employment matters.

Niccolini, a partner in McGuireWoods’ Labor and Employment Department, represents management in employment litigation and traditional labor disputes, with special experience in the technology and telecommunications, government contracting and health care industries. His practice includes all facets of employment discrimination, sexual harassment, wage and hour, ADA, FMLA, ERISA and employment torts, as well as labor arbitration, union campaigns and unfair labor practice proceedings. He has represented employers in state and federal court throughout the country, as well as before numerous government agencies.

He is a frequent speaker on issues relating to labor and employment law and has published articles in periodicals of the American Bar Association, the Maryland Bar Association and the American Health Lawyers Association, among others.

07-26-2007

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Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

State Court Dismissal Leads To Resolution Of Going Private Litigation Against TXU Corp.
The landmark dismissal of the state court class action litigation related to the TXU Corp. going private transaction-the largest transaction of its kind in U.S. history--has now led to a global settlement of all of the merger related litigation.

AustinLed by Fulbright's securities litigation team consisting of Gerry Pecht, Richard Krumholz and Peter Stokes, who worked closely with TXU Corp.'s General Counsel David Poole and Vice President of Litigation John Stewart, TXU and its directors filed a motion to dismiss that Dallas County District Judge Carlos Cortez granted in the consolidated state court class action litigation, dismissing the case with prejudice.

Shortly thereafter, the private equity firms which have agreed to purchase TXU announced a global settlement of the rest of the litigation arising from the merger. The settlement requires no payment by TXU or its directors, the parties represented by Fulbright. If approved by the applicable courts, the dismissals will clear a path for a shareholder vote on the transaction, and rid the Company and its directors of the distraction of the litigation without having to pay any money.

After the acquisition of TXU was announced on February 26, 2007, and despite requiring approval of two-thirds of the outstanding shares of TXU to close the deal, a small group of shareholders filed putative class actions and derivative lawsuits in Dallas County state court and in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, claiming that the transaction was unfair. The plaintiffs asserted claims against TXU's board of directors for alleged breach of fiduciary duty and also asserted aiding and abetting claims against the group of private equity firms (led by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Texas Pacific Group) which made the proposal to acquire TXU.

All of the state court class action cases were eventually consolidated into a single case pending before Judge Carlos Cortez in the 44th Judicial District Court of Dallas County, which was styled In re TXU Corp. Shareholder Litigation, Cause No. 07-01707. After consolidation, the Fulbright team filed a plea to the jurisdiction, special exceptions, and motion to dismiss the class action cases on behalf of TXU and its directors on the ground that claims by shareholders against directors based on their duties as directors must be asserted derivatively under Texas law. After extensive briefing and oral argument, Judge Cortez entered a final judgment, granting all of TXU's pleas and motions in their entirety and dismissing the class action case with prejudice.

The Fulbright securities litigation team was led by partners Gerry Pecht and Richard Krumholz and senior associate Peter Stokes.

07-26-2007

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Cozen O' Connor

Federal Court Strikes Down Discriminatory Anti-Immigrant Law in Hazleton, Pennsylvania
In the first trial decision of its kind, a federal court has declared unconstitutional a local ordinance that sought to punish landlords and employers for doing business with undocumented immigrants. Judge James M. Munley of the United States District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania today issued a 206 page opinion permanently enjoining enforcement of the Hazleton, Pennsylvania Illegal Immigration Relief Act.

The lawsuit was brought on behalf of Hazleton residents, landlords and business owners. Attorneys Thomas G. Wilkinson and Thomas B. Fiddler headed a team of Cozen O'Connor attorneys and paralegals in conjunction with the ACLU, Puerto Rican Legal Defense and Education Fund, Community Justice Project and other local lawyers, in this highly publicized case attacking the constitutionality of Hazleton's Illegal Immigration Relief Act and related anti-immigration ordinances. The legal team successfully argued that anti-immigrant laws like Hazleton’s are unconstitutional because they usurp federal immigration policy, fail to provide procedural protection to people before they are fired or evicted, and legitimize discrimination against anyone who looks or sounds foreign.

In addition to three non-profit organizations that serve the business and local community in Hazleton, several named plaintiffs and two unnamed minor children, the suit was also filed on behalf of Casa Dominicana of Hazleton, Inc., Hazleton Hispanic Business Association and the Pennsylvania Statewide Latino Coalition.

"The court's decision reaffirms the importance of the rule of law in the nation's immigration debate.� said Wilkinson. “The Constitution grants the federal government exclusive authority over immigration issues. Municipalities, such as Hazleton, cannot arrogate to themselves the power to regulate immigration while disregarding the effect that immigration decisions have on national and international issues. Nor can municipalities bypass Congress's complex immigration statutes, designed to protect the due process rights of immigrants. This important decision should refocus the immigration debate in Congress, where it belongs."

During the two-week trial, Hazleton officials claimed that undocumented immigrants are responsible for an increase in local crime. But evidence at trial rejected that claim and showed that over the last 30 years undocumented immigrants have had the lowest incarceration rate of young men of every ethnic group. A 2002 study shows that the rate of incarceration among native-born men was five times higher than that of foreign-born men.

In March of this year, the National Chamber Litigation Center (NCLC), a public policy law firm of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, joined co-counsel in urging the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania to strike down the ordinance. In its friend-of-the-court brief, NCLC argued that Hazleton's ordinance is unconstitutional because it ignores employers' due process rights and is preempted by federal law. In 1986, Congress enacted the Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) that provides a comprehensive plan prohibiting the employment of illegal immigrants in the United States. The Hazleton ordinance deviates from the federal uniform framework by punishing employers for unknowingly hiring illegal immigrants, rewriting federal work authorization verification rules, conflicting with federal antidiscrimination statutes.

07-26-2007

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White & Case, LLP

White & Case Advises on $1 Billion Sukuk
The Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, in association with White & Case LLP, advised ABC Islamic Bank E.C., Arab National Bank, Deutsche Bank, Gulf International Bank B.S.C, Dubai Islamic Bank PJSC, Kuwait Finance House (Malaysia) Berhard and Unicorn Investment Bank BSC as Joint Lead Managers and Underwriters in connection with Dar Al-Arkan Real Estate Development Company’s ("Dar Al-Arkan") $1 billion Sukuk issuance. The five-year Islamic bond, based on an Ijara structure, is the second Sukuk issued by Dar Al-Arkan in the space of six months. Dar Al-Arkan is one of the largest real estate developers in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

"We are seeing increasing demand for Shari'a-compliant investments and we expect to see rapid growth in Sukuk issuance over the next few years," commented White & Case partner Mohammed Al-Sheikh.

Partner Mohammed Al-Sheikh was lead counsel to the Joint Lead Managers and Underwriters, working with associate Harj Rai.

The Dar Al-Arkan transaction follows on from its $600 million Sukuk in March of this year, on which the Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, in association with White & Case LLP, also advised the Underwriters and Joint Lead Managers. Last year the Firm also advised Unicorn Investment Bank and Standard Bank in connection with the first true-sale securitisation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), in which Kingdom Installment Company LLC ("KIC"), a leading provider of housing finance in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, was the originator. The Sukuk was backed by $23 million of Ijara and Istisna contracts, providing an off-balance sheet alternative source of funding to KIC as well as a Shari'a-compliant, fixed-income investment product (akin to a mortgage-backed security) to GCC and the international capital markets.

07-26-2007

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

Private Equity Firm To Acquire Ryerson
Skadden is representing Ryerson Inc., a leading distributor of metals and plastics, in its approximately $2 billion going-private acquisition by Platinum Equity, LLC, a global private equity firm.

Ryerson's board of directors unanimously approved the merger agreement. The transaction is subject to the approval of Ryerson's stockholders and customary closing conditions and is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2007.

07-26-2007

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

GlobalSantaFe and Transocean to Merge
Skadden is representing GlobalSantaFe Corporation in its definitive agreement for a merger of equals with Transocean Inc. Both companies are among the world's largest offshore drilling contractors.

Based upon closing prices for each company's ordinary shares as of July 20, 2007, the estimated enterprise value of the combined company would be approximately $53 billion. The combined company, to be known as Transocean Inc., will retain principal offices in Houston and trade on the New York Stock Exchange.

07-26-2007

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Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

American Standard to Sell Bath and Kitchen Business
Skadden is representing American Standard Companies Inc. in its definitive agreement to sell its worldwide Bath and Kitchen products business to Bain Capital Partners, LLC, a leading global private investment firm, for approximately $1.8 billion. The deal was announced on July 23.

On February 1, 2007, American Standard announced plans to separate its three businesses by selling Bath and Kitchen, spinning off Vehicle Control Systems and retaining its largest business, Air Conditioning Systems and Services.

07-26-2007

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