Law Firm News

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Phelps Dunbar LLP

Phelps Dunbar Named Leading Law Firm by Chambers USA
Phelps Dunbar was again listed as a leading law firm in the nation, as well as in Louisiana, Mississippi and Florida, in the 2007 reference book, Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. The firm was ranked as a leading law firm in 12 categories, and 34 Phelps Dunbar attorneys were recognized as leading lawyers in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida and nationally. The book is published by Chambers and Partners, an independent research-based company that selects the top law firms and attorneys based on recommendations by clients and peers.

Phelps Dunbar received the #1 national ranking in the practice area Transportation: Shipping: Litigation (outside New York) for the third consecutive year. The following New Orleans partners in the firm's regional admiralty practice were recognized nationally as leaders in this area.

George M. Gilly
David B. Lawton
Hugh Ramsay Straub

In Louisiana, Phelps Dunbar was named a leading law firm in the following practice areas: Banking & Finance, Corporate/M&A, Energy & Natural Resources, Environment, Gaming & Licensing, Labor and Employment, Litigation: General Commercial, and Real Estate. The following Phelps Dunbar attorneys in Louisiana were named as leaders in their field.

Baton Rouge Office
Jeffrey M. Barbin: Gaming & Licensing
Susan W. Furr: Labor & Employment
Michael D. Hunt: Litigation: General Commercial
Thomas H. Kiggans: Labor & Employment
Steven J. Levine: Environment
Randy P. Roussel: Real Estate

New Orleans Office
M. Nan Alessandra: Labor & Employment
Brent B. Barriere: Corporate/M&A: Bankruptcy; and Litigation: General Commercial
Patrick J. Butler, Jr.: Corporate/M&A
Philip deV. Claverie, Sr.: Banking & Finance; Real Estate
Mark A. Fullmer: Corporate/M&A
Sessions Ault Hootsell, III: Corporate/M&A: Bankruptcy
Harry Rosenberg: Litigation: General Commercial; Litigation: White-Collar Crime & Government Investigations
James A. Stuckey: Banking & Finance
Brian D. Wallace: Gaming & Licensing
Alan C. Wolf: Energy & Natural Resources

In Mississippi, Phelps Dunbar was named a leading law firm in the following practice areas: Corporate/Commercial, Labor and Employment, and Litigation: General Commercial. The following Phelps Dunbar attorneys in Mississippi were named as leaders in their field.

Jackson Office
Joseph Lee Adams: Labor & Employment
Reuben V. Anderson: Litigation: General Commercial
Fred L. Banks, Jr.: Litigation: Appellate
Ross F. Bass, Jr.: Litigation: General Commercial
Gary E. Friedman: Labor & Employment
Jerome C. Hafter: Corporate/Commercial
E. Clifton Hodge, Jr.: Litigation: General Commercial
Dan M. McDaniel , Jr.: Corporate/Commercial: Gaming & Licensing
Luther T. Munford: Litigation: Appellate
James W. O’Mara: Corporate/Commercial: Bankruptcy
W. Thomas Siler, Jr.: Labor & Employment
Stephen M. Wilson: Corporate/Commercial

Tupelo Office
F.M. Bush, III: Corporate/Commercial

In Florida, the following Phelps Dunbar attorneys were named as leaders in their field.

Tampa Office
John E. Phillips: Labor & Employment
Seth M. Schimmel: Construction

Chambers USA research is conducted into the strengths and reputations of U.S. attorneys. The methodology has been approved by the British Market Research Bureau, which audits the research annually. In-depth interviews with clients and with attorneys are done over the telephone, each one lasting about half an hour. For the current U.S. directory, over 14,000 interviews were conducted covering the whole of the U.S.A. A team of 40 full-time researchers conducted the research over a period of six months. Law firms and individual attorneys are ranked in bands from 1-6, with 1 being the best. The qualities on which rankings are based include legal ability, professional conduct, client service, commercial awareness, diligence, commitment, and other qualities most valued by the client.

06-22-2007

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Phelps Dunbar LLP

Retaining Top Talent in Post-Katrina Louisiana: Second Consecutive Phelps Dunbar Attorney Selected as Outstanding Young Lawyer
Phelps Dunbar LLP is pleased to announce that Kelsey Kornick Funes, a partner in the litigation practice group in the Baton Rouge office, has been selected as Outstanding Young Lawyer of 2007 by the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Council. Mrs. Funes was honored during the annual Young Lawyers Section Awards Reception, which was held in conjunction with the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Annual Meeting, on Thursday, June 7, 2007 from 6:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m. at the Baytowne Convention Center of the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort in Destin, Florida.

Mrs. Funes practices in the areas of commercial, construction and insurance litigation. Her practice is a regional one, which extends to both federal and state courts and includes work in both the district and appellate courts. She has also successfully represented numerous clients in both mediation and arbitration in Louisiana, as well as other parts of the United States. In addition to her professional practice, Mrs. Funes is involved in numerous bar association activities and community service projects.

“We are proud that our young attorneys have been recognized for two consecutive years as outstanding lawyers in Louisiana,” stated Richard N. Dicharry, Managing Partner of Phelps Dunbar. “These accomplishments exemplify our commitment to recruiting and retaining top talent throughout the region and creating an environment that fosters excellence and growth among our attorneys.” Christopher K. Ralston, an associate in the commercial litigation practice group in the New Orleans office, was selected as Outstanding Young Lawyer of 2006 by the Louisiana State Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section Council.

06-22-2007

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Orrick LLP

Two More Capital Markets and Real Estate Partners Join Orrick in New York
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Marc S. Shapiro and Jill D. Block have joined Orrick as partners in the firm’s real estate practice in New York.

“Marc Shapiro and Jill Block are great lawyers, who, together with our recent addition of Alan Pomerantz, will continue to develop our New York-based capital markets and real estate finance practice,” said Peter Bicks, the Partner-in-Charge of Orrick’s New York office.

Previously Chair of Katten Muchin Rosenman’s real estate practice in New York, Marc Shapiro has more than 20 years’ experience in real estate and real estate finance. His experience includes representing institutional lenders, borrowers and private investors in more than 150 sophisticated debt and equity transactions, structured asset dispositions, and sales and acquisitions of single asset and portfolio debt in the secondary market. He has represented clients in more than $8 billion in financings and equity investments involving more than 500 properties in 49 states, the Caribbean, Canada, Latin America, Europe and Southeast Asia. Shapiro also serves as Counsel to the Real Estate Lenders Association, an industry group consisting exclusively of real estate debt and equity providers doing business in the United States.

In 1993, Shapiro established the first securitized lending program to the hospitality industry through a $2 billion commitment from a major Wall Street financial institution. He has also been actively involved in mezzanine lending since the earliest large mezzanine transactions of the 1990s.

Jill Block, who also joins Orrick from Katten Muchin, focuses on representing institutional and private lenders, investors, developers and servicers in the acquisition, sale, financing and development of real estate. She has significant experience in financing hospitality properties including multi-state, multi-property portfolio financing, securitized mortgage loan origination, mezzanine financing, construction loan origination, loan participation and the sale and acquisition of commercial and hospitality properties. Block has also assisted several major Wall Street financial institutions in developing underwriting standards and practices for hospitality lending, including standardized documentation to facilitate securitization activities. Block served on the Document Task Force of the Commercial Mortgage Securities Association to help standardize industry documentation for securitized lending transactions.

“Marc’s and Jill’s addition greatly complements and enhances our real estate capabilities in New York as well as around the globe,” said William Murray, Jr., a San Francisco partner who leads the firm’s global real estate practice. “Their expertise in hospitality properties also adds an important strength to our practice.”

“Orrick’s Capital Markets and Real Estate practice is emerging as a top contender among law firms,” said Shapiro. “Jill and I could not have joined the firm at a better time.”

Shapiro’s and Block’s move to Orrick follows the May 21 arrival to the firm of Alan J. Pomerantz, a capital markets and real estate lawyer who joined Orrick as a partner and head of its New York real estate practice. Pomerantz has worked closely with the new partners, first at Breed Abbott and later at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

06-22-2007

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Ober & Kaler, P.C.

Ober|Kaler Selects Three for its Inaugural Pro Bono Distinguished Service Award
Ober|Kaler announced the selection of three lawyers for its annual Pro Bono Distinguished Service Award. Given by the firm in recognition of the outstanding pro bono legal service contributions made by Ober|Kaler lawyers, the 2007 recipients are principal Ray Shepard, counsel Paul Kim, and associate Eric Radz.

Ray Shepard, Ober|KalerWorking on a death penalty case in Mississippi, the team of attorneys amassed countless pro bono hours. As a result of Ober|Kaler's work and appellate counsel in Mississippi, the death sentence was overturned on direct appeal and remanded for resentencing. The state of Mississippi has since agreed to a sentence of life without parole.

Paul Kim, Ober|Kaler"These fine lawyers epitomize Ober|Kaler's pro bono program to assist in gaining access to justice for the underprivileged and disenfranchised," said firm Chair John Wolf. "Recognizing that lawyers can and do make a difference in people's lives, Ober|Kaler supports and encourages participation in pro bono representation. I am proud of the work of these lawyers and the efforts made by all members of Ober|Kaler who provide community and pro bono service."

Eric Radz, Ober|KalerIn addition to recognizing each lawyer, Ober|Kaler will make a $2,500 contribution in the name of the recognized lawyers to their selected charitable organizations, the St. Agnes Hospital Foundation and the Legal Aid Bureau.

The Pro Bono Distinguished Service Award is presented annually to acknowledge outstanding pro bono legal service contributions as measured by the number of pro bono hours worked, the quality of the work and results obtained.

06-22-2007

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Sebaly, Shillito & DyerA Legal Professional Association

Employment Law From A to Z in Ohio
Karl Ulrich, Specialist in Labor and Employment Law, and Danyelle Wright, SS+D shareholders, will be presenters at a one day, accredited, Lorman Education Services seminar for human resource managers, payroll professionals, operations managers, business owners and officers, attorneys on Thursday, October 25th, from 8 AM to 4:30 PM at the Doubletree Hotel in Downtown Dayton, 11 South Ludlow Street. In one day, you'll learn:

* Facts about wrongful discharge laws and how to apply them in your workplace
* At-will employment do's and don'ts
* How to implement critical wage and hour basics
* How to respond to today's hot issues
* Strategies for identifying - and proving - an injured worker's fraudulent conduct

06-21-2007

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Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, LLP

Wall Street Journal Quotes Jeffrey Smith On Overtime Compensation Cases
With securities class action filings falling, experienced plaintiffs law firms increasingly have been bringing collective actions for violations of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act.

Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, one of the nation's top 20 plaintiffs firms, has represented clients in securities cases against Wall Street banks, bankrupt Adelphia Communications, and former video game developer and publisher Acclaim Entertainment.

In recent years, however, the New York-based firm also has initiated a number of high-profile actions under the Fair Labor Standards Act and state labor laws in New York federal courts. It has sued Merrill Lynch (Palumbo v. Merrill Lynch, 06-2104), Citigroup (Lavoice v. Citigroup Global Markets, 06-0756), Ryan Beck Holdings (Klein v. Ryan Beck, 06-03460) and Morgan Stanley (Roles v. Morgan Stanley, 05-7889) in the Southern and Eastern Districts alleging that employees have not been paid overtime or other compensation they are entitled to receive, or have had improper deductions taken from their compensation.

Those cases are all pending. In the Citigroup case, however, a $98 million-plus-interest settlement has been preliminarily approved.

When asked why the firm has pursued labor standards cases, Jeffrey G. Smith, a partner at the firm, said the "simple answer was that "we were approached by clients because of our class action experience."

Calculated or not, Wolf Haldenstein's decision to seek this line of business appears to be indicative of a broader trend. And the companies being sued are paying up. Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley and UBS AG have all agreed to pay tens of millions of dollars to settle claims that they owed their employees overtime pay. Merrill Lynch settled for $37 million, Morgan Stanley forked over $42.5 million, and UBS agreed to pay up to $89 million.

Some of the major issues involved in wages and hours litigation include whether employees were "exempt" or "nonexempt" from the act's minimum wage and overtime requirements, and what is compensable "working time" and what is not. A final issue that often arises in these lawsuits is how to calculate the rate that should be used to determine how much overtime compensation is due.

Local attorneys say that since the passage of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act in 1995, and the resulting decline in the number of securities class action filings (NYLJ, Jan. 4), more plaintiffs firms have turned to the wage and hour collective action field,

"Wage and hour cases are significant in terms of dollar and PR benefit to the plaintiffs securities bar," said Gary D. Friedman, a partner at Weil Gotshal & Manges who who specializes in representing companies in employment law cases.

Mr. Friedman said cases involving the labor standards act often do not involve "as much of a front loaded financial investment as in the typical securities class action."

Complex Cases

Philip M. Berkowitz, a partner at Nixon Peabody and a New York Law Journal columnist, said that while the plaintiffs bar may consider Fair Labor Standards Act cases to be "like low-hanging fruit," they are more complex than may be apparent, and they are difficult to win.

He said that fighting over whether an employee is properly classified for purposes of paying overtime can be a fact-specific exercise, and quite complex.

"There may not be a uniformity of employee responsibilities from location to location, or even employee to employee," he said.

Employees also may have a mix of exempt and nonexempt work.

"Moreover, it's often the inclination of employees to value their contributions highly and to consider that they are exercising independent judgment and discretion - often an important part of the test to determine whether an employee is exempt or nonexempt," Mr. Berkowitz added.

Finally, wage and hours collective actions are opt-in cases, and are procedurally different from Rule 23 class actions, which are opt-out cases. Sometimes, the cases are brought under both the wages and hours act and Rule 23, adding to their complexity.

Mr. Friedman said that the filing of a motion for conditional certification in wage and hour cases can be "relatively quick," and is generally faster and less time and discovery intensive than getting to the class certification stage.

Mr. Smith of Wolf Haldenstein said that it has "gotten harder and is getting harder" to sustain securities class action cases.

"The courts are getting tighter and are dismissing securities class action cases," he said. "The trend is not the same under the FLSA."

Rachel Geman, a partner at Lieff, Cabraser, Heimann & Bernstein, which has offices in California, New York and Tennessee, said there were a number of reasons why more wage and hour collective actions have been filed in recent years. She said recent Department of Labor regulatory changes "should have served as a wake-up call to employers to focus on how they were classifying and paying their employees."

She also said increased awareness among employees of their rights, and a greater sophistication on the part of the plaintiff's bar, have led to more collective actions.

Manhattan plaintiff's firm Abbey Spanier Rodd & Abrams represents current and former Wal-Mart employees in Fair Labor Standards Act actions against the company in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Illinois and Iowa. The firm also represents plaintiffs in lawsuits against Hertz pending in the Eastern District alleging that it improperly classifies its station managers as "exempt" and and fails to pay them overtime pay (Myers v. The Hertz Corporation, 02 CV 4325).

Stephen T. Rodd, a partner at Abbey Spanier who is involved in the Hertz case, said his firm traditionally has focused on the securities and antitrust areas, and became involved in wage and hours cases because of its class action experience. Mr. Rodd called this area of law "robust." He said it was an "obvious area to go to if you are branching out" because the law is "well-defined."

06-21-2007

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Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, LLP

Preliminary Approval Granted of $52,500,000 Settlement in Sepracor Litigation
Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz LLP is lead counsel in the securities fraud class action pending in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, on behalf of all persons who purchased common stock and call options, or sold put options of Sepracor Inc. (collectively the Equity Class) between March 17, 1999 and March 6, 2002, inclusive (the “Class Period”). This action is pending against defendants Sepracor, Timothy J. Barberich (Sepracor’s CEO and Chairman of the Board), David Southwell (Sepracor’s CFO) and Paul Rubin, M.D. (Sepracor’s Executive V.P.). The case name and index number are In re Sepracor Corp. Securities Litigation, No. 02-12338-MEL.

The Court has granted preliminary approval of a proposed $52,500,000 class action settlement, on behalf of the Equity Class and a separately represented class on behalf of the purchasers of Sepracor Debt. The proposed settlement provides for $40,110,000 of the settlement amount to benefit the Equity Class, and $12,390,000 to benefit of the Debt Class. As detailed below, this proposed settlement was reached after aggressively litigating this case for years.

The Complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading representations, (a) that the defendants were “confident” that the FDA would approve Soltara, the Company’s antihistamine drug, by March 2002, followed by Soltara’s launch in the summer of 2002; (b) that there was no evidence that Soltara caused cardiac side effects; (c) that the absence of cardiac effects of Soltara was well substantiated by a variety of animal studies; (d) that the FDA had told the Company that the Company’s safety testing of Soltara was sufficient to allay any concerns about cardiac effects of Soltara. In truth, Soltara had caused cardiomyopathy, an adverse, potentially fatal cardiac effect in rats, and phospholipidosis, a serious liver disorder, in dogs. In addition, in the Company’s animal studies of Soltara, dogs treated with Soltara had experienced Qt prolongation, which causes instability of the electrical system of the heart and can lead to cardiac arrest. This is the very effect that caused earlier antihistamines, including the drug from which Soltara was derived, to be withdrawn from the market due to deaths in some patients.

On March 7, 2002, the Company revealed (a) that the FDA had declined to approve the Company’s application to market Soltara, due to the facts set forth in the preceding paragraph, which were misrepresented and concealed by defendants during the Class Period. These disclosures caused the market price of Sepracor equity securities to fall precipitously.

On January 21, 2003, motions were made to consolidate the various cases and appoint lead plaintiffs and lead counsel. On February 25, 2003, Wolf Haldenstein was appointed Lead Counsel on behalf of the Equity Class. Plaintiffs filed a consolidated and amended class action complaint on May 22, 2003. Please click on the link to the right to view this complaint.

Defendants filed a motion to dismiss. On March 11, 2004, the Court denied Defendants' motion to dismiss in substantial part. Please click on the link on the right to view the Court’s decision denying the motion to dismiss. The case then proceeded to discovery.

On August 20, 2004, Plaintiff's filed a motion for class certification. On September 8, 2005, the Court granted the motion for class certification, certifying the litigation to proceed as a class action. The Court's order can be viewed by clicking on the link to the right. A prior notice of the pendency of this action and the granting of class certification was provided to the classes in May 2006.

On June 20, 2007, the proposed settlement in the amount of $52,500,000 was granted preliminary approval by the Honorable Morris Lasker, United States District Judge. The Stipulation of Settlement and the Preliminary Approval Order for the proposed settlement can be viewed by clicking on the links on the right. The Court has scheduled the final settlement hearing for September 6, 2006, at 11:00 a.m. This settlement is still subject to final judicial approval. The notice and the proof of claim forms will be available shortly.

Pursuant to a Stipulation of Settlement, a settlement fund in the amount of $40,110,000 has been established for the benefit of the class. Please visit the claims administrator's website to view and print the Settlement Notice and Proof of Claim Form in this action. In order to share in the proceeds of this settlement, you must submit a valid proof of claim form postmarked no later than October 31, 2007. This settlement is still subject to final judicial approval. A settlement hearing is scheduled for September 6, 2007.

Wolf Haldenstein has extensive experience in the prosecution of securities class actions and derivative litigation in state and federal trial and appellate courts across the country. The firm has approximately 55 attorneys in various practice areas; and offices in New York City, Chicago, San Diego, and Washington, D.C. The reputation and expertise of this firm in shareholder and other class litigation has been repeatedly recognized by the courts, which have appointed it to major positions in complex securities multi-district and consolidated litigation.

06-21-2007

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