Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP

GREG BATTISTA TO SPEAK AT ENVIRONMENTAL BANKERS ASSOCIATION'S MEETING
On June 19, Cravath senior attorney Gregory J. Battista will speak at a meeting of the Environmental Bankers Association. Greg will participate in a panel discussion on alternate environmental due diligence standards and guidelines for analyzing business environmental risks in M&A transactions, real estate transactions and other business transactions.

06-01-2007

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Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton, L.L.P.

Cleary Gottlieb Scores High Ranks Worldwide in Practical Law Global 50 Report; 70 Cleary Gottlieb Lawyers Recognized in Their Fields
Cleary Gottlieb won high scores worldwide in the recently released PLC Which Lawyer? Global 50 Report, which rated law firms and individual lawyers in various countries (and, in the case of the U.S., cities) in key corporate and commercial practice areas. A testament to the firm’s global prowess, PLC recognized 70 Cleary lawyers working in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Russia and the United States as tops in their respective fields.

The editorial commentary noted that "Cleary Gottlieb maintains excellent clients and undertakes mainly high-value work," highlighting Cleary as a "world leader in U.S. and international capital markets and finance" with "breadth and depth of expertise" in its competition/antitrust practice that is "unmatched."

PLC determines the Global 50 based on a weighted aggregate of all the national rankings (as of September 2006) that firms receive across practice areas; to be in the Global 50, firms must operate as unified partnerships and have also scored rankings on at least two continents and in at least three individual countries. PLC is a U.K.-based provider of market intelligence and transaction analysis to business lawyers.

The Global 50 Report recognized the following Cleary practices as being among the best in the world (references to "U.S." denote nationwide ranking, and to "EU" denote pan-European legal fields):

06-01-2007

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Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Cadwalader Announces Two Special Counsel in London
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP, one of the world’s leading international law firms, today announced the recent hires of Jonathan Price and Karl Clowry who join as special counsel resident in the Firm’s London office. Mr. Price joins the Capital Markets Department while Mr. Clowry joins the firm’s Financial Restructuring team. Cadwalader Chairman and Managing Partner Robert O. Link, Jr. stated, “Jonathan and Karl are both experienced and highly-regarded lawyers who bring significant banking and restructuring experience to our practices. They will be assets to the firm as we continue to build a formidable presence in the London and European markets.�

Mr. Price has extensive experience in a wide range of structured finance transactions, with a particular emphasis on real estate finance investment and development. He has acted for senior lenders, mezzanine lenders, funds and corporate borrowers in the UK, Europe and the Russian Federation. He recently advised IVG Asticus as an investor in connection with the financing arrangements for the £600M acquisition of the “Gherkin�. He has also acted for
banks, borrowers and trustees on a range of general banking transactions. Prior to joining the firm, he was with CMS Cameron McKenna.

Mr. Clowry, who comes to Cadwalader from Allen & Overy LLP, has broad banking, insolvency and restructuring experience covering all aspects of general lending, debt restructuring, loan and business acquisitions and disposals. He has acted for both borrowers and lenders on a variety of complex domestic and cross-border transactions including acting for the lenders in connection with the restructuring of Uneximbank involving US$2 billion of indebtedness, and, acting for liquidity providing lenders on the restructuring of a structured investment vehicle holding US$3 billion in assets.

06-01-2007

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Bryan Cave LLP

Bryan Cave LLP Honored for Information Technology Leadership
Bryan Cave LLP, the international law firm, has been named to CIO magazine’s annual CIO 100, a compilation of organizations around the world that exemplify the highest level of operational and strategic excellence in information technology (IT). The announcement was made today by IDG, publisher of CIO.

“The 2007 CIO 100 award recipients serve as industry role models for business and IT excellence,� said Abbie Lundberg, editor in chief of CIO magazine. “This year’s winners demonstrate extraordinary results in a variety of important areas, including business transformation, collaboration, customer innovation and top line contributions.�

Bryan Cave earned the CIO 100 honor for its leadership position on a number of fronts, including client-facing web-tools and infrastructure. In addition, CIO recognized the firm’s creation and use of business intelligence tools for lawyers, practice managers and clients, which permit its lawyers and clients greater flexibility and creativity in meeting the challenges of today’s business environment. The firm was identified as a leader in finding new ways to help lawyers assist clients.

“Bryan Cave has made a significant commitment to information technology, particularly with the formation of our Client Technology Group, to support our clients with their increasingly complex legal and transactional needs,� explained Don Lents, chairman of Bryan Cave. “Our firmwide team of IT professionals should be proud of their work to develop the creative and innovative systems which have put Bryan Cave at the forefront of global information management.�

The 2007 CIO 100 awards will be presented at the La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif., on Aug. 21 at the conclusion of the ninth annual CIO 100 Symposium® and Awards Ceremony.

“Bryan Cave has long understood the value of investing in IT, and our clients know that the firm’s wise use of technology can help prevent legal problems and solve existing ones more effectively and efficiently,� said Bryan Cave’s Technology Partner John Alber. “We are thrilled to be included in the 2007 CIO 100 and recognized as a leader in the IT industry.�

Launched in 1987, CIO magazine addresses issues vital to the success of chief information officers worldwide, providing technology and business leaders with analysis and insight on information technology trends and a keen understanding of IT’s role in achieving business goals. CIO magazine is published in more than a dozen countries, including Australia, Canada, China, France and Germany. Complete coverage of the 2007 CIO 100 will be featured in the Aug. 15 special issue of CIO magazine and at www.cio.com.

About the CIO 100
The recipients of this year’s CIO 100 award were selected through a three-step process. First, companies filled out an online application form detailing their innovative practices in both business and IT. Next, teams of CIO magazine editors and writers reviewed the applications in depth, looking for unique practices and substantial results. Finally, the teams met for a day-long meeting to debate the merits of each nominee and vote on the final 100. Once the top 100 honorees were selected, several honorees were chosen to receive an additional special award.

06-01-2007

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Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP

Mark Swanson Joins the Huntsville Office
Bradley Arant is pleased to announce that Mark Swanson has joined the firm in the Huntsville office and will be a member of the Intellectual Property Practice Group.

Mr. Swanson graduated from the University of Alabama Law School magna cum laude in May 2006. While attending law school, Mr. Swanson served a judicial internship for the Southern District of Alabama under The Honorable Senior U.S. District Judge Charles Butler, Jr. Prior to entering law school, he worked as a Production Engineer for Ciba Specialty Chemicals in McIntosh, Alabama, where he introduced new products to the facility, managed the capital budget, ensured environmental compliance, and served as a member of the production team.

Mr. Swanson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Chemistry from Whitman College before earning a Master of Science degree in Chemical Engineering from Montana State University. Mr. Swanson recently passed the Alabama Bar exam

06-01-2007

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Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP

Missouri Supreme Court Strengthens Bargaining Rights for Public Employees
The Missouri Supreme Court has reversed a 60-year-old ruling and granted public employees more rights to bargain collectively with employers. The case centered on language in the state constitution affording collective-bargaining rights to employees. The ruling for the three employee associations that sued the Independence School District four years ago reverses a 1947 ruling in which the court held that the Missouri constitutional provision giving employees the right to bargain collectively did not apply to public employees.

The suit began in March 2003, nearly a year after the Independence School District adopted a policy that changed the terms of employment for workers represented by three employee associations: Independence Transportation Employees Association, Independence Educational Support Personnel and the Independence National Education Association. The three organizations represented teachers and transportation and custodial workers. However, the school district did not confer with the employee associations before imposing the new policy. The organizations claimed the school district violated the Missouri Constitution by refusing to bargain collectively with the associations.

Chief Justice Michael Wolff, writing for the majority, agreed, stating, "Agreements that the school district made with employee groups are to be afforded the same legal respect as contracts made between the district and individuals, although public employees -- unlike their private-sector counterparts -- are not permitted to strike." Wolff continued, "As long as the duration and terms of such agreements comply with the limits provided by law for school districts to bind themselves and are consistent with other statutes such as the teacher tenure act, the agreements are enforceable as any other contractual obligations undertaken by the district."

Public employers must now be aware that not only do public employees have the right to bargain collectively, but once an agreement is reached, the employer cannot unilaterally change it. Any agreement entered into between the parties is binding.

06-01-2007

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Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP

United States Supreme Court Limits Time to Bring Pay Discrimination Claims
The United States Supreme Court this week clarified and limited employees’ ability to sue employers for pay discrimination based on decisions made years earlier. A 5-4 majority ruled that Title VII plaintiffs must challenge specific decisions with regard to pay within 180 days. The court found that plaintiffs cannot rely on a continuing violation theory to reach back to allegedly discriminatory decisions made before the 180-day charge filing period established by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). Ledbetter v. Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co., No.
05-1074, U.S. Supreme Court (May 29, 2007).

Lilly Ledbetter sued Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. in 1998 claiming that after 19 years as a supervisor at the company's Gadsden, Ala., plant she was making $6,000 a year less than the lowest-paid male employee performing the same work, including recent hires with far less on-the-job experience. Ledbetter claimed the disparity existed for years and was primarily a result of her gender. Ledbetter also alleged that over a period of years she received lower performance evaluations than her male counterparts because of her gender and this resulted in lower merit pay increases. Ledbetter argued that because she received these discriminatorily lower pay increases over a period of several years, she should be able to challenge her historical pay and raises at any time under the continuing violations doctrine. A jury agreed and awarded her nearly $4 million in backpay and punitive damages.

The company argued that the EEOC’s 180-day filing deadline means nothing if employees can reach back years to claim discrimination. The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed the claim, which decision the Supreme Court affirmed. Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the Supreme Court, agreed that Ledbetter's claim was untimely. The majority opinion held that employers would otherwise find it difficult to defend against claims "arising from employment decisions that are long past." Because none of the allegedly discriminatory decisions affecting Ledbetter’s pay occurred within the 180-day charge filing time period, her pay claims were time-barred.

This decision is welcome news to employers. Particularly in the wake of a barrage of other wage class actions that have been filed recently, this decision will help offset the potential for high-dollar Title VII wage claims based on decisions made years ago.

06-01-2007

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