Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell Attorneys At Law

Rumberger, Kirk & Caldwell Named Among Top 100 Employers for Working Families
The law firm of Rumberger, Kirk and Caldwell, P.A. was recently honored at the 14th Annual Top 100 Companies for Working Families Awards — presented by the Orlando Sentinel.

The companies were chosen based on the information gathered from employee surveys regarding various family-friendly benefits. Judges used a point scale to weigh each program and policy. Companies also earned extra points for benefits that were offered to both part-time and full-time employees.

05-23-2007

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Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, L.L.P.

Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, L.L.P. Ramps Up The Medical Defense Group
Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, L.L.P. is pleased to announce that Karen A. Carroll, Esq. and Jeffrey M. Hines, Esq., formerly of Kohnen & Patton, LLP, have joined the firm’s established Medical Defense Group. Ms. Carroll and Mr. Hines bring with them the representation of numerous hospitals in the tri-state area of Cincinnati as well as Ashland, Kentucky. To support this growing department, Rendigs, Fry, Kiely & Dennis, L.L.P. has added a second legal nurse consultant, Cynthia DiLandro, RN, LNC.

Ms. Carroll joins the firm as Of Counsel and practices primarily in the area of medical malpractice defense. She has a B.S. in Nursing and has extensive experience representing hospitals, extended care facilities, physicians, dentists, nurses and health care providers in the defense of medical malpractice and wrongful death claims.

Mr. Hines joins the firm as an Associate and practices in the area of civil litigation, with a concentration in the areas of medical defense, health law, and general insurance litigation. He represents and is active in the defense of hospitals, physicians, dentists, nurses, and other healthcare professionals against malpractice and wrongful death claims.

Ms. DiLandro joins the firm as a Legal Nurse Consultant. She is a Registered Nurse with 25 years of clinical experience in Maternity Nursing, including newborn special care and Pediatrics. She also holds 5 years of experience as a LNC in medical malpractice and product liability.

Combined, the powerful Medical Defense Group holds over 100 years of experience and is now comprised of seven attorneys and two legal nurse consultants.

05-23-2007

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Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Fellowes, Inc. Wins Key Patent Verdict in Case Against Chinese Shredder Manufacturer
On Friday, May 18, a court in the Eastern District of Virginia, ruled in favor of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman client Fellowes, Inc. in a patent-infringement case pitting the well-known Illinois-based manufacturer of paper shredders and other office equipment against Michilin Prosperity Co., a Taiwanese and Chinese shredder manufacturer and Fellowes competitor. A jury agreed with Fellowes’ contention that two Fellowes patents were valid and that Michilin infringed one of the two U.S. patents Fellowes holds covering designs in its popular line of shredders. The jury deadlocked ten-to-one in favor of Fellowes on the second patent and that is being dealt with in post-trial motions. It is understood that this is the first patent verdict following the U.S. Supreme Court’s landmark “KSR decision” on patent challenges.

“The stakes were very high for Fellowes in this case against an aggressive competitor, which hinged on the nature and validity of a couple of patents,” said William P. Atkins, a partner in Pillsbury’s intellectual property practice and lead counsel for Fellowes before the court. “Furthermore, the recent KSR decision established that merely holding a patent no longer assures victory in these kinds of cases, now that courts are more inclined to believe many patents are wrongly issued for ‘obvious’ inventions. Fellowes’ assertion and description of its proprietary innovations in the face of validity questions from their opponent made the difference in this case, and leave an interesting early example of litigating IP claims, post-KSR.”

The Fellowes patent win is significant for its timing after the U.S. Supreme Court’s April 30, 2007 decision in the case of KSR International v. Teleflex Inc., in which a patent underpinning KSR’s case against fellow automotive component manufacturer Teleflex was found to be “obvious,” or invalid, by the Court. The ensuing “KSR decision,” a landmark legal precedent in the intellectual property (IP) community, effectively lowered the bar for patent challenges in court and automatically raised the stakes for IP litigation by emboldening patent challengers. The positive post-KSR ruling in this case for Fellowes demonstrates strategic IP claims will remain a critical tool for manufacturers in highly competitive sectors, and can be effectively pursued in spite of the developing patent climate.

“The Fellowes inventions were unique and took different approaches to issues faced by shredder designers, showing that they were not the obvious type of invention addressed by the KSR court,” adds Bryan Collins, a Pillsbury IP partner on the trial team and author of one of the two patents at issue.

Through its Chinese assembly base, Michilin competes with Fellowes by contract manufacturing generic shredder equipment for major retailers to sell under their own store brands alongside equipment of Fellowes and others. “The issue of manufacturers’ store brand competition is entirely different from unfair competition based on infringement and abuse of patents,” explains Atkins. “This verdict will prompt retailers to ensure their manufacturing partners – and by extension, their store brands - are in good IP standing, either by licensing existing patents or adopting legitimate, new technologies for a given product.”

Fellowes’s latest verdict against Michilin follows previous favorable judgments the company has received with Pillsbury’s representation. In 2004, Michilin claimed products in Fellowes’ line of shredders infringed on a Michilin shredder patent. However, the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled against Michilin, finding on summary judgment that Michilin’s patent was not infringed by Fellowes and therefore, was not present in the accused products.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman associates Ben Kiersz, Bob Fuhrer and Sarah Greene assisted partners William P. Atkins and Bryan Collins in the Fellowes case.

05-23-2007

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Nixon Peabody LLP

Nixon Peabody Attorney Appointed to the Board of Georgetown University Law Center’s Corporate Counsel Institute
At Nixon Peabody, Mr. Hedges focuses his practice on complex civil and corporate integrity matters. He is a member of an interdisciplinary team focused on complex business and integrity issues. Mr. Hedges joined Nixon Peabody after serving as United States Magistrate Judge for the United States District Court of New Jersey for 21 years. He has extensive experience in e-discovery matters and the management of complex civil litigation. He brings an unique understanding of the law on electronic data retention and on the responsibilities for corporate e-document retention and discovery policies.

Mr. Hedges is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center and Seton Hall University Law School. He is a member of the Advisory Board of the Sedona Conference as well as an observer to the Sedona Conference Working Group on Best Practices for Electronic Document Retention & Production. Mr. Hedges is also a member of the Georgetown University Law Center E-Discovery Advisory Board. He is widely published on e-discovery and complex case management matters. Mr. Hedges earned a B.A. from University of Maryland and a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

05-23-2007

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Nixon Peabody LLP

Former General Counsel of Corning Incorporated Returns to Nixon Peabody; William Eggers Rejoins Nixon Peabody’s Litigation Practice
Mr. Eggers originally joined Nixon Peabody in 1971, after an appellate clerkship with the New York State Supreme Court, Fourth Department, and spent 26 years as a litigator with a concentration in business litigation. In 1973, as an associate early in his career, Mr. Eggers argued and won in U.S. Supreme Court a pro bono civil rights case, O’Brien vs. Skinner, for the League of Women Voters. Mr. Eggers was named partner at Nixon Peabody in 1978. He represented a variety of firm clients including Bausch & Lomb Incorporated and Corning. He defended Corning’s interests in multidistrict litigation arising from Dow Corning Corporation’s silicone implants, continuing with the bankruptcy issues through Dow Corning’s emergence from Chapter 11 in 2004.

Mr. Eggers served Corning Incorporated as its senior vice president and general counsel of the corporation for more than nine years. As general counsel, Mr. Eggers managed the overall legal function for Corning, including 20 general lawyers and 26 patent lawyers, with several based in Europe and in Asia. While at Corning, he was closely involved with successfully defending securities litigation and ERISA litigation, and also oversaw a variety of transactions, as well as corporate governance and securities matters.

“My colleagues and I are so pleased that Bill Eggers has chosen to return to Nixon Peabody,” said Scott Turner, managing partner of the Rochester office. “Bill was a highly accomplished business litigator when he joined Corning, and he returns with the added experience of having advised a Fortune 500 company on corporate issues at the highest levels. The insights he has gained will be invaluable to the firm and our clients. Plus, there are few who match Bill’s contributions to our legal and civic communities, both here in Rochester and nationally. He exemplifies all that we hope our lawyers are and strive to be.”

Mr. Eggers added, “I first became introduced to Corning through Nixon Peabody, and it was through that opportunity that I was able to move into advising the corporation as its external counsel and then as general counsel. Nixon Peabody has grown dramatically in the past ten years, but has maintained a strong focus on clients in Upstate New York. It’s a pleasure to rejoin Nixon Peabody, while maintaining associations with colleagues and friends at Corning.”

Mr. Eggers holds a B.A. from Yale University and a J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School. His community and civic contributions include acting as a trustee of the Center for Governmental Research and of Utica College. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, and a director of Chemung Financial Corporation, a regional bank based in Elmira, New York. He has lectured on the legal and practical elements of international joint ventures, and has served on civil practice and professional ethics committees of the New York State and American bar associations. Mr. Eggers will work with Nixon Peabody attorneys primarily in Rochester on corporate, commercial, and governance matters as well as business litigation.

05-23-2007

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Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP

Milbank Closes €1.65 Billion Refinancing on Behalf of Cognis and Its Financial Sponsors
In one of the most significant deals of 2007, global specialty chemicals company Cognis has issued notes and loans with a total value of approximately €1.65 billion. The refinancing enabled the company to repay its existing bank facilities and its second lien notes and loans, and redeem a portion of the PIK (“pay-in-kind”) notes at its parent level. The international law firm Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy LLP, led by London–based partner Kevin Muzilla, represented Cognis and its financial sponsors Goldman Sachs and Permira in negotiating, structuring and closing the transaction.

Mr. Muzilla commented, “Taking advantage of the favorable current conditions in the leveraged and capital markets, this refinancing allows Cognis to achieve a considerable reduction in financing costs. The transaction is particularly noteworthy given the combination of “covenant-lite” financing structures involving floating-rate notes in euros and dollars, floating-rate loans in euros and dollars, and a new revolving credit facility. The deal demonstrates the increasing alignment of the European high yield and leveraged loan markets in that the notes and loans were priced on the same bookbuild basis without maintenance covenants. The notes and loans offering was significantly oversubscribed, indicating strong market confidence in Cognis.”

Previously, Milbank worked with Cognis and its financial sponsors on Cognis’complex multi-tiered €1.75 billion recapitalization in 2004.

Led by Mr. Muzilla, the Milbank team included attorneys from several of Milbank’s offices worldwide, including partners Russell Jacobs, Suhrud Mehta and Tom Siebens in London, Rainer Magold in Frankfurt, William Mahoney, Fred Kneip and Andrew Walker in New York. Assistance was provided by lead associate David Gasperow and associates Randy Ali, Merih Altay, Jeanette Cruz, Melissa Gambol, Phil Gledson, Dawn Harding, Kevin MacLeod and Gabriel Mpubani in London, Stephan Dulitz, Daniel Gubitz, Simone Jordan and Peter Memminger in Frankfurt, Thomas Kleinheisterkamp and Stefan Kroeker in Munich, Eliza McDougal in New York and Erika Evasdottir in Hong Kong. Additional support was provided by legal assistants Emma Reed and Erin Telling and summer associate Julie Constantinides in London.

05-23-2007

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Mayer Brown LLP

Homeland Security and Defense Business Council Appoints Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw Attorney Raj De To Board of Advisors
The Homeland Security and Defense Business Council (the "Council") has appointed Raj De to the Council's Board of Advisors. A lawyer in the Washington, DC office of the international law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, De will bring an impressive range of public and private sector legal and policy experience to the Council.

The Council is a non-profit, non-partisan organization established to promote the role of industry in achieving the vision and mission for homeland security in the United States and globally. Comprised of senior executives from its member companies - the most well-known and experienced companies in the homeland security industry today - the Council seeks to ensure that the private sector is aligned with homeland security priorities at the federal, state and local levels. To accomplish this mission, the Council facilitates dialogue among the federal agencies responsible for homeland security and defense, the legislative branch, state and local governments, and the private sector in order to develop innovative solutions and promote the sharing of best practices across organizational boundaries.

De's impressive qualifications and unique professional background made him an ideal selection for the Council's Board of Advisors, which is comprised of several former high-level executive and legislative branch officials. Most recently, De was Counsel to a Special Bi-partisan Staff of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, where he served as a lead drafter of intelligence reform legislation creating a new Director of National Intelligence and National Counterterrorism Center. Prior to his service in the Senate, De served as Counsel to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks upon the United States (the "9/11 Commission"). De, a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School, has also previously worked as a trial attorney at the Department of Justice, as part of the Attorney General's Honor Program.

05-23-2007

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