Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Odin, Feldman & Pittleman PC

OFP Near Top of List of Virginia's Largest Law Firms 2007
Odin, Feldman & Pittleman is near the top of the list of Virginia's Largest Law Firms in 2007. According to the Virginia Lawyer's Weekly list, the firm ranks eighth in Northern Virginia and 19th statewide.

The firm focuses on litigation, corporate and tax, labor and employment, intellectual property, real estate, bankruptcy, trusts and estates and family law. In 2006, the firm added four real estate attorneys vastly expanding the capabilities of that department.

05-04-2007

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Nixon Peabody LLP

Nixon Peabody LLP Ranked One of the Most Active Law Firms in Private Equity Fund Formation and Transactions
Nixon Peabody was ranked 4th on the Private Equity Analyst’s “Most Active League Table” for the number of private equity and venture capital funds it negotiated and closed in 2006. One such example of the firm’s fund formation work includes the successful representation of Credit Suisse’s Customized Funds Group in several U.S. and offshore closings for the Credit Suisse Private Equity Opportunities Fund. This Credit Suisse fund offered limited partners several unique benefits, including the ability to allocate their capital commitment among several different investment strategies, as well as offering a limited liquidity feature with respect to their limited partnership interests.

“We are once again delighted to receive this recognition from the Private Equity Analyst,” said Charley Jacobs, the group leader of Nixon Peabody’s private equity practice. “We saw an increase in deal and fund volume this year, and are grateful to our clients for the opportunities they have given us. The results are certainly a testament to the depth and breadth of our team.”

05-04-2007

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Mayer Brown LLP

Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw advises on "twin" venture capital trusts IPO
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP's London corporate group has advised Ingenious Live VCT 1 plc ("Live 1") and Ingenious Live VCT 2 plc ("Live 2") on the admission of the shares of the "twin" venture capital trusts Live 1 and Live 2 to the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange.

A prospectus was issued on 7 November 2006 under which Live 1 and Live 2 made an offer for subscription of shares to raise net proceeds for the purposes of investing exclusively in a portfolio of event companies that produce, promote and exploit live events (including music festivals, theatre, sport and exhibitions). Live 1 and Live 2 are promoted by Ingenious Investments and managed by Ingenious Ventures.

On 20 April 2007, 8,216,608 shares in each of Live 1 and Live 2 were admitted to listing on the Official List and to trading on the London Stock Exchange and the offer will close on 31 July 2007 (or such earlier date as the directors of Live 1 and Live 2 may determine).

The directors of both Live 1 and Live 2 include Patrick McKenna, who is also the chairman and founder of Ingenious Media and the former chairman and chief executive of The Really Useful Group, and Paul Gregg, the founder of Apollo Leisure Group and former chairman of SFX Group.

Sebastian Speight, Head of Product Development at Ingenious Media, commented: "The successful launch of Live 1 and Live 2 reflects investors' increasing appetite for the specialist media investment products managed by Ingenious. These funds add to the £40 million of funds managed by Ingenious and which are targeted at the creation of new properties in the music industry. We are delighted to have been supported by Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, who offered a combination of city and media sector expertise and whose professionalism ensured the successful delivery of this innovative investment opportunity."

Stephanie Bates, Head of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's London Equity Capital Markets group, added: "We are pleased to have helped Ingenious Media launch yet another successful product with this twin VCT structure. Ingenious Media continues to be at the forefront of providing investment opportunities in the media sector and this transaction was a good opportunity for us to combine our media competencies with our corporate finance expertise. The listings of Live 1 and Live 2 add to the significant number of transactions on which the firm's Capital Markets Group has advised over the last year."

The Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw team included London corporate partners Stephanie Bates, Robert Hamill and Kate Ball-Dodd, with consultant Philip Stark advising on investment management aspects and corporate assistant Michelle Wyatt.

05-04-2007

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King & Spalding

U.S. Department of Commerce Names King & Spalding Environmental Lawyer Jane Luxton as the New General Counsel of NOAA
The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced the appointment of Jane C. Luxton, a partner in the environmental practice of King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, as general counsel of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Luxton replaces James R. Walpole, who is stepping down as the agency’s general counsel this month.

"We congratulate Jane on her appointment," said Robert D. Hays, Jr., chairman of King & Spalding. "Jane is an outstanding lawyer and one of the nation’s leading environmental practitioners. Her strong intellect and outstanding leadership abilities will be valuable resources to NOAA."

As general counsel, Luxton will serve as the chief legal officer for all NOAA activities and as a policy advisor to the Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. She will be responsible for managing and providing leadership to the agency’s more than 90 attorneys, who are involved in trial and appellate litigation, regulatory proceedings, enforcement actions, legislative drafting and negotiation of international agreements. These legal matters include the areas of protection of marine mammals and endangered species, oceanic and atmospheric data and climate change research, operation of weather and environmental satellites, coastal zone management and ocean and fisheries regulatory and policy issues.

Luxton's practice at King & Spalding has focused on U.S. and international environmental law. She serves as chair of the American Bar Association Environment Section's International Environmental Law Committee. While at King & Spalding, she has been recognized as a leading practitioner of environmental law by the ranking organizations Chambers USA, The Best Lawyers in America, and Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers.

05-04-2007

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King & Spalding

King & Spalding Partner W. Ray Persons Elected President of the Atlanta Bar Association
W. Ray Persons, a partner at King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, has been elected President of the Atlanta Bar Association. Persons will officially take office on May 22, 2007, at the Atlanta Bar Association's Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon. He will succeed Richard B. Herzog, Jr. as the 100th president in the association's 119-year history.

Persons is widely regarded as one of the best trial lawyers in the Southeast, focusing his practice on complex litigation, including class actions and mass torts. He regularly appears before the state and federal courts and has been lead counsel in more than fifty jury trials. Persons has written numerous articles and conducted lectures across the country on strategies for defending complex cases. He is also a member of the International Society of Barristers and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers.

In addition to his active trial practice, Persons has made it a point to take a leadership role within the bar. For several years, he has taught the civil litigation segment of the Georgia bar orientation course for newly admitted lawyers. In the recent past, he has served as the Atlanta Bar Association's Second Vice President (2005-2006), Secretary (2003-04), Treasurer (2004-Present) and as a member of its Board of Directors (1996-97; 2000-Present). Persons is also a former chair of the of the Atlanta Bar Association's Litigation Section.

The Atlanta Bar Association is the largest voluntary bar association in the southeast, with a membership of more than 6,300 individuals from the metro Atlanta area. Organized in 1888, its members advocate for the legal profession and help create a professional and collegial environment while developing tools to assist with the day-to-day operations of legal practice.

05-04-2007

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King & Spalding

King & Spalding Represents Morgan Stanley Real Estate's Prime Property Fund in $2 Billion Acquisition
King & Spalding, a leading international law firm, represented Morgan Stanley Real Estate and its flagship core real estate investment vehicle, Prime Property Fund, in its recent acquisition and financing of three trophy office assets in downtown San Francisco—One Market Plaza, One Maritime Plaza and 150 California Street.

The towers aggregate more than 2 million square feet of A/A+ office space and were purchased from Blackstone Real Estate Advisors for approximately $2 billion, as a follow-on transaction to the $39 billion Blackstone/EOP merger consummated a few months ago. The acquisition of One Market Plaza included preferred equity and senior debt financing structures that required several weeks to complete. The firm was engaged as fund general counsel for Prime Property Fund in 2004, and we have assisted Morgan Stanley as it has grown the Fund's assets from approximately $2 billion in 2004 to over $8 billion in 2007, the San Francisco office acquisition being one of the highlights of these efforts.

05-04-2007

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Kelley, Drye & Warren, LLP

Court Order Paves Way For Jury Trial Against Google In Trademark Lawsuit
In a case that may have widespread ramifications for Google and any company that advertises though its Adwords program, a United States District Court judge rejected Google's latest attempt to throw out a landmark trademark infringement lawsuit brought by American Blind & Wallpaper Factory Inc. (ABWF).

The Court ruled that the case will proceed to a jury trial on most of ABWF's claims, marking the first time Google will face a jury in an Adwords trademark dispute. According to SEC filings, Google's Adwords advertising program accounts for over 98% of Google's $11 billion in annual revenues.

Kelley Drye represents ABWF, a leading company in the sale of custom window blinds and treatments and wall coverings, which charges that Google has violated the trademark laws by allowing rival competitors of ABWF to buy the company's name, and other trademarks, as so-called "keyword" search terms in order to appear as the top listing on Google's search results page. Courts in France and elsewhere have ruled this practice to be illegal, but to date the question has not yet been presented to a jury in the United States.

In denying the key elements of a summary judgment motion brought by Google and allowing the case to go to jury, Judge Jeremy Fogel found that "the evidence suggest that Google used [ABWF's] mark with the intent to maximize its own profit." This is the second time that the court has rejected Google's attempt to have the case dismissed.

Judge Fogel also observed that "the large number of businesses and users affected by Google's Adwords program indicates that a significant public interest exists in determining whether the Adwords program violates trademark law."

"The case also carries implication for other global companies who resent Google's profiting off the sale of their brand names and trademarks," says David Rammelt, a Partner at Kelley Drye who headed the team representing ABWF in the case. "We are gratified that our client will get its day in court, and that Google will finally face a jury for its trafficking in other companies' intellectual property."

Joel Levine, President and CEO of ABWF, stated, "There is a reason why we have trademark laws. They protect people. Google should not have greater rights than other business in the United States; it should not be able to trample the rights of business owners just because it is a large, powerful company."

05-04-2007

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