Law.com's weekly US Briefing brings you the pick of this week’s news, analysis and comment from the States
Jobs Subpoenaed in Connection With SEC's Case Against Former Apple GC
The Recorder
The Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) has subpoenaed Apple chief executive Steve Jobs to be deposed in the agency's case against the company's former general counsel, Nancy Heinen, according to a source familiar with the case. Observers say the subpoena isn't surprising given Jobs' connection to the specific stock option grants the SEC says Heinen handled fraudulently. Heinen is accused of falsifying board approval paperwork for several executive-team grants from February 2001 and a huge grant to Jobs in December 2001.
Cozen O'Connor Faces Gender Discrimination Lawsuit
The Legal Intelligencer
Cozen O'Connor has been hit with a sex discrimination suit by a lawyer who claims she was ousted from the firm less than a month after she filed a formal complaint of gender discrimination with the firm's director of human resources. Patricia Biswanger claims in her suit that when her political activities became controversial, Cozen O'Connor employed a double standard by prohibiting her from using "firm resources" for political work, while having no objection to male attorneys' political activities.
WilmerHale Nets SEC Honcho for LA Foray
The Recorder
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has scored a high-profile securities lawyer to anchor its move into Los Angeles: Randall Lee, the former SEC regional director there. The firm's partnership voted in Lee this week, closing the door on what has been weeks of heavy recruitment since he left the SEC in mid-July. As the SEC has heightened its enforcement activity, its leaders are increasingly being sought in the private sector.
Co-Founder of Milberg Weiss Indicted for Conspiracy in Class Action Kickback Scheme
The Associated Press
The co-founder of a New York law firm that made an estimated $250m (£124.3m) by filing class action lawsuits against some of America's largest corporations was indicted Thursday on charges that he conspired to pay kickbacks to people who agreed to be plaintiffs. Melvyn Weiss was added to an existing indictment in the seven-year investigation involving his firm, Milberg Weiss, and other lawyers. And a former senior partner at the firm, Steven Schulman, agreed to plead guilty to a racketeering charge.
Mukasey's Selection Seen as a Shift for White House
Legal Times
In naming Michael Mukasey as his third attorney general in six years, President Bush on Monday picked an outsider to run the beleaguered Justice Department for a little more than a year. The White House made that point clear in a fact sheet on Mukasey, stating that he brings to the AG position "a fresh perspective and a non-political background." In stark contrast to Alberto Gonzales, who was criticized for being too close to the president, the former New York federal judge is not a Bush confidante.
Securities Case Before Supreme Court Has Law Firms on Edge
The National Law Journal
The hundreds of pages of arguments in the more than 30 briefs filed in what many call the most important securities case in a generation boil down to one question: Who, besides the chief actor in a securities fraud, can be sued in private securities litigation? The answer from the US Supreme Court in Stoneridge could have major ramifications, in particular for law firms and accounting firms, but also for bankers and vendors. The Court will hear arguments in the case on 9 October.
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