Countrywide in crosshairs as mortgage crisis fuels litigation
Corporate Counsel
Occupants of corporate corner offices and the boardroom all expect the in-house litigation chief to be the battlefield commander during crises like the sub-prime mortgage market's collapse. With the sub-prime meltdown fueling a litigation industry, mortgage lender Countrywide Financial's Sandor Samuels, one of 20 Fortune 250 GCs who also serve as litigation chiefs, is facing huge lawsuits on all fronts from disgruntled investors and shareholders to mortgage customers and government regulators.
Privilege issue heats up in high-profile backdating cases
The Recorder
Privilege issues are heating up for former McAfee and KLA executives in two SEC fraud prosecutions for stock option backdating. On Monday former McAfee GC Kent Roberts will ask a federal judge to compel Howrey lawyers to turn over notes from their internal investigation of the company. Armed with favorable precedents from courts in Delaware and San Francisco, Roberts claims the notes will show that other McAfee executives were behind backdating. Howrey and McAfee are trying to keep the notes under wraps.
Supreme Court continues pro-business stance
Legal Times
In three key business rulings handed down Wednesday, the Supreme Court continued its trend toward freeing companies from the conflicting regulation of 50 different states in favor of one federal regime. The Court favored federal pre-emption over state laws and state court remedies in the areas of medical device regulation, interstate shipping of tobacco and arbitration of contract disputes. "We consider it part of our business" to sort out the balance between federal and state law, Justice Scalia said.
Judge declines to dismiss indictment of Scruggs in judicial bribery case
The Associated Press
A federal judge on Wednesday (20 February) declined to dismiss an indictment in a judicial bribery case against powerful attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs and two others. Scruggs, his son Zach and law partner Sidney Backstrom are accused of trying to bribe a judge to get a favorable ruling in a dispute over $26.5m (£13.5m) in legal fees from a mass settlement of Hurricane Katrina insurance lawsuits. Scruggs, who made millions from taking on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, could get 75 years if convicted.
Thomson-Reuters deal wins approval
The Deal
Competition authorities in the U.S. and Europe on Tuesday approved Thomson Corp.'s £8.77bn ($17.15bn) acquisition of rival news and data provider Reuters Group. The combination of Toronto-based Thomson and London-based Reuters will create the world's leading financial information company and eclipse Bloomberg as the top provider. Lawyers at the US Department of Justice required the companies to sell copies of three financial data assets to address overlaps in the business lines of fundamentals data, earnings estimates and after-market research reports.
Buchanan Ingersoll revenue up 4%, PEP up 9%
The Legal Intelligencer
After two years of large-scale mergers, Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney took it easy in 2007, focusing on integration, cost savings and creating the right practice mix. The firm's gross revenue grew by nearly 4% and its revenue per lawyer increased by 3.1%. The firm saw a larger percentage point jump in its profits per equity partner, said chief executive Thomas VanKirk, and could have given out more to its equity partners but chose to take a more cautious approach and invest in the firm's future.
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