Law.com's weekly US Briefing brings you the pick of this week’s news, analysis and comment from the States
Paul Weiss elects Brad Karp to chairman role
New York Law Journal
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has elected Brad Karp as its next chairman. Karp, the co-chair of Paul Weiss' litigation department and a member of the firm's management committee, will take the top leadership spot in January. Karp, 48, who began his career at Paul Weiss as a summer associate in 1983, said on Thursday (8 May) he saw his main task ahead as maintaining Paul Weiss' culture at a time when the profession in general has become more obsessed with the bottom line.
Congressmen call for Milberg Weiss-related hearings
The National Law Journal
Referring to the kickback issue at the heart of the federal government's case against Milberg Weiss as "a cancerous growth" and an "economic threat" that threatens American jobs, two high-ranking Republican Congressmen have called on House Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers to set a hearing to investigate the pervasiveness of such unethical conduct among trial lawyers. John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Lamar Smith, R-Texas, said the hearing should take place before 19 May, when plaintiff's securities lawyer William Lerach, a former partner at Milberg Weiss, is scheduled to begin serving a two-year prison sentence.
Ropes & Gray jumps Into the China fray
The American Lawyer
Ropes & Gray has opened an office in Hong Kong - its third new office in eight months and its second in Asia. Plans for the China office were in the works for a few years, but the timing of the move was largely a function of landing the right team. Only one other Boston-based firm, Bingham McCutchen, has a presence in Asia; Bingham opened in Hong Kong in January 2007.
Pension probe will snare "hundreds" of attorneys, NY Attorney-General predicts
New York Law Journal
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo predicted on Thursday (8 May) that "hundreds and hundreds" of attorneys will ultimately be implicated in his office's investigation of government entities improperly enrolling non-employees in public pension funds. While his investigators have only exposed the "tip of the iceberg" so far, Cuomo said the problem is not limited to a few school districts that were initially exposed for having put attorneys doing work for the districts on the public pension rolls.
Culture wars take their toll on Heller Ehrman
The American Lawyer
Heller Ehrman has always marched to its own beat. But ex-partners say the firm's woes, including departures of key business generators and declines in profits and revenues, have come as the leadership implements changes meant to help Heller keep up with competitors. Whether the changes will improve the firm's long-term financial performance remains to be seen, but short-term results haven't been promising. In the meantime, they've upset some longtime shareholders, many of whom are now former shareholders.
IP Law & Business
The individuals who are spotlighted on IP Law & Business' "50 Under 45" survey offer a unique and dynamic portrait of today's intellectual property world. Ranging from an appellate guru to an anti-counterfeiting strategist, they combine raw brain power with hard work, canny legal skills and a talent for being in the right place at the right time. Read on to learn more about those who made the cut.
Ex-prosecutor to hunt software pirates for Adobe
The Recorder
Ross Nadel, the former criminal chief of the San Francisco US Attorney's Office who founded and led the highly regarded Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property unit before joining Cooley Godward Kronish, has gone to Adobe Systems to be senior legal counsel of worldwide anti-piracy. He said he liked Cooley but the gig at Adobe, with its distinct mix of enforcement and cybercrime, was too appealing. Most big software companies have at least some in-house lawyers working to track down software pirates.
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