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Seagate Sues Over Unpaid Legal Costs

The Recorder

Disk drive giant Seagate Technology settled a patent fight with Cornice Inc. two years ago. Problem is, according to Seagate, its insurer won't pick up the tab for its lawyers at Fish & Richardson. With the company now suing its insurer, Seagate said in a filing Tuesday that National Union Fire Insurance Co. of Pittsburgh has paid only $4 million of the $10 million it spent on the case.

Plaintiffs Firms' Jousting Imperils $350 Million Doctor-Insurer Pact

New Jersey Law Journal

A rift between plaintiffs firms in New Jersey and New York is threatening a proposed $350 million class action settlement between the AMA and the United Healthcare Group and is affecting the pursuit of actions against three other insurers. Pleadings suggest relations between the firms began unraveling last year in the UHG litigation over a classic issue: Should we take a reasonable settlement from the defendant now or do we bet on the solidity of our case, keep litigating and get a better deal?

Judge Conflict Case Tests High Court Veteran

Legal Times

With 64 oral arguments under his belt, Mayer Brown partner Andrew Frey has argued more cases to the Supreme Court than any other lawyer currently in private practice. Now he's preparing for what may be the biggest -- and most unpopular -- argument of his career, representing a West Virginia coal company accused, in effect, of buying a state Supreme Court justice through campaign donations while its case was pending before that court. Arguing for the politically incorrect side "makes it more fun," he says.

2nd Circuit Upholds NYC Law Requiring Restaurant Chains to Display Calorie Counts

New York Law Journal

A New York City law requiring McDonald's, KFC and other chain restaurants to post calorie information on menus and menu boards is not pre-empted by federal law on disclosure of nutritional information, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The 2nd Circuit also said that requiring, for example, Chili's to tell customers that its smoked turkey sandwich contains 930 calories does not violate the First Amendment.

DOJ Prosecutors Replaced in Post-Trial Stevens Litigation

Legal Times

DOJ prosecutors who secured the conviction of former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens will play a reduced role in post-trial litigation, the chief of DOJ's Public Integrity Section has told a judge. Three other DOJ lawyers have been tapped to take over the litigation. The move comes just three days after the principal deputy chief of the Public Integrity Section and two other DOJ officials were found in contempt for disobeying court orders. The bulk of the post-trial litigation is rooted in allegations of prosecutorial misconduct.

Dreier Bankruptcy Papers Reveal Surplus of Assets

New York Law Journal

Three days after disgraced attorney Marc S. Dreier was released from jail to begin house arrest at his Manhattan apartment, papers filed in the Dreier LLP bankruptcy proceeding reveal that Dreier's 250-attorney firm might not be insolvent after all. According to a summary of schedules filed Monday with the Southern District of New York Bankruptcy Court, Dreier LLP has $59 million in assets and $42 million in liabilities, some $30,000 of which is owed to creditors holding secured claims.

Mukasey to Join Debevoise & Plimpton

Legal Times

Former Attorney General Michael Mukasey will join Debevoise & Plimpton as a New York partner in the firm's litigation department, the firm announced Monday. Mukasey, who replaced Alberto Gonzales as attorney general in November 2007, will focus his practice primarily on internal corporate investigations, independent board reviews, corporate governance and monitorships, the firm said in a news release.

Chief Justice Roberts on Rehnquist and on Achieving Consensus

Legal Times

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. was in an expansive and reminiscing mood earlier this month in a talk at the Rehnquist Center at the University of Arizona Rogers College of Law. Roberts called Rehnquist, for whom he clerked, one of the "two or three most significant successors" to the great Chief Justice John Marshall. Roberts also revealed one of his own key strategies for achieving consensus on the Court through the assignment of opinion-writing, likening the task to working a Rubik's Cube.

Former N.Y. Chief Judge Joins Skadden Arps

New York Law Journal

Former New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye began what she called "Chapter 3" of her legal career Monday at Skadden Arps. Kaye, forced to leave the Court of Appeals in December due to mandatory retirement rules, has joined Skadden as of counsel, though she acknowledged she did not yet know exactly what she will do for the firm or how much time that will leave for promoting children's programs, supporting diversity in the legal profession and other causes she championed as chief judge.

Roman Polanski Loses Court Bid but Gets Another Chance

The Associated Press

A judge has refused to dismiss a sex case against Roman Polanski because he's a fugitive but signaled he would reconsider if the director returns to the U.S. and appears in court. Superior Court Judge Peter Espinoza said that after watching a documentary on the case he agrees there was misconduct by the now-deceased judge who arranged a plea bargain but reneged on it. Polanski pleaded guilty in 1977 to intercourse with a 13-year-old girl but fled to France after the judge threatened him with more prison time than agreed upon.

Skirmish With Court Officers Leads to Change of Trial Venue

New York Law Journal

A New York judge has granted a change of venue for four men who fought with court officers in a court hallway. The skirmish between officers and the men -- a college student, two high school students and a teacher -- occured during a pretrial hearing for 20 members of the "Bushwick 32," a group of people who were arrested while walking to the subway to attend a friend's wake. The arrests have been the subject of protests, blog posts and newspaper stories accusing the Brooklyn DA's office of racism.

For Magic Circle Partners Shown the Exit, Where Are the Jobs?

The American Lawyer

After the cut comes the job hunt. There was a time when the partners due to be shown the exit from the likes of top U.K. firms Ashurst, Clifford Chance and Linklaters would have gravitated naturally to one of the legions of U.S. firms looking to aggressively grow their business in London. In the current economic climate, such moves look far less assured.

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Yahoo Fights In-House Bias Claim

The Recorder

A fight, now unfolding before the EEOC, offers a rare look at the tensions that can arise in a legal department around race and gender and the way that a department responds. One of Yahoo's lawyers -- a black woman named Eulonda Skyles -- claims her bosses discriminated against her after she came back from a 2005 maternity leave. Although an internal investigation found the charges "meritless," Yahoo subsequently made changes to its legal department that appear to address some of the issues raised by Skyles.

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Inadvertent Disclosures in E-Mail

Daily Business Review

We use e-mail to communicate with colleagues, clients, adversaries, friends, courts and even complete strangers. It is so prevalent and accessible that little thought is given to the fact that every message typed creates a permanent record that could be an issue in a legal dispute.

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How a Few Radical Employment Law Changes Will Create Lots of Work for Attorneys

The National Law Journal

Make no mistake, it just got tougher to be an employer. Take it from the expert, Charles S. Caulkins, an attorney at Fisher & Phillips who has spent 30 years representing employers in labor and employment matters. His doom-and-gloom philosophy rests on several factors: the economy; a new, pro-union/employee-friendly president; and several legislative proposals. Caulkins examines all these anticipated changes, what they mean for employers and how lawyers can stay afloat in these murky waters of change.

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