Updated : 03/13/2010
Pillsbury Winthrop is losing nine real estate lawyers -- including the managing partner of its 190-lawyer D.C. office -- to Boston-based Goulston & Storrs, which is known for its real estate expertise. Maureen Dwyer, who has been head of Pillsbury's D.C. office since the firm's merger with Shaw Pittman in 2005, called the move "such a good opportunity we couldn't say no." The Pillsbury group has been practicing together for 20 years, Dwyer said -- originally at Wilkes Artis, then Shaw Pittman, then Pillsbury.
The U.S. Court of Federal Claims ruled Friday that thimerosal-containing vaccines do not cause autism, rejecting a second theory advanced by plaintiffs lawyers who blame the injections for contributing to the developmental disorder in children. The rulings in three test cases mark the second defeat for plaintiffs lawyers who are litigating autism-related claims in the federal claims court in Washington. More than 5,500 families have filed claims in the Federal Vaccine Compensation Program.
In large, multinational organizations, implementing a legal hold is difficult, says consultant Brett Burney. It can be impossible to know exactly where data resides, and tracking hold notices for several thousand employees can be quite hopeless, but now PSS Systems Atlas can assist.
The New Jersey Supreme Court heard arguments last week on whether a corporation should be awarded counsel fees in a successful coverage dispute when it prevailed in a state that does not normally provide for them. A state appeals court held that since the corporation was successful in New Jersey on its coverage claim, it could recover counsel fees for the cost of fighting a suit in Illinois, because it was part of the overall controversy. The insurer appealed, protesting that Illinois law does not allow such recovery.
After the Supreme Court ruled that companies can spend freely on political advertising campaigns, good-government advocates, liberal commentators and even the president warned that a flood of corporate money would overwhelm elections and subvert democracy. But the real impact of the decision may be much less extreme, say in-house attorneys and election law experts. Few companies are looking for new ways to spend money in these tight times. Plus, many businesses are aware of the dangers of appearing excessively partisan.
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Drug Trafficking/Possession
