Posts on ‘October 15th, 2008’

As large groups of partners at Heller Ehrman have jumped on board other law firms in the past few weeks, one contingent of attorneys has been noticeably absent from some of the moves: associates. To be sure, some associates at Heller Ehrman have landed jobs alongside the partners with whom they worked at the San Francisco firm. But most of those attorneys specialize in areas that have been less affected by the downturn in the economy and revenue declines at Heller.

A Douglas County District Court judge has tossed out Nebraska State Sen. Ernie Chambers’ lawsuit against God, saying Chambers can’t sue God if he can’t serve papers on him. A self-proclaimed agnostic who is being pushed out of the Legislature because of term limits, Chambers has said he’s trying to make a point that anybody can sue anybody.

Michael Edison, a con man who stole $2 million from the widow of a legendary law firm founder, has agreed to spend more than five years in jail. But Edison’s wife — an alleged accomplice in trying to obstruct justice by deceiving Edison’s own lawyer — may get no prison time at all. The strange crime drama took a key step toward resolution Tuesday, when Edison pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge William Alsup and admitted to all the counts leveled against him.

The two largest immigration firms in Texas, Tindall & Foster and Quan, Burdette & Perez, announced Tuesday they will merge Jan. 1, 2009, creating what may be the nation’s second-largest immigration firm. Gordon Quan, a founder of Quan Burdette, says the new firm, to be named Foster Quan, is likely to open an office on the East Coast within the next year. “Our hope is to go nationwide. We don’t want to be stigmatized as just a regional law firm in Texas. We think this is a precursor for expansion,” Quan says.

A New Jersey jury has tagged KPMG with a $41 million verdict, finding the national accounting firm was negligent in auditing a ceramic collectibles company that was up for sale. The jury found that KPMG, in advising the would-be buyer, failed to mention large-scale accounting irregularities that undercut the target company’s value. An attorney in the case says he believes the verdict is the largest ever against KPMG.

The scope of a waiver of the attorney-client privilege when the party invoking the privilege has put the communication at issue in a lawsuit has been clarified by the 2nd Circuit. Saying it needed to “modify the very broad application of the rule” known as “at issue waiver,” the circuit set forth a new test. The circuit said it took the case for the second time because it recognized there has been “some uncertainty surrounding the rule.”

A New Jersey judge has approved a $24 million settlement for owners of dogs and cats who were sickened or died after eating pet food containing a chemical contaminant. The ruling clears the way for U.S. pet owners with claims to start receiving checks next year. Under the deal, pet owners have until Nov. 24 to file claims. U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman on Tuesday accepted the deal, calling it “fair, reasonable and adequate.”

Cleary Gottlieb confirmed Tuesday that it was one of the six firms the Treasury Department contacted to possibly take a lead adviser role on the $700 billion bailout plan. The four firms that turned Treasury down appeared to be mostly concerned about conflicts and losing lucrative clients. Simpson Thacher won the role; Chairman Richard Beattie says the idea that Treasury would push his firm to drop clients was “ridiculous.”