Posts on ‘November 19th, 2008’

It took $52 billion, 23 banks, a $10 billion bridge loan and at least six law firms, but it’s finally done: InBev, the Belgian brewer of Stella Artois and Beck’s, has finalized its purchase of Budweiser maker Anheuser-Busch to form a beer colossus that will be known as Anheuser-Busch InBev. Lawyers involved said they were surprised and heartened that they were able to close the deal — said to be the largest hostile cash takeover in history — amid an unprecedented credit crisis.

The D.C. Circuit has vacated a contempt order lodged against former reporter Toni Locy, who refused to give up confidential sources in reporting on an anthrax investigation, but the court left in place the possibility that lawyers for one-time “person of interest” Dr. Steven Hatfill will try to squeeze attorney fees from Locy. The panel noted that since Hatfill’s underlying case against the Justice Department had been settled, the need for Locy to divulge sources was moot.

Israeli and Russian victims of a 2004 terror attack on an Egyptian Hilton cannot sue the hotel in the United States, in part because a judge believed they were seeking a higher recovery from a New York jury sitting blocks from the World Trade Center site.
Southern District of New York Judge Peter Leisure found that the plaintiffs, none of whom were Americans, may have been engaging in forum shopping in , and he dismissed the case under the doctrine of forum non conveniens.

A lawyer for Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., argued Tuesday before the D.C. Circuit that the congressman should not be granted absolute immunity for statements he made about Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich and his role in the deaths of Iraqi civilians in Haditha in 2005. Murtha has compared the deaths to the My Lai massacre in Vietnam. The defense has argued that Murtha has immunity for statements made in the scope of his employment. The D.C. Circuit must decide first whether it has jurisdiction in the case.

A South Texas grand jury has indicted Vice President Dick Cheney and former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales on state charges related to the alleged abuse of prisoners in Willacy County’s federal detention centers. The indictment, which had not yet been signed by the presiding judge, was one of seven released Tuesday in a county that has been a source of bizarre legal and political battles in recent years.

California State Bar officials two years ago recommended that certain offenses should be grounds for a new, permanent disbarment. But the California Supreme Court met with State Bar officials last month and told them to limit lifetime banishment to the worst of the worst. So on Thursday, the State Bar Board of Governors’ Committee on Regulation, Admissions and Discipline Oversight will take a look at a scaled-down proposal that would permit permanent disbarment only for lawyers disbarred for a second time.

A judge’s refusal to allow a defense lawyer to cross examine a government witness about his swastika tattoos violated the confrontation clause, the 2nd Circuit ruled Tuesday. The ruling said Western District of New York Judge David Larimer had abused his discretion in barring the questioning. However, the circuit found that the judge’s error in was harmless and affirmed the defendant’s conviction.

Despite the obituary written for digital rights management by some, it remains a continuing part of new media distribution. Richard Raysman and Peter Brown discuss DRM, its new technologies, such as content identification, and how DRM is being considered by courts and litigants.

The volatile stock market and struggling economy have intersected at various points that have significantly affected attorneys in private practice and corporations. Corporate law departments are not immune from the headcount reductions that have openly and quietly affected law firms. In-house lawyers should be prepared, says consultant Frank Michael D’Amore, who provides suggestions that should offer protection and, if calamity should strike, better prepare you for the future.

As political and financial leaders take extraordinary steps to revitalize the economy, the majority of the 2008 graduates from Texas’ law schools are in the first few months of their professional lives as attorneys. A credit crisis, a volatile stock market and unpredictable global economy form the business backdrop for these grads. Five graduates who have chosen diverse careers are profiled by , which will check in with them annually for career updates over the next several years.