Posts on ‘November 20th, 2008’

For the first time, defense lawyers were allowed to see a section of the Guantanamo prison that is so restricted, even its location on the U.S. base is secret. Two military lawyers for Ramzi Binalshibh, an alleged plotter of the Sept. 11 attacks, were granted 90 minutes to view Camp 7, a section for “high value” detainees that opened two years ago. The lawyers, who are determining if their client is competent to stand trial, said they were barred from revealing what they saw on the tour.

One of the last significant groups from Thelen has been picked up by Reed Smith. Thelen labor and employment Chairwoman Linda Husar and Los Angeles managing partner Thomas Hill, a member of Thelen’s dissolution committee, will join Reed Smith along with three other partners and four associates, the latter firm said Wednesday. Husar and Hill have been said to split a book worth between $5 million and $10 million, with Kaiser Foundation Health Plan as a significant client.

The 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld a New Hampshire state law forbidding marketers from using information about doctors’ prescription information that is patient- or prescriber-identifiable for certain commercial purposes. The ruling rejected the argument that the law violated the First Amendment by illegally restricting commercial speech.

The rule that prohibits a jury from hearing about a criminal co-defendant’s confession doesn’t apply in a non-jury trial because judges are capable of applying a rule of limited admissibility, the 3rd Circuit has ruled. In a second opinion authored by the same judge, the 3rd Circuit overturned a federal conviction for illegal gun possession after finding that the prosecutor’s “repeated injection of prejudicial drug evidence into the trial testimony constituted prosecutorial misconduct.”

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s former chairman and current managing partner, Robert Link Jr., was not included on a recommended slate of candidates for the firm’s management committee given to partners Wednesday, according to a Cadwalader source and confirmed by Link. He gave up his chairman duties in February to real estate partner W. Christopher White, a longtime ally, but continued to run firm operations while White mapped out a new firm strategy that may de-emphasize the firm’s work in capital markets.

Former Pennsylvania Superior Court Judge Michael T. Joyce was convicted Wednesday on charges that he lied about neck and back injuries and abused his position on the bench to receive a $440,000 payout from two insurance companies following an automobile accident. Found guilty on two counts of mail fraud and six counts of money laundering, Joyce faces a maximum of decades in prison, but a shorter sentence is likely because Joyce has no criminal record.

As the first defendants in the nation to plead guilty to economic espionage charges, Ming Zhong and Fei Ye admitted they stole secrets from Silicon Valley companies and sought VC funding from the Chinese government. In preparation for sentencing Friday, Ye’s lawyer asked a California judge to seal Ye’s entire sentencing memo. Observers say the scenario highlights a practice on the court in which judges approve sealing orders to expedite the resolution of cases — regardless of governing case law or standard.

U.S. auto industry executives were back on Capitol Hill Wednesday pleading for a $25 billion federal bridge loan as a means of averting bankruptcy. Carmakers can show they’re serious about changing their broken business model by dropping federal civil suits challenging the legality of emissions laws in four states, say environmental lawyers. Along with a handful of other auto manufacturers, the Big Three have pursued civil actions targeting global warming laws passed in four states.

Mayer Brown is conducting a firmwide evaluation of its staffing needs in light of a slowdown in some practice areas, the firm said. “Our practice area and geographic diversity has served us well,” the firm said in a statement. “A few practice areas, however, have been affected by the slowdown in economic activity.”

Some 18 lawyers have been tapped by the transition organization of President-elect Barack Obama to serve on teams examining policy and budget issues on national social issues related to education, labor, health and technology. The lawyers come from an array of professional backgrounds, including big law firms, academia, nonprofits and the military.