Posts on ‘November 20th, 2008’

When the British government dropped a bribery probe of BAE Systems, Europe’s largest military defense contractor had a major management shake-up, including the hiring of new GC Philip Bramwell who is leading the company’s reform efforts. So why have the Americans jumped into the fray? The Justice Department won’t comment — indeed, a wall of silence has come down across the department about the BAE case. And Bramwell says he can’t talk about the probe. But sources and court records suggest several reasons.

Most Web searching uses just a few providers. But according to technology writer Erik Sherman, there is a vast territory in the “invisible Web” that refers to databases connected to the Internet but not available for indexing by popular search engines, each with its own search capability.

The first priority of a young lawyer is to develop legal knowledge and skills, but learning marketing skills early can also be very fruitful in the future. Here are some steps partners can take to guide associates along the right marketing path, and also some tips to help associates be proactive in developing their own style and techniques for client development, as provided by Sharon Meit Abrahams, McDermott Will & Emery’s Director of Professional Development.

A Syrian arms dealer argued Wednesday that he was merely helping Spanish intelligence when he explored a deal to sell weapons to Colombian terrorists for use against the United States. But the prosecutor in the case called the defense a “cat-and-mouse claim.” New York federal prosecutors are trying to prove that Monzer al-Kassar and Luis Felipe Moreno Godoy agreed to sell millions of dollars in weapons to undercover informants posing as rebels with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia.

Arent Fox lawyer Joe Price, his domestic partner Victor Zaborsky and their former roommate Dylan Ward have been indicted on obstruction of justice charges in connection with the slaying of lawyer Robert Wone, who was found stabbed to death in their Dupont Circle home two years ago. The indictment comes three weeks after Ward was arrested in Miami-Dade County, Fla., on charges related to the Aug. 2, 2006, slaying.

The California Supreme Court has again inserted itself into the historic battle over same-sex marriage, agreeing Wednesday to decide the validity of Proposition 8, which limits matrimony to heterosexual couples. The court ordered opposing parties to file briefs that will help it decide whether the ballot measure was an improper revision of the state constitution, rather than just an amendment, and whether it violates the separation of powers. By and large, those on both sides of the issue were pleased.