Posts on ‘February 19th, 2009’

Philip Morris has been ordered by a jury to pay $8 million in damages to the widow of a smoker who died of lung cancer in a case that could set a standard for some 8,000 similar Florida lawsuits. The six jurors deliberated over two days before returning the award for Elaine Hess, whose husband died in 1997 at age 55 after decades as a chain smoker. The award amounts to $3 million in compensatory damages and $5 million in punitive damages against Richmond, Va.-based Philip Morris USA.

The success of Glaceau’s VitaminWater was built on aggressive, edgy marketing. The company was so successful that The Coca-Cola Co. bought Glaceau in 2007 for $4.1 billion — the largest acquisition in the soda giant’s history. But as VitaminWater’s popularity and distribution grows, so does the number of would-be imitators. The company’s small but feisty legal department vigilantly defends VitaminWater’s distinctive two-toned labels. In fact, Glaceau hasn’t lost a trademark case yet.

Judith Flournoy, CIO at Loeb & Loeb, knows that moving a data center is a complex and expensive project, but one that is often necessary to meet business continuity objectives. After reviewing co-location facilities, she and her IT staff chose Thomson Reuters to host their systems.

Final details of Linklaters’ sweeping redundancy program are starting to emerge, with 14 associates in the firm’s banking practice and a further 16 in corporate being selected for layoffs. The numbers came to light after the firm this week started the second phase of its consultation — informing the individuals concerned of their fate. The number of cuts differs from initial leaked details from the firm which suggested that 19 jobs would go in the London banking practice and 15 in the corporate practice.

Layoffs at large law firms may be grabbing the headlines, but some small and midsize firms are also making tough decisions on how to survive the current economic crisis. From reining in daily expenses to refocusing their practice areas to fields still generating business, these firms are challenged to meet the shifting needs of clients while ensuring themselves the revenue they need to stay afloat. Meanwhile, some solo practitioners are feeling the crunch even more than their small-firm counterparts.

When Dallas lawyer David Buckner discovered Bikram Yoga — often called “hot yoga” because it is practiced in rooms heated to about 105 degrees — he was hooked. Today, Buckner and his wife co-own a Bikram Yoga studio. Never in love with the law, Buckner left legal practice for good in 2005 and says he never looked back. “The best thing about my job is that when people come in, no matter how bad they feel when they come in, they always feel better when they leave, and I never got that in the law,” he says.

A wide range of Ira Lee Sorkin’s peers in the white-collar and securities bars describe him as an outsized personality who is effective because he is so likable. One attorney says Sorkin is “very gregarious and good-natured,” but has “the residual toughness necessary in a criminal defense lawyer.” That toughness will come in handy as he faces the challenging task of representing one of the most hated men in America: Bernard L. Madoff, who is accused of ripping off hundreds of investors.

There are lots of legal angles to explore amid the growing scandal swirling around R. Allen Stanford and the Stanford Group. One issue in particular — that an attorney for the company, Proskauer Rose’s Thomas Sjoblom, sniffed out the alleged fraud, withdrew his representation and came clean to federal investigators about his client’s actions. Ethics experts say Sjoblom did precisely the right thing — and, more importantly, that the Sarbanes-Oxley Act likely made his decision much easier than it otherwise might have been.

Switzerland-based UBS entered into a deferred prosecution agreement Wednesday with federal prosecutors that ends an investigation into whether the banking giant helped U.S. clients avoid paying taxes. Under the terms of the agreement, UBS will pay a $780 million fine and disclose certain account holders’ names to the IRS. While the indictment states the government’s interest in the identities of between 17,000 and 20,000 UBS clients, the agreement does not specify how many names will be turned over to U.S. authorities.

Your chief executive officer has received a letter signed by the chairman of a congressional committee or subcommittee, inviting him to testify at a congressional hearing. Experienced in-house lawyers may think that they can easily handle this situation, says attorney William V. O’Reilly, but the most common misstep made in responding to a congressional inquiry is to approach it like a trial. Congressional hearings are different. You are on their turf, and you must play by their rules, O’Reilly says.