Posts on ‘March 18th, 2009’

President Barack Obama’s first steps in pursuit of his reinvigorated antitrust enforcement priority were the nominations of Commissioner Jon Leibowitz for chairman of the Federal Trade Commission and Christine Varney as Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice. Leibowitz’s and Varney’s enforcement histories are an indication that the business community can expect a quick and steep upturn in antitrust enforcement, say attorneys Neal R. Stoll and Shepard Goldfein.

When a court will not order an FRCP Rule 34 search from the start, attorney Leonard Deutchman advises e-discovery practitioners to build a good record: Let your opponent fail at producing discovery before moving to convince the court to order such relief.

Details of Allen & Overy’s redundancy program have been revealed, with staff learning about the criteria they will be judged on as well as the redundancy packages on offer. The firm has drawn up a list of seven criteria by which staff will be judged when being considered for layoffs: individual performance, business, sickness, disciplinary record, versatility, contribution and potential. The firm has also finalized details of the severance packages it will be paying out to associates.

Twitter is one of the fastest growing social networks on the Web. Recent statistics show that there are more that 6 million Twitter users and on average, more than 225 million “tweets” per day. Twittering has obviously caught on, but can it be a valuable business tool for lawyers, or should tweets remain only between friends? Consultant Gina F. Rubel discusses the basics of Twitter, shares her own and others’ opinions on Twitter for lawyers, and provides some online resources for more information.

A handful of law firms in Florida confirm that they have de-equitized partners. The recession seems to have given law firm leaders the incentive — some consultants would say the courage — to make the tough decisions to demote or fire low-performing partners. But demoting an equity partner to non-equity status isn’t necessarily the best way to address the problem of a less productive partner, say some, because it can demoralize, or because non-equity partnerships should be kept for lawyers on the rise.

Morgan & Finnegan, the New York IP boutique that dissolved in February after a raft of partner departures, filed for bankruptcy Tuesday. The Chapter 7 filing came six days after a New York state judge placed the firm into receivership in response to a lawsuit by lender JPMorgan Chase. The boutique, whose revenue declined 38 percent last year, listed $6.37 million in assets and $10 million in liabilities.

Federal prosecutors have charged a longtime accountant for Bernard Madoff with securities fraud and other charges for failing to conduct audits and deceiving investors. David Friehling surrendered Wednesday morning to the FBI and is expected to make his initial appearance before a magistrate judge in the Southern District of New York. He is the first person prosecutors have publicly charged in addition to Madoff himself in what is regarded as the largest Ponzi scheme in history.

Indicted attorney Marc S. Dreier sold more than $700 million in phony real estate development notes and fake pension plan notes during his four-year scam, according to a superseding indictment released Tuesday. The new indictment, which adds a count of money laundering, also alleges a greater number of victims than initially thought. Although the overall loss to investors in Dreier’s schemes remains roughly $400 million, the government can increase the amount it is now seeking in forfeiture.

President Obama last month announced the Treasury Department’s new set of guidelines restricting executive compensation at financial institutions that receive governmental money. Attorney Angela Marie Hubbell examines how the new guidelines mark the beginning of the president’s examination of the relationship between the corporate governance and compensation rules and current financial circumstances, and the indicators that additional changes to executive compensation are forthcoming.

As social networking Web sites become more than just a virtual place for the global community to link to friends, they test our social, legal and personal boundaries, says attorney Harry A. Valetk. Last month, when it faced a virtual revolt after changing its terms of use, Facebook discovered that social network democracy has officially arrived — one that places user expectations before corporate legalities. Web users have unparalleled power to reach top management at online companies — and be heard.