Posts on ‘February 16th, 2010’

Having seen 13 partners in New York, London and across the Middle East defect to Latham & Watkins in the last two weeks, White & Case is busy trying to shore up its market position in those critical jurisdictions. One step the firm is taking: shifting key partners to its newly depleted offices. The Latham move is among the more spectacular lateral raids of recent years and has raised serious questions about White & Case.

Videoconference interviews are becoming more common as law firms and corporations expand geographically, and as travel becomes more expensive and time-consuming. With these types of interviews, presentation is a key factor, note consultants Valerie Fontaine and Roberta Kass.

Drew Peterson, the former Illinois cop now accused of killing his third wife and a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, will have an opportunity to respond this week to the hearsay evidence presented against him in a pretrial hearing. Friends and relatives of the two women have testified that the women said their husband on several occasions threatened to kill them. Illinois passed a law in response to the Peterson case that would allow such statements to be admitted, but it hasn’t been extensively tested.

A former executive at the Dunkin’ Donuts fast-food chain is suing his ex-employer for $5 million, alleging the company has spoken so ill of him that he can’t find another job. Michael O’Donovan, a former vice president of global research and development for Dunkin’ Brands, claims that officials defamed him with allegations of “excessive drinking, inappropriate conduct with female employees, chronic inability to meet deadlines, and a misleading and dishonest character,” leaving him “untouchable” in the food services industry.

Bail was set at $10 million Thursday for Bernard Madoff’s ex-finance chief, who has been imprisoned since he pleaded guilty six months ago and cooperated with the government’s investigation. Judge Richard Sullivan also required Frank DiPascali and his wife to forfeit all family assets except for an amount of less than $300,000 to be mutually agreed upon. Sullivan twice before rejected requests for DiPascali’s freedom, calling his role in Madoff’s fraud “crucial” and saying his potential sentence was “astronomical.”

Toyota’s legal bills are mounting in the wake of lawsuits springing from its recent massive automobile recall, but a Washington state federal judge’s order in a patent infringement case is one spot of good legal news for the automaker. Last week, Judge Richard Jones ordered sanctions against attorney Conrad Gardner, who is suing Toyota Motor Corp. and its U.S. arm for patent infringement. Toyota will get a partial refund of costs in the patent case.

The Supreme Court has issued an order asking both sides in a case involving Uighurs detained in Guantanamo to address, in effect, whether the case should be dismissed. The case is an important test of whether a federal judge can order the release of detainees brought into the United States. The parties had informed the Court that the Swiss government agreed to accept two of the Uighurs; the other five have already been offered resettlement elsewhere. The order asks what effect these new developments should have on the case.