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August 04, 2008 | National Law Journal

The Goodling Report: How Aides Took Control of DOJ Hiring

Last week, in 140, detail-laden pages, the Justice Department's two top watchdogs laid out the tale of how the Bush DOJ used political litmus tests in an attempt to hire only those lawyers who would pursue a conservative agenda. The report places the blame for the political manipulation primarily on two top aides to then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales: Monica Goodling, the White House liaison, and D. Kyle Sampson, Gonzales' chief of staff.
13 minute read
January 07, 2002 | National Law Journal

A Bolt Of Regulatory Lightning

Pat Wood III has turned the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission into a functioning contradictions: a government agency that plans to deregulate the electricity market by regulating even more.
8 minute read
April 15, 2002 | National Law Journal

Gimme Shelter

With suits pending against Arthur Andersen, Enron, Vinson & Elkins, and Kirkland & Ellis, many firms are considering switching from being general partnerships to gain the protections of an LLP.
8 minute read
September 13, 2007 | National Law Journal

Racketeering Lawsuit by Biovail Backfires Against Company and Lawyers

Biovail Corp. was supposed to be the victim, the ill-used dupe of powerful hedge funds, analysts and bankers, whose short-selling scheme to spread false information about the company led to a plunge in its share price in 2003. And Biovail's respected litigators from Howrey and Kasowitz Benson were to be the ones to help the company prove it. How did the company's "extremely well-lawyered" legal strategy blow up in the faces of Biovail executives and lawyers, now the ones under scrutiny?
30 minute read
June 04, 2007 | National Law Journal

Texas Two-Step: Giuliani and Houston's Bracewell Learn the Politics of Dancing

When Houston's Bracewell & Patterson hired Rudolph Giuliani as partner two years ago, they got a real catch who would bring instant name recognition to the firm's fledgling New York office. In return, Giuliani got a pile of cash, an easy job and partners with ties to Texas Republicans. But politics can test the best of unions. In recent months the political spotlight has become increasingly uncomfortable for the former New York City mayor, the firm -- now known as Bracewell & Giuliani -- and its clients.
29 minute read
December 06, 2006 | National Law Journal

Where Will the Troubles End for Sonsini and HP?

Wilson Sonsini Chairman Larry Sonsini, who has plotted his career and his law firm's path to dominance with the precision and focus of a master, found himself this year in a place he never expected to be: testifying before Congress on his role as outside counsel to Hewlett-Packard, caught up in a boardroom spying scandal. Sonsini and his firm have faced criticism before -- over alleged conflicts and investments in client stock -- but now they face a crisis that might not blow over.
26 minute read
February 15, 2007 | National Law Journal

A Tale of Two Trials: Lessons to Learn From the Scrushy Story

With the help of his defense team, Richard Scrushy pulled off a surprising victory a year and a half ago on charges that he defrauded HealthSouth investors. The first CEO charged under the anti-fraud Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Scrushy walked. But he wasn't so lucky a second time; in a separate trial, he was convicted of bribing former Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman. A look behind the scenes provides valuable lessons in white-collar defense, and how trial tactics can help -- or hurt.
22 minute read
March 15, 2007 | National Law Journal

IP Litigators: Worth Their Weight in Gold?

Patent litigators are a must-have for firms, and they're willing to pay for them. Changing technology, consolidation of industries and the increasingly cross-border nature of IP battles are expanding the size and scope of patent cases. The median cost to take a patent case through trial increased from $2 million in 1995 to $5 million in 2005, according to the American Intellectual Property Law Association, which means that firms are missing a potential fee bonanza if they don't have enough lawyers on hand.
15 minute read
March 06, 2007 | National Law Journal

Will the Corporate Model Backfire on Greenberg?

With revenues up by more than 880 percent from 1996, it's understandable that Greenberg Traurig touts its business model of running like a closely held corporation. But in the wake of the firm paying millions in fines and settlements triggered by partners' imbroglios, many former Greenberg lawyers say the same qualities that yield great financial rewards -- an emphasis on profit, growth and a bureaucracy-free culture -- have allowed rogue lawyers and lobbyists like Jack Abramoff to join the firm and thrive.
33 minute read
September 11, 2007 | National Law Journal

The Biggest Job: Wachtell and What It's Taking to Rebuild Ground Zero

Representing Larry Silverstein in his quest to rebuild at Ground Zero has been the most demanding project that Wachtell Lipton has ever undertaken, with 71 lawyers working 100 hours or more on World Trade Center matters since 2001. It has also been Wachtell's most emotionally taxing representation. But at the behest of Silverstein, several Wachtell partners agreed to talk about all but the most confidential aspects of the deals, which many people say include the most complex agreements they have ever seen.
29 minute read

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