McKool Smith has announced that it will combine with Los Angeles-based Hennigan Dorman on Sept. 12, adding 35 trial lawyers to 168-lawyer McKool Smith. The firm will be known as McKool Smith but do business as McKool Smith Hennigan in California. McKool Smith co-founder and chairman Mike McKool says his firm had been looking to move into the Northern California market for a while, because of the firm’s intellectual property practice, but conflicts derailed negotiations with a number of firms. Instead, through a mutual client, he got to know Hennigan Dorman partner Rod Dorman , and they discovered a strong similarity between the firms’ economics, culture, and style of lawyering and doing business. “It was uncanny,” McKool says. J. Michael Hennigan also says the firms have much in common. “The firms are similar culturally. We both are proud of our success in the courtroom and view ourselves as trial lawyers instead of litigators. We view our relationship with clients in the same way,” Hennigan says. He says Hennigan Dorman’s clients include City National Bank of Beverly Hills, Sempra Energy of San Diego and a number of hedge funds. Besides the pending new outpost in Los Angeles, McKool Smith has offices in Dallas, Houston, Austin, Marshall, Washington, D.C., and New York City. McKool says the firm remains interested in Northern California and believes the firm’s move into Los Angeles with Hennigan Dorman will make branching out into Northern California easier. He notes, “We are so heavy into patent litigation that Northern California is just a place we need to be.”
Name That Tune
Two recording artists from Long Island, N.Y., who own a record company have filed a $3 million copyright infringement suit against Houston independent megachurch Lakewood Church, its pastor Joel Osteen and co-pastor Victoria Osteen, over the alleged use of an instrumental recording. Richard Cupolo, John Emanuele and their company Yesh Music allege in an Aug. 24 complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas that the defendants used a recording of the song “Signaling Through the Flames” in televised church services and in a national advertising campaign for the DVD “Supernatural.” The plaintiffs allege in the complaint that the defendants entered into a “limited licensing agreement” to use “Signaling Through the Flames” on their website and in certain venues, but that agreement expired on Feb. 1, after one year, and the defendants did not renew it. The plaintiffs allege that beginning in March, the defendants began using the music in “global television broadcasts” of church services and in television advertisements for the DVD. “The composition plays as theme music during the entire run time of the advertisement for ‘Supernatural,’ ” the plaintiffs allege. They also allege the Osteens and the church “ knowingly, willfully and intentionally” caused third parties to use the song, even though they knew they did not have written authorization to do so. The plaintiffs, who compose and perform under the name The American Dollar, allege they license some of their music but Yesh Music “is not affiliated with any religious groups or political organizations, and does not desire to have its music associated with Defendants.” Instead, the plaintiffs allege, Yesh seeks “broad marketing of its music without compromising its artistic integrity or alienat[ing] its niche following.” They allege the defendants have not made any royalty payments to them but have benefited from the use of the composition. Yesh Music, Cupolo and Emanuele bring direct copyright infringement and contributory copyright infringement causes of action against the defendants and they seek a minimum of $3 million in actual damages, plus punitive damages, interest and attorneys’ fees. Craft Hughes , a partner in Hughes Ellzey in Houston who represents the plaintiffs, says Cupolo and Emanuele did not learn that Lakewood and the Osteens were using “Signaling Through the Flames” until a friend told them about hearing the music on a television commercial for the DVD. In response to the allegations and on behalf of all three defendants, Lakewood spokesman Donald Iloff writes, “The music in question is 1 minute of background music which Lakewood Church had a license to use. The plaintiff is apparently confused about the scope of the license, and are now demanding $3 million for uses that are authorized. We think this is unreasonable.” [See the complaint in Yesh Music, et al. v. Lakewood Church, et al.]
