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DLA Piper Drops Facebook Plaintiff – WSJ.com

June 29, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Paul Ceglia, the man who claims he is entitled to a large stake in Facebook Inc., has been dropped as a client by the law firm DLA Piper, marking the latest twist in a battle over the origins of the social-networking company.

Robert Brownlie, the DLA Piper attorney representing Mr. Ceglia, wouldn’t say why his firm dropped the case. DLA Piper, one of the world’s largest firms, took on the case in April.

Mr. Ceglia has retained a new attorney, San Diego-based Jeffrey Lake, and is also represented by Paul Argentieri. Mr. Argentieri, based in Hornell, N.Y., said DLA Piper’s actions aren’t a setback in the case. “The case is going to get more critically interesting in a hurry for reasons that will be described later,” said Mr. Argentieri. He declined further explanation.

Mr. Ceglia, a New York state wood-pellet salesman, sued Facebook Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg in 2010. In his complaint, Mr. Ceglia alleged that Mr. Zuckerberg signed a contract in 2003 that gave Mr. Ceglia a stake in the company. Mr. Ceglia alleged he hired Mr. Zuckerberg, then a Harvard University student, to do work on StreetFax.com, an online database with information about street intersections. Mr. Ceglia alleged that as part of that contract, he agreed to invest $1,000 in the development of a Facebook site.

via DLA Piper Drops Facebook Plaintiff – WSJ.com.

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Congress Considers Penalties for U.S. Contractors Abroad

May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee is making a new push to apply some U.S. criminal laws to federal employees and government contractors who are working abroad.

The move by Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., is at least the third such attempt since a high-profile killing of Iraqi civilians by Blackwater security guards in September 2007. But this time, Leahy has at least the tentative support of some in the contracting industry and of the U.S. Justice Department.

Leahy said in prepared remarks for a hearing Wednesday that he was planning to introduce the latest version of legislation soon, and that he will move forward with it if he finds bipartisan support.

The Justice Department’s case against the Blackwater guards, one of many incidents involving contractors abroad in recent years, is moving slowly. Last month, a federal appeals court reinstated the case, but prosecutors still face evidence problems that Leahy said could have been avoided if U.S. law clearly applied.

“Had jurisdiction for these offenses been clear, FBI agents likely would have been on the scene immediately, which could well have prevented the problems that have plagued the case,” Leahy said.

DLA Piper partner Tara Lee, who co-chairs the firm’s transnational litigation practice, said at Wednesday’s hearing that many of the government contracting companies she represents would welcome some version of the proposal because existing law is unclear. For example, the law generally applies to contractors working for the Defense Department but it doesn’t always apply to those working for other agencies like the State Department.

“If there’s lack of clarity in a statute, I stay busy all day,” Lee said. “But from the perspective of the companies I represent, I think you do have an opportunity to clearly articulate your intent here.”

via Congress Considers Penalties for U.S. Contractors Abroad.

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The Lure of a U.S. Listing Remains Powerful for Some Chinese Companies

March 19, 2011 By Leave a Comment

With top U.S. capital markets firms virtually stepping over each other to launch Hong Kong law practices, one might think that the best days for U.S. securities law practices in Hong Kong and China are over, and that Chinese companies are now turning exclusively to Hong Kong, Shanghai and Shenzhen for their capital-raising needs.

Not exactly.

The New York Stock Exchange saw a record 22 listings by Chinese companies last year, with Nasdaq taking on another 12. Both numbers were up sharply from 2009, when only 10 Chinese companies listed on either exchange. In 2008, there were only three U.S. listings by Chinese companies.

Firms have taken notice. Last week, Proskauer Rose recruited U.S. capital markets partner Gene Buttrill from DLA Piper. Just a few days before, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe poached Jeffrey Sun Jie, a veteran of several U.S. equity and debt offerings for Chinese companies, from Latham & Watkins’ Shanghai office. Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati opened a Hong Kong office last fall in part to aid its push for U.S. listing work on behalf of Chinese clients.

None of which is to suggest the growth of Hong Kong and other Chinese capital markets has been overstated. The 34 U.S. listings by Chinese companies last year raised about $4 billion, less than a fifth of the $22 billion that the state-owned Agricultural Bank of China raised in its debut last year in Hong Kong and Shanghai.

But for certain kinds of Chinese companies — mainly private instead of state-owned — the U.S. markets still have a certain appeal. Unlike in Hong Kong, which requires listing companies to have been operating for three years, there is no track record requirement in the major U.S. exchanges, a fact that favors startups. And Chinese technology companies in particular have also counted on U.S. markets, with their greater infrastructure of tech-savvy investors and analysts, to deliver them higher share valuations.

via The Lure of a U.S. Listing Remains Powerful for Some Chinese Companies.

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Law Firm: DOJ Increasingly Using Travel Act to Prosecute Commercial Bribery – Corruption Currents – WSJ

September 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Along with the increased enforcement to combat corruption using the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, DLA Piper said in a client alert that the Justice Department has been using the Travel Act as a weapon to police commercial bribery.

Using the Travel Act as a weapon against corporate corruption greatly expands the scope and regulatory power of the Justice Department, the paper says. The 50-year old law, enacted to prosecute money-laundering gamblers and mobsters, bans the use of any communication in interstate commerce to facilitate the “carrying on of unlawful activity,” which it defines as bribery, among other things.

via Law Firm: DOJ Increasingly Using Travel Act to Prosecute Commercial Bribery – Corruption Currents – WSJ.

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Law Firm Inks $852 Million Outsourcing Deal

May 19, 2010 By Leave a Comment

Legal process outsourcing (LPO) company Integreon has entered into what it describes in a press release as the largest legal outsourcing deal ever, worth $852 million over 10 years, with British law firm CMS Cameron McKenna.

The work covered by the agreement — nonbillable support tasks such as accounting, human resources, marketing, training and information technology — does not affect lawyers directly.

According to the U.K. publication Legal Week, that means current law firm jobs won’t necessarily be shipped overseas. Instead, CMS employees whose “middle office” duties are covered by the deal will continue with their jobs but will start drawing a paycheck from Integreon rather than from the law firm.

CMS managing partner Duncan Weston told Legal Week, “We are not anticipating any redundancies at the moment. We want this to be seen as something which will be positive for the career development of our business support staff with the opportunities that they will have at Integreon.”

The deal is not the first of its kind for Los Angeles-based Integreon, but it is the largest, according to the company. Integreon, which maintains outsourcing centers in India as well as in the Philippines and South Africa, has previously handled support services for Clifford Chance and DLA Piper.

One notable aspect of Integreon’s agreement with CMS Cameron is the openness about the price tag. Most firms that turn to LPOs for discovery and other legal work ask not to be identified, much less have the value of their contracts disclosed. Thus, while rough estimates of the potential multibillion-dollar market for legal outsourcing have been bandied about for several years, the true scale of the industry has so far been hard to capture. That may be changing.

via Law Firm Inks $852 Million Outsourcing Deal.

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The 2010 Am Law 100 – The American Lawyer

April 29, 2010 By 1 Comment

It could have been worse. That,s the best that can be said for the performance last year of The Am Law 100, the top-grossing law firms in the nation. Three of the four key categories we,ve measured for 25 years–gross revenue, head count, and revenue per lawyer–fell, while profits per equity partner (PPP) barely increased by 0.3 percent, or $3,463, to $1.26 million.

But on average, even the bad results weren’t nearly as dire as many firms had feared just a year ago.

THE CHARTS

Gross Revenue

For the first Time since 1994, Baker & McKenzie surpassed Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom for the number one position on our gross revenue chart.

Revenue Per Lawyer

The downward trend continued for Am Law 100 firms in 2009 as more than half posted drops in revenue per lawyer (RPL), our best measure of a firm,s financial health.

Profits Per Partner (Top Ten)

Sixteen Am law 100 firms had profits per partner (PPP) of $2 million or more in 2009, the same number as in 2008.

Compensation – All Partners (Top Ten)

The average pay for a firm’s entire partnership, both equity and nonequity; in 2009, 42 Am Law 100 firms posted declines in CAP.

Value Per Lawyer (Top Ten)

Value Per Lawyer ranks firms by how efficiently they generate profits. For the fifth year in a row, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz tops our list.

via The Am Law 100 2010.

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