Issue 2 /2010
Letter from the Chairman
In this issue:
Dear Friends
- Letter from the
Chairman
Firstly, I would like to welcome our new member firms to Multilaw: Lee &
Ko, Schalast & Partner and Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii. I look forward to
working with them and I know that they will make a valuable contribution
to the network.
- New members
- 2010 Americas & Asia
Pacific Joint Regional
Conference
-IPBA Conference /
Multilaw Asia Pacific
Meeting
- 2101 EMEA Fly-in
Meeting
With the addition of the new firms, this brings Multilaw's membership to
70 member firms in 58 countries.
As Chairman, I have attended all of the Multilaw events which have taken
place in recent months. Some of the events have been linked to
international legal conferences such as the IPBA Annual
Conference. This has enabled lawyers from member firms to attend both
events who would not necessarily attend just a Multilaw Conference. All
these Multilaw events have been well attended particularly so the
European Regional meeting held recently in Berlin and they have
enabled me to promote the benefits of the Association to new
acquaintances.
- Practice Groups
- Executive Council
Elections
Our next meeting will be a special one, our 20th Anniversary Conference
in Madrid and I look forward to seeing many of you
there.
With kind regards
- 2010 Americas & Asia
Pacific Regional
Conference
- Firms in Action
William Barker
Chairman
- From Head of
Development
- Firms Working
together
- In the Media
New Members
- Member News
- Request for Articles
- Referrals
- Change in contact
details
We are very pleased to announce that the following firms have recently
joined Multilaw as full members:
LEE & KO - Seoul, South Korea
Lee & Ko is a large firm with 99 Partners and 130 associates. The firm
works in most areas of law and has specialty teams in many areas
including Administrative, Antitrust and Competition, Banking & Finance,
Insolvency, Corporate, Energy, Entertainment, Environment, Health
- Schedule of Multilaw
events
- Next issue
Care, Insurance, Intellectual Property, International Trade, Labour &
Employment, Litigation, M & A, Transport, Real Estate, Tax and
Technology.
The firm has attorneys who speak Korean, English, Japanese and
Chinese languages.
The contact details are as follows:
Mr Hyeong Gun Lee
[email protected]
Mr Uh Young Chang
[email protected]
Lee & Ko
18th Floor, Hanjin Main Building 118
Namdaemunno 2-ga
Jung-gu
Seoul
Korea
Tel: +82 2 772 4000
Fax: +82 2 772 4001 / 2
www.leeko.com
SCHALAST & PARTNER RECHTSANWÄLTE - Frankfurt, Germany
Schalast & Partner is a full service firm and specialises in a number of
areas including Telecommunication and Multimedia including IP/IT,
Banking & Finance, Venture Capital, M & A, Corporate, Infrastructure,
Labour & Employment, Real Estate and Litigation/Dispute Resolution.
There are 7 Partners, 7 Counsel and 14 Associates in the firm and it
covers German, English, French, Hebrew and Polish languages, with
additional offices in Berlin and Dresden.
The contact details are as follows:
Prof. Dr. Schalast
[email protected]
Mr Gregor Wedell LL.M
[email protected]
Schalast & Partner Rechtsanwälte
Mendelssohnstraβe 75-77
60325 Frankfurt am Main
Germany
Tel: +49 69 9758310
Fax: +49 69 97583120
[email protected]
www.schalast.com
TUCA ZBÂRCEA & ASOCIATII - Bucharest, Romania
Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii is a full service firm and works in most areas of
law and its speciality areas are Banking & Finance/Capital Markets; M &
A; Litigation and Arbitration; Corporate and Commercial; Energy; PPP,
PFI, concessions and Public Procurement; Employment; and Real
Estate.
There are 16 Partners and 72 associates and articled clerks in the firm
and lawyers cover Romanian, English, French, Spanish, German and
Italian languages.
The contact details are as follows:
Mr. Gabriel Zbârcea
[email protected]
Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii
Victoriei Square, 4-8 Titulescu Ave.
America House, 8th Floor, Sector 1
Bucharest 011141
Romania
Tel: +40 21 204 88 90
Fax: +40 21 204 88 99
www.tuca.ro
Heather Leeson:
Managing Partner of Martineau's London office
I am very sad to announce the recent death of my partner Heather
Leeson who has died following a long battle with cancer. Heather
attended a number of Multilaw conferences and is known to many
members. Heather joined Martineau in 2000 and was instrumental in the
establishment of the firm's London office. She leaves a husband Steve
and a daughter Louise who many of you may remember meeting at our
conference in Lisbon.
William Barker, Martineau
2010 Americas & Asia Pacific Joint Regional
Conference
José Rafael Bustamante and his colleagues of the Ecuador firm of
Bustamante & Bustamante recently hosted the Americas & Asia Pacific
Regional Conference in Quito and, despite the long distance which many
people had to travel, welcomed thirty delegates from north and south
America and Asia, as well as eight delegates from Europe. The
conference was also joined by a representative from the Paraguay firm
which is currently undergoing a due diligence visit.
The substantive programme was led by the guest speaker Mr Roberto
Baquerizo, an ex-Ecuadorian Monetary Board Chairman who currently
works for the Rockefeller Group in New York. He gave a review of the
latest economic developments that have occurred across Latin America
and their impact on the wider Americas region as well as globally. The
session was very well received and provoked a great many comments
and questions by the delegates.
This was followed by sessions on 'Tax Free Havens – Benefits and
Limitations'; 'Trade and Investment issues in the Americas'; and 'Practice
Management – How are firms preparing for the upturn?'. These sessions
were led by panellists from Multilaw firms, including Dalton Albrecht;
Roberto Alemán; Arnoldo André; Bill Barker; Germán Barrios; Mike
Cornett; John Leaman; Mark Lowndes and Tom Schmuhl. The final
session of the day was a brief from Mike Cornett on the idea of
establishing an international healthcare practice within Multilaw.
The programme for Saturday morning comprised the two regional
meetings which were followed by a Business Development session led
by Peter Hawley and Adam Cooke. This opened with a survey of
Multilaw objectives and enablers as they were identified in Toledo in
1990; Quito in 1996 and how they stand today. Delegates were
encouraged to share their own experiences over the past 12 months of
developing business in their respective jurisdictions.
The social programme included visits to various sites in Quito's Centro
Histórico, a World Heritage Centre, and culminated in an excursion to
visit Hacienda Palugo, the home of Dr José Rafael Bustamante and a
chance of see the horse Multilaw which was born at the time of the
previous conference in 1996.
The powerpoint presentations viewed at the conference are now
available on the Multilaw website under 'Past Conferences'.
IPBA Conference - Multilaw Asia Pacific Meeting
On the 2nd of May this year
Multilaw held a half day
meeting to coincide with the
IPBA Annual Conference
which took
place in Singapore. Bill
Barker took the opportunity
to present his "Vision for
Multilaw" to the 30 people
present. We were also
delighted to have Rafael
Morales the President of the
IPBA and Jerry Sumida the
Secretary General of the
IPBA address the meeting.
Members also had an
opportunity gather the next
evening at the Multilaw Cocktail Reception which was generously hosted
by Donaldson & Burkinshaw to whom many thanks are due.
2010 Europe / Middle East / Africa Fly-In Meeting
2010 Europe / Middle East / Africa Fly-In Meeting
This meeting took place in Berlin on 4-5 June and was attended by 42
delegates from 28 member firms. There were no outside speakers and
the meeting was a chance for European members to gather together to
discuss matters of mutual interest. Many thanks are due to Stoll Schulte
for their assistance in organising the meeting. Social events included a
guided tour of the Reichstag followed by dinner on the Friday night and a
visit to Schalast and Partner's offices for pre-luncheon drinks on the
Saturday.
Practice Groups
Intellectual Property and Media, Advertising & Entertainment:
International Trademarks Association Conference
The annual meetings of the Multilaw Intellectual Property and Media,
Advertising & Entertainment Practice Groups took place in Boston during
the 2010 International Trademarks Association Annual Conference. The
meetings were held on Sunday, 23 May at the Hyatt Regency Hotel and
were well attended with 39 lawyers from member firms plus guests in
attendance.
Multilaw Client Cocktail Reception
Multilaw and its member firms co-hosted a very successful cocktail
reception at the Hyatt Regency on Monday, 24 May. The response was
the highest to date with approximately 190 members and guests in
attendance.
Labour & Employment:
The major event for this group this year is the SHRM Annual Conference
which takes place June 27-30. Nine Multilaw lawyers will be present and
will be marketing the benefits of Multilaw to the over 10,000 HR Directors
present. In addition to securing a booth at the exhibition centre Multilaw
is hosting the conference's Global Reception and the Global Lounge
which will give Multilaw an opprtunity to present itself to the international
delegates present at the conference.
How To Hire & Fire - 2010 Edition
The new edition of How To Hire & Fire is coming together. Jon Heuvel,
the practice group leader is currently reviewing the chapters that he has
received, but the response from members submitting their chapters has
been extremely slow in spite of a deadline being given. For this reason, it
is unfortunate that the production of the new edition is likely to be
delayed.
Privacy & Information Security:
The Privacy & Information Security Practice Group is making the push to
finalise completion of the Global Data Privacy Tool to coincide with the
annual meeting in October, 2010. A special Multilaw entity is being
established and has engaged Willis Gregory as the Project Manager
and Sara Bitter as the Documentation Lead during the development
period.
Willis will be working directly with KLexserve, the website design group
who created the website for the Tool. Sara will be contacting Multilaw
members as needed to inquire concerning their interest in contributing
written materials for the Tool, or to obtain updates to materials already
submitted. Both Willis and Sara are based in Cincinnati.
Real Estate:
Six firms - Kelemenis and Co, Jun He ,
Penningtons Solictors, Martineau, WKB,
and Felten and Associes - participated at
the Multilaw breakfast, brunch and lunch
at the Miramar Plage in Cannes during
MIPIM 2010 in March. Just under 300
clients of these Multilaw firms attended
and it was a wonderful opportunity for
Multilaw to showcase itself as a serious
player in this industry.
Business Transactions:
The Multilaw Business Transactions Group is putting together its first
publication. This initial publication will take the form of a brochure
consisting of a feature describing a "Day in the Life" of Multilaw's
transactional lawyers that will give an insight into the daily work of busy
Multilaw transactional lawyers around the world followed by a series of
case studies highlighting the variety of ways in which various Multilaw
firms from different nations work together every day on many types of
business transactions to help their clients. The brochure will include
photos and other appropriate graphics intended to make it an attractive
document in which all of us can take pride. It is intended for
dissemination internally among the lawyers of Multilaw member firms and
externally to clients and potential clients of member firms so that both
audiences may better understand the potential of Multilaw for this
important practice group area.
We now need your help in providing case studies for inclusion in the
brochure. Ideally, we are looking for examples of situations in which two
or more Multilaw firms have come together successfully to work on
business transactions for clients. However, the brochure will be
assembled in such a way that notable transactions in which your firm has
been involved on its own without the participation of another Multilaw
member can be included. There is virtually no limit to the types of
transactions that would be good examples for inclusion. A short list of
suitable transaction types might include: acquisitions, divestitures, capital
finance transactions, corporate reorganizations, business establishment,
joint ventures, manufacturing and supply arrangements, technology
licensing, securities offerings, and bank lending.
Please email your contributions to [email protected]
Executive Council Elections - 2010 / 2011
Elected Members of Executive Council
Members are reminded that they are entitled to nominate a candidate or
candidates for the elected members' slate at the next AGM in Madrid.
The candidate should not be from the proposer's own firm or from any
firm already represented on the Executive Council. Proposals should be
received in time to be included in the papers circulated 14 days before
the AGM. Candidates are to be asked to provide a brief resumé for
inclusion in the papers. This should include an indication of what tasks
the candidate has performed for Multilaw and what committees they
might like to be involved in. Although any ballot is conducted on a free
vote of members, Multilaw has a preference for candidates who have
already had experience in one of the Multilaw sub committees or panels
before joining the Executive Council.
Regional Chair
Each Regional Chair is an ex officio member of the Executive Council,
after election or re-election by members in his or her own region.
Members who would like to be considered for the post of chair should
notify the present holder of the office so that a timetable for possible
change can be discussed.
Firms in Action
ASTOLFO DI AMATO & ASSOCIATI AVVOCATI - Rome, Italy
Astolfo Di Amato has been retained to represent the former CEO of
MGN Capital and a top advisor to the president of Kyrgyzstan against
charges of criminal conspiracy and money laundering stemming from the
client's alleged involvement in a massive international fraud scheme.
Prosecutors in Italy claim the client was the key player in a fraud that
siphoned approximately US$2.7 billion from the wholesale telephony
divisions of Telecom Italia SpA and Fastweb SpA between 2003 and
2006.
_________________________
Astolfo Di Amato and Alessio Di Amato are also defending the Swiss
CEO and owner of the Eternit group, along with several of the group's
companies in what Italian newspaper La Repubblica has called the "trial
of the century". The former top executive, the companies and other
defendants are accused of intentionally failing to put in place measures to
prevent asbestos damage at Eternit's plants in the Turin area. The
proceeding involves over 3,000 civil and criminal claims and is
considered by many to be the first "class action" in Italy.
DUANE MORRIS LLP - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
June 2009 - Members of the Duane Morris Construction division of the
Trial Practice Group in New York represented three of the firm's four
largest projects in a list of the top 2008 construction starts by confirmed
project cost. Duane Morris lawyers represent the following projects:
World Trade Center Tower 4 (#1 at $2 billion), United Nations
Headquarters (#2 at $1.9 billion) and 99 Church Street (#4 at $1 billion).
At a combined value of $4.9 billion, these projects comprise more than 47
percent of the total dollar value of all the starts listed.
_________________________
January 2010 - A team of Duane Morris attorneys represented
LaserDynamics Inc., based in Japan, in its infringement suit against
Quanta Computer USA. In July 2009, a jury awarded LaserDynamics $52
million and found that Quanta had infringed the patent on a device that
recognizes an inserted disc as a CD or DVD and finds the appropriate
software to read or play it. On January 6, 2010, the judge issued a final
judgment, granting an additional award of $5.5 million in pre-judgment
interest, bringing the total verdict to $57.5 million. Quanta is currently
seeking a stay on the jury award. Partners Thomas Sankey of the Trial
Practice Group and Gregory Luck of the Intellectual Property Practice
Group, both in Houston, led the team, which consists of associates in
Philadelphia, Houston and Boston, all of the Trial Practice Group; as well
as members of the Intellectual Property Practice Group in Philadelphia.
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP - Miami, Florida, USA
Holland & Knight assisted Ecuador's Banco Pichincha C.A., Diners Club
del Ecuador S.F. and other parties in their reacquisition of Inversora
Pichincha S.A. and Interdinco S.A., Colombian financial institutions, from
American International Group, Inc (AIG) subsidiary AIG Consumer
Finance Group (AIGCFG). The deal closed on March 24, 2010. Holland
& Knight had previously assisted Banco Pichincha, Diners Club del
Ecuador and others in the sale of Inversora Pichincha and Interdinco to
AIGCFG in June 2008. The firm served as lead counsel to the buyers.
Miami partner Joe Sirven and Washington, D.C. associate Maria Elisa
Arango assisted the clients, together with local counsel from the Torrado
Angarita & Pinzon firm in Bogota, Colombia.
_________________________
Miami partner Alberto Hernandez and associate Jose Fernandez
represented Grupo Plasencia, the largest tobacco grower in Central
America in its joint venture with Swedish Match AB, the parent company
of General Cigar and one of the world's largest producers of handmade
cigars. The deal, which was announced on March 18, will create a new
company called Caribbean Cigar Holdings that will be majority owned
and run by Plasencia. Swedish Match will own 20 percent of the venture.
Holland & Knight client, Plasencia, is a family-owned tobacco growing
and premium cigar production operation located in Honduras and
Nicaragua. Swedish Match manufactures and markets both premium and
mass-market cigars primarily for the U.S. market and machine-made
cigars for the European and the International market, as well as pipe
tobacco, matches and lighters in Continental Europe, Latin America,
Australia and Asia. Holland & Knight served as co-counsel to Plasencia
in this transaction with Vila, Padron & Diaz in Miami, Sanchez Cordero y
Asociados in Nicaragua, and Conjurinter in Honduras.
_________________________
Norm Leventhal and Sky Mexico successfully negotiated an agreement
for Grupo Televisa´s subsidiary Corporacion de Radio y Television del
Norte de Mexico, more commonly known as Sky Mexico. Sky Mexico is
the leading direct-to-home satellite television provider in the region and it
is a joint venture of Grupo Televisa, S.A.B. and The DIRECTV Group,
Inc. (a U.S. provider of direct-to-home television services). After
negotiations with the world's largest satellite provider, Intelsat, S.A., the
new agreement now allows for Sky Mexico to lease 24 Ku-band
transponders on Intelsat's IS-21 satellite, which will be mainly used for
signal reception and retransmission services in its service territory:
Mexico, all of Central America and certain countries in the Caribbean.
Sky Mexico's current satellite (IS-9) is expected to be out of service in
three years, when IS-21 will become operational. The new agreement,
spanning 15 years of the life of IS-16, will provide other important
benefits to Sky Mexico, including the ability to provide additional channels
of service to its customers and long-term guaranteed access to future
satellite capacity.
KOAN - Brussels, Belgium
In March 2010, Koan represented TF1 before the General Court of the
European Union, in a particularly complex debate that questions the
conformity to EU State aid regulations of the State aid given to France
Televisions. The firm's EU law team participated in the case: Jean-Paul
Hordies, partner, Catherine Smits, Sébastien Snoeck and Pieter
Paepe.
From the Head of Development
Industry Gatherings
Following the sucess of the Multilaw gatherings at INTA, SHRM and
MIPIM I am keen to explore other other events at which lawyers from
particular practice areas of industries gather which may be suitable for
Multilaw to have an involvement. If anyone has any suggestions please
let drop me a line and let me know.
STOPAN Committee
This is the commitee tasked with ensuring that the substantive content of
Multilaw conferences remain relevant and engaging. I know many
Multilaw lawyers regularly attend conferences, meetings and seminars all
around the world. The STOPAN Committee would very much appreciate
hearing about particularly interesting speakers or topics that you come
across so that we might possibly incorporate them into Multilaw
conferences. Please contact me if you are able to help.
Multilaw 20th Anniversary Brochure
This publication will be available at the 20th Annual Conference in
Madrid. We still looking for particularly interesting examples where
Multilaw firms have come together in a significant way to assist high
profile clients over the years. If your firm has worked on any such
matters with another Multilaw firm or firms please let me know about it.
The deadline for receiving copy is July 5th 2010
Recruitment Committee
The Recruitment Committee is particularly interested in receiving
recommendations from Multilaw members for firms in Indonesia, the
Middle East and North Africa. If you are able to assist please get in
touch.
Adam Cooke
[email protected]
Multilaw Academy Reunion
It is intended to have a reunion for all past attendees of the Multilaw
Academy to coincide with the Multilaw AGM and Annual Conference in
London 2011. The details of the Reunion are still being finalised and will
be published when available.
Firms Working Together
Advokatgruppen's seminar company, Kursusgruppen, will have more
than 1,000 Danish lawyers attend their full day seminars in 2010. On 2
June 2010, Thomas Schmuhl of Duane Morris LLP held a very
successful seminar for Kursusgruppen on "Drafting Commercial
Agreements in English" at the Opus Conference Center in Horsens,
Denmark. 35 lawyers from Danish law firms and companies such as
Vestas, NNE Pharmaplan, Fertin Pharma, Crisplant and Viking Life
Saving Equipment were in attendance.
In the Media
ABREU ADVOGADOS - Lisbon, Portugal
In 2010, the firm was awarded once again, the "Best Law Firm to Work
for in Portugal" by Exame Magazine and the Executive Search Firm
Heidrick & Struggles. Ranking as the 5th Best Medium Size Company to
work for from various industries/sectors and the "Best Law Firm to Work
for in Portugal".
CAMPBELLS – George Town, Cayman Islands
Campbells is pleased to announce that in The World Finance Awards for
2010, the firm has been named as having the "Best Insolvency and
Restructuring Team" in the Cayman Islands. The team is headed by
partner Ross McDonough. Partner Alistair Walters has also been
named as "Best Individual Lawyer" in the Cayman Islands.
The World Finance Awards - created in 2007 to identify industry leaders,
individuals, teams and organisations that represent the benchmark of
achievement and best practice in the financial and business world - are
entering their third year and will reflect a wider spectrum of financial
services and related industries than ever before.
CARLSMITH BALL LLP – Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Carlsmith Ball is pleased to congratulate its 19 attorneys who were
selected by attorney peers throughout the profession for inclusion in the
2010 edition of Best Lawyers®, the oldest and most respected peerreview publication in the legal profession.
Mary Jane Connell was named "Honolulu Best Lawyers Trusts and
Estates Lawyer of the Year" for 2010; and additionally, the firm is
delighted to be the highest ranked firm in Hawaii in six separate practice
areas - Employee Benefits Law; Land Use & Zoning; Maritime; Mergers &
Acquisitions; Non-Profit/Charities and Trusts and Estates.
FROST BROWN TODD - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
Frost Brown Todd is pleased to announce 18 of its attorneys have been
recognized by Indiana Super Lawyers® and 7 of its attorneys have been
recognized by Indiana Rising Stars® for 2010.
FBT is pleased to announce that 9 of its attorneys have recently been
recognised in the March/April 2010 Super Lawyers® Corporate Counsel
Edition. This bi-monthly edition recognises the top attorneys in Business
Litigation.
Jan de Beer a member of the Multilaw Academy Alumni was recently
nationally recognized by Law360 as a Top 10 International Trade
Attorney Under 40.
Jan's colleague Steven Wesloh was also nationally recognised by
Law360 as a Top 10 Environmental Attorney Under 40.
The attorneys who are recognized by Law360 are considered up-andcoming in their various practice areas.
GRAY PLANT MOOTY - Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA
Gray Plant Mooty is pleased to announce that its Franchise & Distribution
practice group is one of just 11 franchise practices across the globe to be
recognized in the 2010 edition of Chambers Global: The World's Leading
Lawyers for Business. In addition, Gaylen Knack, a Gray Plant Mooty
principal, is one of just 17 franchise attorneys worldwide recognized in
the 2010 edition of Chambers Global. "This outfit provides the full array of
franchising services to its wide-ranging clientele," reads the Chambers
Global review of Gray Plant Mooty. "It recently added the expertise of
Carl Zwisler to its Franchise and Distribution practice group, boosting
the number of franchise lawyers to 23. These practitioners are
concentrated in its Minneapolis and Washington, DC, offices. Gaylen
Knack is singled out for his impressive transactional franchising work."
JUN HE - Beijing, P.R. China
Jun He has been awarded the first place as "Chinese Law Firm in the
Investigation" by Asian Legal Business (ALB) on the Employer of Choice
in China for the year of 2010.
LEXINCORP ANDRÉ TINOCO & ABOGADOS - San José, Costa Rica
In March 2010, the Annual Assembly of the Costa Rican Chamber of
Commerce (founded in 1915) elected Dr. Arnoldo André-Tinoco,
partner of Lexincorp André Tinoco Abogados in Costa Rica, as its
President. The Chamber of Commerce is celebrating its 95th
Anniversary and is the oldest and most recognised Chamber in Costa
Rica.
MATTOS FILHO, VEIGA FILHO, MARREY JR E QUIROGA
ADVOGADOS - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados, was
recognised in March for the following awards: National Law Firm of the
Year for Brazil and Project Finance Deal of the Year for the Pecem case both by International Financial Law Review. Additionally, the Firm was
awarded the Latin America Power Deal of the Year by Project Finance
Magazine for the case of Pecem. The merger of Votorantim (VCP) and
Aracruz also won the Deal of the Year by Latin Lawyer in the M&A
category.
TUCA ZBÂRCEA & ASOCIATII - Bucharest, Romania
Chambers Europe singled out Tuca Zbârcea & Asociatii as the "Best
Romanian Law Firm" at the annual Chambers Europe Awards for
Excellence ceremony held in London last week.
The firm won the award for Romania against strong competition from 5
other independent and international law firms. The award recognises
both pre-eminence and notable achievements over the past year,
including outstanding work, impressive strategic growth and excellence in
client service.
Member News
ABREU ADVOGADOS - Lisbon, Portugal
Carmo Sousa Machado, was invited to be one of the panel speakers at
IBA's (International Bar Association) Mid Year Conference on
Employment Law, which took place in New Delhi in February.
Partner Miguel Mendes Pereira, responsible for the coordination of the
firm's Competition, Regulatory and EU Practice Area, was the key-note
speaker at the Spring Conference of "EYBA - European Young Bar
Association" in Lisbon, in March. His presentation was mainly focused
on the Lisbon Treaty and the practice of law in the EU.
ATTORNEYS-AT-LAW JURIDIA LTD - Helsinki, Finland
Senior Associate Sakari Salonen has been appointed as the Chairman
of the Finnish Anti-Counterfeiting Group. Additionally, Partner HannaMaija Elo continues to work on the Group's Board of Directors together
with Salonen, actively contributing to the Group's matters. The Finnish
Anti-Counterfeiting Group is a non-profit making association whose
purpose is to prevent the manufacture, trade, delivery and other
distribution of counterfeit products and pirate copies. The Group acts as a
medium of communication and organizer of meetings among the Group's
members.
BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC - Portland, Oregon, USA
Bullivant Houser Bailey PC is pleased to announce that Jeanne Loftis
has been admitted to the American Board of Trial Advocates
(ABOTA). She joins five other Bullivant Houser Bailey attorneys who are
already members of ABOTA: Jeffrey Eden, Stephen English, David Ernst,
Douglas Houser, and Richard Whittemore.
The American Board of Trial Advocates is an invitation-only membership
organisation comprising plaintiffs' and defense attorneys as well as
judges. The organisation is focused on preserving the right to fair trials
by jury in civil matters, and to advancing the highest professional and
ethical standards in the legal profession.
BULLIVANT HOUSER BAILEY PC - Portland, Oregon, USA
In March 2010, Bullivant hosted delegates from China's Intellectual
Property Office and Administration Enforcement Departments. The China
IP delegation was visiting the United States at the invitation of the U.S.
State Department to gain a broader understanding of U.S. and California
intellectual property laws, particularly as they pertain to the technology
sector. The delegation comprised Ms. Huang Hongjian, Deputy Director
of the Jiangsu Intellectual Property Office; Mr. Li Zongbao, Senior Officer
of the Enforcement Department, Zhejiang Intellectual Property
Administration; and Ms. Liu Jun, Director, Administrative Office, Anhui
Intellectual Property Office.
COLON & COLON P.S.C. - San Juan, Puerto Rico
On 1 May, 2010, Frankie Colón Pagán assumed the presidency of the
Association of Defense Trial Attorneys (ADTA). ADTA is an association
of select lawyers from the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico that
dedicate their professional time to the representation of defendants in
civil litigation before state and federal courts. It has 600 active members
and 100 Emeritus members.
Frankie is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Defense
Research Institute, Inc. DRI is an international organization of attorneys
that defend the interests of business and individuals in civil litigation. DRI
provides numerous educational and informational resources to its
members and offers many opportunities for liaison among defense trial
lawyers, Corporate America, and state and local defense organizations.
DRI also has an international presence, seeking to enhance
understanding of the law among members of the defense community who
have reason to be concerned with the expanding globalization of litigation
defense.
CSABAI & PARTNERS - Budapest, Hungary
Csabai & Partners is pleased to announce that the Minister of Justice
appointed its firm's IP partner, Dr. Andrea Lindner to be the member of
the Hungarian Council of Copyright Experts for five years from May
2010. Andrea's appointment is the appreciation of her high quality of
professional service provided to the firm's Clients in the area of
Copyright, IP and Media law, acting in several precedents cases.
Primarily Andrea will continue to manage the IP and data protection
practice of the Firm and represent its clients, but as a member of the
highly esteemed Council of Copyright Experts she will be able to give
her expert opinion and participate in the interpretation of law and
the elaboration of guidelines.
The firm is also pleased to announce that the Hungarian Minister of
Social Affairs and Labour appointed Dr Kinga Zempléni to be the
member of the Council of Labour Mediation for five years from 7 May
2010. Kinga's appointment is the appreciation of her high quality of
professional service, especially in the area of collective labour law acting
in several precedent cases. Primarily Kinga will continue to manage the
labour practice of the Firm and represent its clients, but as member of the
Council of Labour Mediation she will be able to conciliate between
different views and interests and therefore promoting the quick and
amicable settlement of disputes.
DUANE MORRIS LLP - Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Duane Morris was ranked #2 among firms with the most active
bankruptcy practices during the fourth quarter of 2009.
In March 2010, Tom Schmuhl, partner and co-chair of the firm's
international practice group invited VIP's and guests to celebrate the
opening of the Global Center for Development and Democracy in
Washington D.C.
FROST BROWN TODD - Cincinnati, Ohio, USA
James Dimos a partner at Frost Brown Todd, is one of 9 lawyers from
around the United States to be nominated as members of the ABA Board
of Governors.
FBT is pleased to announce that Indianapolis member Steven J.
Strawbridge has been appointed to Chair of the International
Association of Defense Counsel (IADC) Fidelity and Surety Committee.
Nashville partner Bobby Guy was appointed co-chair of the American
Bankruptcy Institute's Health Care Committee, on 6 May, 2010.
KOAN - Brussels, Belgium
Koan has been growing in strength in terms of its Gaming & Betting and
assists a number of Belgian and international companies in all aspects of
Belgian and EU law relevant to the sector. In addition, Koan published its
first newsletter dedicated to these issues in March and Jan Decorte,
partner, presided over a conference session at the World Gaming briefing
organised by Clarion in Malta, based on the following topic: Gaming,
Gambling & Betting in Belgium: an overview of the applicable and future
legislation including the impact on online gambling & betting services (25
March 2010).
MOROGLU ARSEVEN - Istanbul, Turkey
Moroglu Arseven co-organised and co-sponsored the International Sports
Law Conference which took place in May, with the Turkish Football
Federation, Turkish Airlines, Turkcell and DdF.
Benan Arseven chaired part of the conference and two of counsels from
the firm Dr Inal and Dr Baysal were panelists.
PENNINGTONS SOLICITORS LLP - London,
England, UK
Penningtons Solicitors LLP has appointed Nicole
Curtis, a barrister specialising in professional
regulation, as a partner. Nicole's appointment
follows the historic Legal Services Board
announcement on 1 April 2010 that it has approved
Bar Standards Board applications designed to
change barristers' working practices and give
consumers greater access to their services. As a
result of the amendments, which take immediate
effect, barristers can now work as managers and hold shares in legal
disciplinary practices as well as work in partnerships. Nicole, who was
previously an associate at Penningtons, is therefore one of the first
barristers in the UK to take up the position of partner within a law firm.
Penningtons Immigration Team has advised on a new scheme aimed at
enabling businesses to attract the best global talent to the UK. Developed
and operated by GTI Recruiting Solutions Ltd, the world's largest
recruitment company, on advice from Penningtons, the scheme is backed
by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and regulated by
the UK Border Agency. Penningtons immigration partner, Nichola Carter,
introduced the concept to GTI and the UK Government as a way of
solving the increasing frustration felt by many of the UK's leading
employers at the lack of ability for them to benefit from overseas interns.
POLSINELLI SHUGHART PC - Phoenix, Arizona, USA
Polsinelli has acquired Jefferson City-based law firm Hendren Andrae
LLC, in April 2010. Three shareholders, two senior partners and two
associates from Hendren Andrae joined the firm to practice public policy,
government relations, regulatory law, and business litigation in the state
capital of Missouri.
Polsinelli expanded its national Public Policy group with the addition of a
team lead by eight health care senior public policy strategists and
professionals. This group brings top-tier, sophisticated regulatory and
advocacy experience to Polsinelli's established Public Policy group. The
firm's clients will benefit from the expanded health care and regulatory
capabilities particularly with the recent passage of healthcare reform.
TODS MURRAY - Edinburgh, Scotland, UK
3 new partner appointments complete a series of internal promotions at
Tods Murray LLP. Richard Leslie specialising in Rural Property &
Renewable Energy has been appointed partner within the Rural Property
& Business team, Robert Muir has been made partner within the Private
Client team and Nigel Sievwright becomes a partner within Capital
Projects. The promotions, which took effect on 1 April, followed a number
of other senior appointments across the firm, paying tribute to the
strength and depth of the Tods Murray lawyers and their expertise. In
recent months, Paul Shearer, Iain Wishart, Barbara Bolton and Jill
Ley have all been promoted to Associate and Caroline Shand & Linda
Walker have been made senior solicitors at the firm.
Lawyers Joining Member Firms
BARRIOS FUENTES GALLO ABOGADOS - Lima, Peru
Barrios Fuentes Gallo Abogados is pleased to announce that Rossana
Sala has been incorporated as Partner of the firm. Ms. Sala is a
graduate from the Universidad de Lima and has a Master Degree in
business law from the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid. For twelve
years she worked at the legal departments of Peruvian private sector
companies, and for nine years at the legal department of the Corporación
Andina de Fomento (CAF) in Caracas, Venezuela. She is a specialist in
financing transactions, including cross border financing, project financing,
short, medium and long term loans and equity investments particularly
pertaining to international bank organizations assignments and private
banks, corporate and commercial law.
BUFETE GIMENEZ TORRES - Marbella, Spain
Silvia Giménez Godosar has recently joined the firm's Marbella office.
Silvia has been working as a Lawyer in the area of Marbella since 2003
and is specialized in all matters related to real estate, inheritance and
corporate Law. She has worked for foreign clients and speaks Spanish,
German, English and some French. Silvia has a commercial talent,
which shall help to increase the firm's business on the Costa del Sol.
DUANE MORRIS LLP - New York City, New York, USA
Duane Morris LLP is pleased to announce that Mitchell A. Frank joined
the firm in its New York office as a special counsel in its growing
Intellectual Property Practice Group. His addition strengthens the firm's
depth of IP law capability in New York and nationally. Frank joins Duane
Morris from Unilever United States, Inc., where he was assistant general
counsel for commercial law and trademarks. Unilever's trademark
portfolio is one of the largest in the world.
FROST BROWN TODD - USA
Dr. Nicole Tepe, Ph.D. has re-joined the firm as a Senior Associate in
the firm's Cincinnati office Intellectual Property Practice Group. Dr. Tepe
rejoins the firm from practicing in-house as Counsel at The Procter &
Gamble Company.
Charles M. Johnson has joined the firm as a partner in the
Business/Corporate Department and has extensive experience
representing health care providers, businesses, financial institutions, coal
companies, energy development firms and other businesses in
commercial matters, including complicated transactions and agreements.
William L. Montague has joined the firm as a partner in the Cincinnati,
Ohio and Florence, Kentucky offices. Mr. Montague, a former partner at
Greenebaum, Doll & McDonald PLLC, has practiced law nearly 30 years
and concentrates his practice in estate and gift taxation and planning,
estate and trust administration, business succession planning, asset
protection planning and charitable giving.
HOLLAND & KNIGHT LLP - USA
Jason Klitenic, the former Deputy General Counsel of the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security and Deputy Associate Attorney
General of the U.S. Department of Justice, has joined the firm's
Washington, D.C. office as a partner in the firm's Government Contracts
– Enforcement Defense practice. He represents clients in a variety of
government enforcement, regulatory and public policy matters, including
investigations and procurement initiatives in the homeland security
marketplace.
Moe Vela has joined the firm's Washington, D.C. office as a Partner in
the Public Policy and Regulation Group. Mr. Vela focuses mainly on
business development and providing strategic counseling to firm's clients,
such as developing government relations strategies on the federal, state
and local levels.
Suanne St. Charles has joined the firm's Boston office as a partner in
the Real Estate Practice Group. Ms. St. Charles concentrates her
practice on public development projects and real estate financing
transactions for commercial projects.
Veronica Perez has joined the firm's Los Angeles office as partner in the
Public Policy and Regulations Group. Ms. Perez concentrates her
practice in the government section and will work on a wide range of
lobbying and legal issues, including land use, legislative and government
counsel, public contracting and redevelopment issues.
Milford "Mil" Hatcher, Jr. has joined the firm's Jacksonville and Atlanta
offices as a partner in the firm's Private Wealth Services practice. Mr.
Hatcher concentrates his practice in estate planning, business
succession and income tax planning for high-net-worth clients. He has
unique experience in regards to preferred partnerships, especially in a
family context, and has extensive experience with family limited
partnerships, valuation and estate freezes. Mr. Hatcher also advises
clients in all areas of U.S. tax law, including corporate, partnership and
transfer tax.
JUN HE - Beijing, P.R. China
In January 2010, Jun He promoted Liu Chi (previously a counsel of the
firm), Mi Xingping, Zhang Zongzhen of Beijing office, Wang Yi, He
Lingyun, Nelson Zhou, Zhao Fang and Zhang Zhongmin of Shanghai
office from senior assicates to partners, and Huang Shan of Beijing
office , Liu Guangming of Shanghai office and Xia Ruhai of Hainan
office from senior associates to counsels. The areas of practice of the
promoted partners and counsels include corporate and M&A, litigation,
banking , IP and securities.
In January 2010, Jun He added one counsel, Zhou Yong who is one of
the leading PRC anti-dumping lawyers, to its Beijing office.
MATTOS FILHO, VEIGA FILHO, MARREY JR E QUIROGA
ADVOGADOS - Sao Paulo, Brazil
Mattos Filho has hired Giovani Loss as a partner for the Oil & Gas
practice. He joined the firm in May and is based in Rio de Janeiro.
POLSINELLI SHUGHART PC - USA
Seasoned bankruptcy and financial restructuring attorney Jason A. Nagi
has joined Polsinelli Shughart PC as a shareholder with the firm's
nationally recognised Financial Services Department. Mr. Nagi will focus
his practice in bankruptcy and financial restructuring, creditor's rights,
loan enforcement and creditor bankruptcy representation. Mr. Nagi has
represented hedge funds, private equity funds, individual businesses,
national and international financial institutions, corporate institutional
clients and closely held corporations in a variety of financial
restructurings, workouts, formal reorganization cases and litigation.
12 attorneys have joined Polsinelli Shughart's Phoenix office, significantly
expanding the firm's Environmental and Natural Resources practice and
its Insurance Coverage/Bad Faith Litigation practice. The group of six
shareholders, two counsel and four associates are led by Lucas
Narducci, Troy Froderman and Brian Moll. This group brings a wealth of
experience and success representing national manufacturing, mining and
service companies in the areas of environmental and natural resources,
toxic tort, public liability, product liability, corporate law, business
litigation, and insurance coverage / bad faith litigation. The Phoenix
office now has 47 attorneys.
STOLL SCHULTE - Hamburg, Germany
In February 2010 Stoll Schulte expanded in the fields of trademark,
design and unfair competition law by gaining the additional IP specialist
Ina-Mara Helbig from Munich. Ina-Mara Helbig started her career in
intellectual property law in 2000 in the Munich based IP boutique
Wuesthoff & Wuesthoff and developed in the following years the IP
litigation department at another IP firm in Munich before she came to
Stoll Schulte.
Request for Articles
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Referrals
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from all member firms are encouraged to inform the Secretariat about
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Change in Contact Details
ADVOKATGRUPPEN
Change of address from 15 March 2010:
Vester Voldgade 83
DK 1552 Copenhagen V
Denmark
Other contact details remain unchanged.
If you have any changes relating to your firm please send
details to [email protected] at the Secretariat.
Schedule of Multilaw Events
MULTILAW EVENTS:
Multilaw Academy
Veranda Resort & Spa
Chiang Mai, Thailand
20th Annual Conference & AGM
(including the Executive Council Meeting)
Westin Palace Hotel
Madrid, Spain
1 - 7 August
21 - 24 October
OTHER EVENTS:
SHRM (27 - 30 June)
San Diego, California, USA
SHRM Gala Dinner sponsored by Multilaw
28 June
IBA Annual Conference (3 - 8 October)
Vancouver, B.C., Canada
Multilaw Breakfast
5 October
Please contact the secretariat at [email protected] for further details.
Next Issue
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appear in MultiNews, please email the Secretariat at
[email protected].
The closing date for Issue 3/ 2010 is 23 July 2010.
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