FBI chief describes GPS problem from court ruling

A recent Supreme Court ruling is forcing the FBI to deactivate its GPS tracking devices in some investigations, agency director Robert Mueller said Wednesday.

Mueller told a congressional panel that the bureau has turned off a substantial number of GPS units and is using surveillance by agents instead.

"Putting a physical surveillance team out with six, eight, 12 persons is tremendously time intensive," Mueller told a House Appropriations subcommittee. The court ruling "will inhibit our ability to use this in a number of surveillances where it has been tremendously beneficial."

Mueller declined to say how many devices were deactivated. The FBI's general counsel said at a law school conference two weeks ago that the FBI has 3,000 GPS devices.

In January, the Supreme Court unanimously agreed to bar police from installing GPS technology to track suspects without first getting a judge's approval. On Wednesday night, the FBI said many of the GPS trackers were placed with court authorization and so were not deactivated.

"We have a number of people in the United States who we could not indict, there's not probable cause to indict them or to arrest them who present a threat of terrorism, articulated maybe up on the Internet, may have purchased a gun, but taken no particular steps to take a terrorist act," Mueller said. "And we are stuck in the position of surveilling that person for a substantial period of time."

Court takes over oil spill claims

A federal judge has signed off on a transition process that relieves Kenneth Feinberg of his duties as administrator of BP's $20 billion compensation fund for victims of the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.

Thursday's order by U.S District Judge Carl Barbier calls for a court-supervised administrator to take over the claims process from the Feinberg-led Gulf Coast Claims Facility.

The move is part of a proposed multibillion-dollar settlement between BP and plaintiffs' attorneys representing more than 100,000 individuals and businesses.

The judge appointed Lynn Greer, a Richmond, Virginia-based attorney, to fill in for Feinberg during the transition. Patrick Juneau, a Lafayette-based attorney, will take over for Greer and serve as the court-appointed administrator for economic loss claims if the judge gives preliminary approval to the settlement.

Gibson Dunn Opens in Hong Kong with Focus on Litigation

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher has opened an office in Hong Kong with two attorneys leading the effort. Kelly Austin has joined the firm as a partner from General Electric Co., where she was Asia compliance and litigation counsel. The firm also is relocating partner Joseph Barbeau to Hong Kong from its Palo Alto office.

Austin has been based in Hong Kong since 2001. She previously advised GE's Asian business units on government investigations, compliance matters, and litigation. Her mandate now is to launch a practice focused on litigation and regulatory compliance in the region for her new firm.

Gibson Dunn's decision to open in Hong Kong with such a practice reflects the growing belief among international firms that litigation groups in Asia are set to take off. Over the past few weeks, Latham & Watkins launched a Hong Kong litigation practice and top Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jacques recruited a senior Clifford Chance litigation partner to its Hong Kong office

New law firm opens in Dayton

A new law firm, Walters & Wasylyna, LLC, is opening in Dayton, which will focus on intellectual property cases, according to an Aug. 2 statement by the legal group.

The new firm is a joint endeavor by attorneys Lindsay M. Walters and Victor J. Wasylyna, who both earned their law degrees from Case Western Reserve University School of Law.

Walters is a litigation attorney who specializes in business and trademark disputes in both federal courts and before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Wasylyna, who has practiced both in the U.S. and internationally, has experience in numerous aspects of intellectual property law, including patents, trademarks, copyrights and trade secrets. Before joining forces with Walters, Wasylyna studied chemical engineering and practiced with Thompson Hine LLP.

American Bar Association Honors Philadelphia Firms

The American Bar Association’s Death Penalty Representation Project will acknowledge Philadelphia law firms Reed Smith LLP and Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP’s role in ground-breaking, pro bono litigation of capital punishment appeals with an Exceptional Service Award on Wednesday, Sept.22, 2010 in Houston.  

“There is no greater responsibility for an attorney than to defend a person whose life is at risk,” said ABA President Stephen N. Zack. “These firms are courageous, passionate and skilled advocates who are deeply committed to core principles of justice like due process and fairness, despite the demands of these cases.  They represent the best of our profession and make us proud.”  

Drinker Biddle & Reath partner and death penalty expert Lawrence Fox will accept the award at the 24th Anniversary and Volunteer Recognition Event in Houston, TX.  Fox is a renowned contributor to systemic defense reform.  He is recognized for his amicus filings, which were cited by New York University law professor Anthony Amsterdam in his letter nominating the firm for the award; for standards-writing; and as an expert witness.

Reed Smith attorneys Christopher Walters and David Kochman will accept the award on behalf of their firm.  Reed Smith was nominated by the Southern Center for Human Rights and Equal Justice Initiative, which cited the firm’s leadership in four death row cases in Alabama in 2008.  Each of the four men were only weeks away from losing appeal rights due to lack of legal representation; and the death sentence in each case was imposed by a trial judge who overrode the jury’s decision to impose life without parole.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Law firms Orrick, Akin Gump consider union

Law firm Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is in merger talks with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP.

Representatives from both firms characterized the talks as “preliminary.”

A deal would result in a unified law firm with about 1,740 attorneys around the world.

San Francisco-based Orrick had revenue of $847.5 million last year compared to Akin’s $719 million.

Large scale mergers between law firms have become the norm as they seek the most profitable work generated by multinational companies that are investing, selling, acquiring and suing. Some notable big deals include Hogan & Hartson uniting with Lovells and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal’s combination with Denton Wilde Sapte.

http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2010/09/27/daily32.html

Armstrong Teasdale Joins AmerenUE’s Pure Power Program

Armstrong Teasdale LLP is supporting the development of new renewable energy sources by purchasing Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) through AmerenUE’s Pure Power program.

Armstrong Teasdale’s commitment to this voluntary program will help prevent approximately 132,996 pounds of carbon dioxide (CO2), a leading greenhouse gas, from entering the atmosphere each year. This is equal to the CO2 reduction provided by taking 12 cars off the road for a year.

Pure Power is UE’s voluntary renewable energy program and the U.S. Department of Energy’s 2008 New Green Power Program of the Year Award Winner. It gives residential customers the option to add an extra 1.5 cents/kilowatthour to their monthly bills, offsetting up to 100 percent of their energy usage with clean, renewable energy. Commercial and industrial customers, like Armstrong Teasdale, participate by buying “blocks” of Pure Power, paying an additional $15 a month for every 1,000 kilowatt-hours used.

Pure Power funds are then used to purchase Renewable Energy Certificates from Green-e Energy-certified wind farms and other types of renewable energy projects. In 2009, 100 percent of the RECs purchased for the Pure Power program came from Missouri wind farms. This is projected to be true again in 2010.

Armstrong Teasdale’s level of participation makes it a UE Pure Power Leader--a designation reserved for companies, governments or other large users of electricity who agree to offset at least 3 percent of their energy usage through Pure Power purchases. This purchase also counts toward the City of Clayton’s effort to become the first EPA Green Power Community in the state of Missouri.

About Armstrong Teasdale LLP: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law. For more information, please visitwww.armstrongteasdale.com.