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Is Olson Too Partisan to Run the Justice Department?
When Theodore Olson returned to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in 2004 after three years as solicitor general, he added crisis management to his list of specialties at the firm. If President Bush nominates Olson to be attorney general in the wake of Alberto Gonzales’ resignation, the 67-year-old lawyer may need his own crisis management team to help with another kind of disaster: the Senate Judiciary Committee. Olson’s history as a partisan advocate for Republican causes makes him a tough sell.
Qualcomm Drops Day Casebeer From Nokia Case
Qualcomm Inc. has dropped Day Casebeer Madrid & Batchelder from a patent infringement dispute against Nokia. It’s the second time mobile-phone chip giant Qualcomm has severed relations with Day Casebeer since both the company and the law firm admitted to committing a massive discovery breach in a patent case against Broadcom Corp. A federal magistrate judge will hear testimony next month from attorneys involved in that gaffe and will decide whether to impose formal sanctions.
Roberts compares lawyers to firefighters (AP)
AP - Chief Justice John Roberts on Thursday compared attorneys to firefighters, telling a law school gathering that both have to jump into tough situations to contain problems.
Calif. Law School Dumps Chemerinsky as Founding Dean
Erwin Chemerinsky, the prominent legal scholar slated to be founding dean at University of California, Irvine’s new law school, had his offer withdrawn because of controversy created by his well-known liberal views, Chemerinsky said Wednesday. A professor at Duke University School of Law, Chemerinsky accepted the post last week after months of talks, but on Tuesday UC-Irvine’s chancellor Michael Drake asked him to give it up. Drake said the fact Chemerinsky was a “lightning rod” entered into the decision.
High-Stakes Patent Battle Banks on New Litigation Tool
Patent litigation probably couldn’t get more high stakes than a Delaware lawsuit currently unfolding against Intel. Transmeta has accused the Silicon Valley chip giant of infringing on 10 patents in its hugely successful Pentium products. Yet rather than battle it out in court, Intel is trying to put the brakes on the proceedings by using a relatively new government process — inter partes re-examination — that’s becoming an increasingly popular way for accused infringers to get patents invalidated.
Defense Denies Oilman Subverted Sanctions to Win Rich Iraqi Contracts
The lawyer for Texas oilman Oscar Wyatt launched a passionate defense Monday, arguing that the government’s prosecution of his client for subverting the U.N.’s Oil-for-Food program by paying illegal surcharges to Iraqi officials to secure oil contracts was the U.S. “at its hypocritical worst.” The government argues that Iraqi officials knew they “could count on Oscar Wyatt” because he had been helping them out for 20 years. But Wyatt’s attorney responded that his client was the victim of political animus.
Dispute Between Broadcom and Qualcomm Provides Window Into World of Big IP Fees
If you ever wanted to know how big-name clients negotiate with big-name law firms about work on massive patent lawsuits, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has given us all an instructive look. The Boston-based firm has filed an extensive motion in federal court detailing its $8.5 million-plus price tag for work on behalf of Broadcom Corp. in a nasty patent dispute with rival Qualcomm Inc. Some of the highlights include an $850-an-hour rate from the top Boston-based partner assigned to the case.
Book says Souter almost left court (AP)
AP - Justice David Souter contemplated resigning from the Supreme Court because he was so upset by the decision that sealed the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush, a new book says.
Book says Souter almost left court (AP)
AP - Justice David Souter contemplated resigning from the Supreme Court because he was so upset by the decision that sealed the 2000 presidential election for George W. Bush, a new book says.
N.J. Supreme Court Blocks Third-Party Payers’ Class Action Over Vioxx Costs
Unions and health insurers cannot pursue a nationwide class action consumer fraud case for millions of dollars spent on the painkiller Vioxx, the New Jersey Supreme Court says. The justices on Thursday reversed lower court rulings that certified the suit by third-party payors against Merck & Co. The plaintiff, a union fund, had sued under New Jersey’s Consumer Fraud Act to recover extra amounts paid for Vioxx prescriptions due to an allegedly fraudulent marketing scheme that drove up the price.