Monthly Archives: February 2007

Fumo Cries Politics

Vince Fumo’s lead lawyer, Richard Sprague, today claimed that his client’s indictment is all about politics, and claims that the investigation and indictments were instigated by the Bush Administration. I am as sympathetic as anyone else when it comes to the overzealousness of federal prosecutors. I happen to agree that federal prosecutors are political animals…

Brocade Backdating Prosecution Likely to Proceed

Yet more backdating news. Attorneys for two former Brocade executives indicted on backdating related fraud charges argued in federal district court that many of the charges against them should be dismissed, The Recorder reports. The Defendants’ motion was primarily predicated on a recent decision by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in an Enron related…

Delaware Chancery Court Allows Backdating Case to Proceed

Chancellor William Chandler, in a very pointed opinion, denied Maxim Integrated Products’ motion to dismiss most of the backdating related claims brought against it by shareholder William Ryan (you can access a copy of Chancellor Chandler’s opinion here.) Noting that a majority of the board of directors approved each of the backdated options grants in…

H-P Apoints New GC

Hewlett Packard has announced (Wall Street Journal – subscription required) that Michael Holston, a litigation partner with the Morgan Lewis Law firm, has been appointed as the company’s next general counsel. Holston will replace former GC Ann Baskins, who resigned the position after the pretexting scnadal shook the company a few months ago. In Mike…

Libby Defense to Challenge Russert’s Credibility

Scooter Libby’d defense team will try and raise doubts about the credibility of NBC News icon Tim Russert, CNN reports. Of course defense lawyers will alsways try and raise questions about the credibility and truthfulness of prosecution witnesses, and Russert is a critical witness for the prosecution’s case. I happen to think that Libby is…

Jobs Proposal on Digital Music Draws Angry Reaction

Yesterday I posted on Steve Jobs proposal to eliminate digital copy protections from music purchased online, which would allow consumers who purchase music from online purveyors, such as Apple’s iTunes, to freely share their purchases. Today, several music industry executives dismissed Jobs’ proposal out of hand, labeling Jobs “disingenuous,” among other things, setting the stage…

Forget McNabb – the Biggest Question for Andy Reid is Whether His Kids Will Do Time

Britt Reid, son of Philadelphia Eagles head coach Andy Reid was arrested and charged today with several drug and weapons related offenses. It sounds like young Britt’s in a good bit of hot water here.

Astronaut Gone Bad

This story is really weird. Apparently astronaut Lisa Nowack, jealous that another woman might be having a thing with another astronaut that Nowack had the hots for, tried to kidnap the woman, and, it is alleged, planned to kill her. Nowack says she “just wanted to scare” the other woman. That’s ALWAYS a good defense….

9th Circuit Upholds Wal-Mart Class Certification

A split panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit today upheld a trial judge’s certification of a clas of as many as 1.6 million women in a case alleging that Wal-Mart discriminated against female employees with respect to pay and promotions. The ruling almost certainly guarantees that Wal-Mart will now…

Sullivan & Cromwell Hits Back

Sullivan & Cromwell, the white shoe New York law firm, has filed counterclaims against the former associate that sued it, claiming that the firm discriminated against him on the grounds of his sexual orientation. This is shaping up to be an extraordinarily nasty fight, even by employment law standards. I woudn’t think that a firm…