Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Eric M. Feuerstein is joining the firm as partner in New York.  Previously a partner with Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, Feuerstein has a practice that focuses on high-end, capital-market driven real estate transactions.

"We're delighted to have Eric join the firm," said Ken Doran, Managing Partner of Gibson Dunn.  "A rising star in New York's real estate bar, he will significantly help us expand our national and international real estate practice."

"Eric is highly regarded not only by the New York real estate bar, but also by brokers, owners, developers and bankers," said Steven Shoemate, Partner in Charge of the New York office.  "Eric is a talented and experienced lawyer, who will be a dynamic addition to the firm.  We look forward to working with him as we continue to expand our presence and build on our success in New York."

"I'm very excited about the opportunity that Gibson Dunn has extended to me," Feuerstein said. "My practice fits in nicely with the firm’s real estate practice in New York, nationally and internationally, and I look forward to working together with my new colleagues."

About Eric M. Feuerstein

Feuerstein's real estate practice focuses on acquisitions, joint ventures, leasing, development and financing.  His clients have included landlords, developers and institutional investors.

He recently represented Jamestown Properties in the $1.5 billion sale of its 1121 6th Avenue property (the Fox News building), as well as the $300 million sale of 620 6th Avenue (the Bed, Bath and Beyond building in Chelsea) and in the sale of its condominium interest in the Random House building to The Witkoff Group for $510 million.  He has also recently represented Apollo and Vantage in purchasing $1 billion of residential properties in New York City.

He received his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1995 and his bachelor’s degree, cum laude, from Cornell University in 1991.

About Gibson Dunn’s Real Estate Practice

Gibson Dunn’s Real Estate Group represents, in the United States and Europe, a variety of sophisticated participants in real estate, including institutional debt and equity providers, public companies and privately held entrepreneurial developers, owners and operators.

The lawyers in the Real Estate Group are skilled in a broad spectrum of real estate matters including, among others:

Real estate debt and equity finance
Development
Sales and acquisitions
Land use and environmental
Leasing
Workout transactions
The firm's unique expertise in specialized areas of real estate transactions is supplemented with a full scope of related legal capabilities, including tax, corporate, bankruptcy, environmental and litigation.

http://gibsondunn.com

Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew L. Fish asked the judge to delay a prior court session because "the parties are very close to completing plea negotiations."

"The Government anticipates that both defendants will be ready to enter guilty pleas on May 10, 2007," Fish wrote.

The case is the largest yet in a renewed effort by the Justice Department and the Securities and Exchange Commission to root out fraud that puts average investors at a disadvantage in the stock market.

Securities enforcers are probing unusual trading patterns in many companies' stock and options shortly before merger and buyout offers. Dow Jones said last week that it had received inquiries from regulators interested in trades preceding News Corp.'s recent bid for the company.

The Collottas are among more than a dozen defendants nabbed in a widespread insider-trading ring in March. Law enforcement authorities singled out the Collottas because of their special role in protecting the integrity of investment banks and the market as a whole.

Randi Collotta once served as an associate in Morgan Stanley's global compliance division, where she had access to secret information about pending deals involving such clients as Macromedia, Catellus Development, and PacifiCare Health Systems, according to the grand jury indictment against her.

Rather than safeguard the information, however, Collotta passed it along to her husband, also a lawyer, who shared it with co-conspirators, prosecutors said.

Kenneth Breen, a lawyer for Randi Collotta, said yesterday that she would "address these charges in court." Brian Rafferty, a lawyer for Christopher Collotta, declined to comment.

Attorney Judson A. Waltman of The Lanier Law Firm represented plaintiff George Coley along with co-lead counsel Chris Carver of Lubbock, Texas-based Gibson Carver, L.L.P.

Mr. Coley, 51, was severely injured on Dec. 31, 2003, when he was struck by an 800-pound casing pipe that had fallen from 30 feet above. The impact crushed his left elbow and caused multiple fractures in his left arm. Doctors say Mr. Coley will have limited use of the arm for the rest of his life.

Witnesses testified during trial that the pipe came loose from a nubbin that was being used to lift the pipe before striking Mr. Coley, a subcontractor employed by Lewis Casing Crews of Odessa, Texas.

In the lawsuit against Big Dog Drilling and Endeavor Energy Resources, Mr. Coley's attorneys said that managers with the two Midland, Texas, companies ignored Mr. Coley's concerns about the condition of the nubbin and told him to go back to work.

"This jury sent a clear message that worker safety comes first," says Mr. Waltman of The Lanier Law Firm. "The first response from the drilling company was to get the drilling operation restarted before caring for Mr. Coley's injuries. That kind of attitude is unacceptable in any work environment, and the jury felt compelled to react accordingly."

The verdict was reached on May 1 before state district judge Jay Gibson in Wood County. The award includes $1.58 million in actual damages and $4.92 million in punitive damages. Jurors assessed $420,000 in punitive damages against Big Dog Drilling and $4.5 million against Endeavor Energy.

With offices in Houston and New York, The Lanier Law Firm is committed to addressing client concerns with effective and innovative solutions. The firm is composed of outstanding trial attorneys with decades of experience handling cases involving pharmaceutical liability, asbestos exposure, business fraud, serious personal injuries, product liability, and toxic exposure.

Lanier Law Firm

CONTACT: Kevin Roberts of Lanier Law Firm, +1-713-659-5200

Schilt will be sentenced on August 6th, and is expected to serve between 32 and 48 years.

Amy Schilt, Frank Schilt's oldest daughter, stated that the new plea was agreed on by all involved, and was intended to spare the family the drama of a trial.

"We support the fact that he is pleading guilty to second-degree murder" Amy told reporters, "because it would be better for everyone, so that we could kind of move on with our lives, and get over a lot of these things without it coming back in our faces."

Terri Schilt was reported missing in March 2006, and was believed to have been killed in late February of that year.

The gunman who killed 32 people at Virginia Tech failed to get the mental health treatment ordered by a judge who declared him an imminent threat to himself and others, a newspaper reported Monday.

However, neither the court nor community mental health officials followed up on the judge‘s order, and Cho didn‘t get the treatment, The Washington Post reported, citing unidentified authorities who have seen Cho‘s medical files.

Federal, state and local officials contacted Monday by The Associated Press said they had no idea whether Cho received the treatment because they are not privy to that information. School officials did not return calls seeking comment.

On Dec. 13, 2005, Cho e-mailed a roommate at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg saying that he might as well commit suicide. The roommate called police, who took Cho to the New River Valley Community Services Board, the area‘s mental health agency.

On Dec. 14, special judge Paul M. Barnett found that Cho was an imminent danger to himself and ordered him into involuntary outpatient treatment. Special justices are lawyers with some expertise and training who are appointed by the jurisdiction‘s chief judge.

The court doesn‘t follow up because "we have no authority," Teel said.

Virginia law says community services boards "shall recommend a specific course of treatment and programs" for people such as Cho who are ordered to receive outpatient treatment. It also says these boards "shall monitor the person‘s compliance."