Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy LLP, a New York law firm, is opening an office in Sao Paulo, Brazil, joining other U.S. firms that have set up shop during the past year in Latin America’s largest economy.

Andrew B. Janszky of New York law firm Shearman & Sterling LLP, a New York-based law firm, will head Milbank’s new office in Sao Paulo, Milbank said in a statement.

Law firms including Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP, DLA Piper LLP, and Mayer Brown LLP have also set up or expanded offices in Sao Paulo in the past six months, taking advantage of an economy that may grow almost 6 percent this year.

“Milbank has developed a very strong practice in infrastructure finance, capital markets and M&A throughout Brazil,” Milbank Chairman Mel Immergut said in the statement. “In Andrew, as the head of our proposed new office, we will have an attorney who has unusual strengths in all these areas.”

A judge ruled Tuesday that former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick violated terms of his probation by failing to report some of his assets but held off deciding whether to send him to jail.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner said Kilpatrick could remain free on bond pending his sentencing on May 20, but strongly suggested Kilpatrick may be headed to jail and ordered state corrections officials to prepare a pre-sentence report and submit it to the court.

Prosecutors have said Kilpatrick hasn't paid enough toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.

But Groner said Kilpatrick didn't violate his probation by failing to pay or claiming he couldn't pay. Instead, the judge found him guilty for failing to disclose his assets and forfeit tax returns as part of the original plea agreement and subsequent order.

Kilpatrick pleaded guilty in 2008 to misconduct tied to his lying under oath about an affair with a staff member in a whistle-blowers' lawsuit. He served 99 days in jail agreed to give up his law license and his political career and repay the city $1 million for settling an employment lawsuit related to his misdeeds.

Seattle-based Perkins Coie has opened an office in Dallas, which the law firm says will allow it to better serve the interests of national clients in Texas. Former Greenberg Traurig shareholder Steven R. Smith has joined the firm and will head the new office, focusing his practice on real estate workouts and lending.

The addition of Smith helps Perkins expand its representation of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) special servicer clients, many of which have offices in Dallas.

"We are committed to expanding our real estate capabilities and Steve will help us pursue that strategic goal,” states Perkins Managing Partner Bob Giles.

In addition to representing CMBS special servicers, Smith will represent conduit and other lenders involved in the financing of commercial real estate. He brings to the firm experience working with defeasance transactions, assumptions, loan modifications, REMIC tax issues, pooling and servicing agreement compliance and review, workouts, receiverships, foreclosure, bankruptcies, asset dispositions, litigation, and loan sales.

It appears law firms are wearing class-action targets on their backs over tax and securities advice.

McMillan has become the latest big-name law firm hit with a class action. It was sued by an investor in March over the tax advice the firm issued involving the Royal Crown Gold Reserve Inc.

Investor Melvin Schneider wants to represent between 250 and 300 investors in a suit against Royal Crown, its promoters and McMillan over the tax shelter.

Royal Crown's mandate was to purchase gold properties in Canada and develop them into profitable businesses. It had claims in British Columbia.

The lawsuit alleges that a tax opinion offered by Mc-Millan partner Michael Friedman determined that the "amounts paid by investors to acquire a legal and beneficial ownership of a mining claim should constitute a Canadian Development Expense for the purpose of s. 66.2 of the [Income] Tax Act."

According to the lawsuit, investors would buy four units in a cell of land for $100,000. The claim alleges that under the offering memorandum, investors would put up $20,000 and provide a promissory note for $80,000.

They would then pay $3,200 in interest on the note, which would be tax deductible, and receive a $3,000 royalty payment. The claim alleges that over three years, the scheme provided investors with returns of 39.23%, 92.78%, and 34.02%.

However, the Canada Revenue Agency later rejected the proposed tax deductions because Royal Crown had not obtained a tax shelter number, the development expense was "inflated, unreasonable and unsupportable" and the promissory note was a contingent liability.

It reassessed investors and charged them penalties and interest. The lawsuit accuses McMillan of negligence, alleging it "provided the tax opinions to the promoters which were a necessary prerequisite for the promotion and sale of the units as a tax deductible investments.

Top Wall Street law firm Sullivan & Cromwell is to take the lead in representing Goldman Sachs against the formal investigation brought by the Financial Services Authority.

The investment bank had already retained Sullivan & Cromwell to defend it against fraud allegations brought by the Securities and Exchange Commission and today said the legal giant would at least for now be taking charge of the FSA case.

Goldman has a long-term relationship with Sullivan & Cromwell. Fabrice Tourre, the Goldman trader named as a defendant in the SEC's civil suit, is being represented by Allen & Overy.

The Supreme Court is stepping into a legal fight over Omega's effort to stop Costco from offering the Swiss maker's watches for up to a third less than they cost elsewhere.

The case has important implications for discount sellers like Costco and Target as well as eBay, Amazon and other companies that form an estimated $58 billion annual market for goods that are purchased abroad, then imported and resold without the permission of the manufacturer.

The justices said Monday they will hear Costco's appeal of a lower court ruling that sided with Omega in its attempt to invoke U.S. copyright law to halt the discount sales. Omega owns a U.S. copyright on the Omega Globe Design symbol that is engraved on its watches at the time they are made.

The high court has previously ruled that copyright protections do not apply to goods made in the United States, sold abroad and then imported back into the country for resale. At issue in this case are items that are manufactured overseas, sold by their maker abroad and then brought back here for resale.

This means of purchase, importation and resale is sometimes called the secondary-goods or gray-goods market, and it is a big part of Costco's business.