Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi said Tuesday that the European Union should avoid any radical changes to the draft European Constitution, telling European Parliament members that a compromise on the treaty is not an adequate solution for Europe. Prodi told MEPs that Italy will likely not agree to any compromises, and instead proposed the idea of a "two-speed" Europe, in which some nations would not have to proceed with reforms as rapidly as others. Prodi said that:

We do not necessarily have to proceed all together at the same speed. Already now, some significant European projects, such as the euro and Schengen, have been implemented by only some Member States. Not "against" anybody and not to "exclude" anyone, but always keeping the door open.
Last week, German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged EU members to work together to advance the constitution, which has largely stalled since it failed in referendums in both France and the Netherlands in 2005.

Advocate General Paolo Mengozzi of the European Court of Justice upheld the rights of trade unions in two opinions Wednesday. In Laval v. Partneri (C-341/05) [opinion; press release, PDF in French], Mengozzi advised the court to allow trade unions to force companies from foreign EU member states to pay their workers the same that domestic workers would otherwise receive. Latvian construction company Laval was hired to build a school in Sweden, but Sweden's construction trade union Byggnads sought to force Laval to pay its workers more. In the second case, International Transport Workers' Federation v. Viking Line ABP (C-438/05), Mengozzi said trade unions should be able to act to dissuade a company from moving to another EU member state for the purposes of lowering wages.

Advocate General opinions are not binding, although generally the final opinions of the court, which will not be released for several months, follow them. By advocating more power for trade unions, Mengozzi seems to be granting greater weight to a country's internal autonomy, over the rules of the EU single market.

Last Week, US Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) predicted that Gonzales would resign soon as a result of the US Attorney firings, and said over the weekend that he believed the resignation would come before the no-confidence vote. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE) has also called for Gonzales' resignation after hearing testimony from former US Deputy Attorney General James Comey regarding an attempt by Gonzales to persuade former Attorney General John Ashcroft to authorize the warrantless domestic surveillance program while he was incapacitated in the hospital, critically ill with pancreatitis. Although the event did not relate to the US Attorney firings, Hagel said that it showed Gonzales lacked the "moral authority to lead" the DOJ.

Coleman and Rhoades admitted that from early September through Nov. 17, 2006, they had participated in a conspiracy to defraud Fieldstone Mortgage Corp., according to a release from John Wood, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri. Coleman also pleaded guilty to four counts of wire fraud.

On May 14, co-defendant Jeremy A. Plagman, 29, of Lee's Summit, pleaded guilty to his role in the conspiracy. Plagman, an appraiser doing business as JET Appraisals in Lee's Summit, provided an inflated appraisal of $1.2 million for property at 5034 Sunset Drive in Kansas City.

Coleman's role in the conspiracy was to prepare and provide a number of fraudulent letters for co-conspirators attesting to their creditworthiness, Wood said in the release. These letters and the inflated appraisal were submitted to Fieldstone Mortgage as part of the loan application to buy the property. Rhoades' role in the conspiracy was to assist a co-defendant in obtaining documents needed for the transaction, to prepare and submit false documents as needed and to contact co-conspirators as needed, Wood said.

Co-conspirators hoped to obtain loan proceeds in excess of the property's actual sale price by falsely representing to the mortgage lender that the stated sale price was greater than the actual sale price, Wood said.

Coleman also admitted that on three separate occasions in October and November 2006, he had committed wire fraud by transmitting faxes of fraudulent documents in furtherance of the conspiracy. He also admitted to wire fraud by acknowledging his responsibility for a fax transmission to Fieldstone Mortgage of signed closing documents related to the sale and purchase of the property, Wood said.

Each co-defendant could be subject to a sentence of as long as five years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of as much as $250,000 and an order of restitution on the conspiracy charge. Coleman also could be subject to a sentence of as long as 20 years in federal prison without parole, plus a fine of as much as $250,000 on each wire fraud charge.

Sentencing hearings will be scheduled after the completion of presentence investigations by the U.S. Probation Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Linda Parker Marshall and Senior Litigation Counsel Gene Porter are prosecuting the case, which the FBI investigated.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is pleased to announce that Heiko Kai Schultz has joined the Los Angeles office as of counsel.  Previously a partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Schultz practices commercial litigation.

Schultz's practice covers a wide range of disputes, including commercial, intellectual property, bankruptcy, securities, accounting malpractice and environmental litigation.  He has experience representing companies and individuals in the medical, financial, accounting, aircraft and electronic industries.

Recent matters include his representation of the debtors in 1,600 adversarial cases arising out of the In re Fleming Companies bankruptcy; a surgeon and inventor in a patent and contract dispute case with a medical device firm; and Arthur Andersen in an accounting malpractice case brought by Frederick's of Hollywood.

Schultz received his law degree from the University of Virginia in 1997 and a degree in history from the University of California in 1994.

The combination won't affect Stinson's Kansas City office, a spokeswoman said. That office has 197 attorneys and 276 staff members. The combination will be effective July 1, subject to due diligence and a review of potential client conflicts.

"We are always looking for what is best for our clients and providing them with the best service and expertise possible," Mark Foster, Stinson's managing partner, said in a release. "Blumenfeld Kaplan & Sandweiss is an excellent law firm with a top-notch team of lawyers. Our clients will benefit from the synergies created as a result this combination."

Stinson traces its heritage to 1878. The firm opened its St. Louis office in 1994. The firm's lawyers have extensive experience in real estate law, mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment, business litigation, financial services, health care, sports law and product liability.

Blumenfeld was established in St. Louis in 1950 by John Blumenfeld, a prominent real estate lawyer who continues to be active with the firm. Today, it ranks among the 15 largest law firms in St. Louis. Its main areas of practice include real estate, tax, estate planning, succession planning, mergers and acquisitions, immigration, labor and employment, intellectual property and litigation.

"The potential benefits for our clients created by this combination with Stinson Morrison Hecker are significant," Philip Kaplan, president of Blumenfeld, said in the release. "Our practice has continued to grow on the local, national and international stages, and this combination will allow us to provide additional talent that will expand and enhance the efficient delivery of legal services."

Stinson ranks No. 2 on the Kansas City Business Journal's list of area law firms. Blumenfeld is tied at No. 15 with Lashly and Baer PC on the St. Louis Business Journal's list of area law firms.