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Law Firms Warm Up to Climate Issues
Law Firm News |
2007/12/10 18:09
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Detroit-based Miller, Canfield, Paddock and Stone P.L.C. has created an inter-disciplinary practice group to address climate change and global warming issues for its business clients, becoming one of a growing number of local law firms that are doing so.
Mark Bennett, who joined Miller Canfield as senior counsel in August, leads a team of 13 lawyers from practices in public finance, real estate, environmental, government affairs and commercial lending.
Like many law firms, Miller Canfield sees this as an opportunity to offer clients service that goes beyond strict legal work into comprehensive advice on complex issues, Bennett said.
Climate change is a critical policy area affecting not only business and industry but consumers, government and regulatory agencies, so it offers opportunities for law firms — as well as communities and companies — to make money while addressing serious problems, Bennett said.
"So often in law, we've focused on mitigating risks," Bennett said, "but in the climate change area, we're emphasizing government incentives and operating efficiencies that can create economic return on investments in energy conservation."
Other major Detroit law firms agree that lawyers need to address a changing landscape in these practice areas, and most are doing so.
"Been there, done that," said Alan S. Schwartz, CEO and chairman of Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn L.L.P. "That is, we've had such a group for a while."
An Investment Incentives and Tax Savings practice was established in 2004, chaired by Steven Nadeau, and Honigman recently created an alternative energy group headed by Sandy Ring. Each group has 15 lawyers.
Both practice groups work with companies whose businesses involve regulating, patenting and marketing new energy sources as well as ways to take advantage of tax breaks and federal grants while they address environmental concerns, Nadeau said.
Larry McLaughlin, who heads Honigman's real estate practice, said his firm regularly advises clients on developments such as incentives for green real estate practices.
At Detroit-based Butzel Long, Beth Gotthelf, who heads the environmental practice, said, "Environmental law practice isn't the old environmental law it used to be, focusing on pollution, Super Sites and wetlands.
"We're doing energy, climate change and global warming issues, with ethanol plants and R&Ds on alternative fuel. And on new construction, it's 'What can we do to make buildings more energy efficient and what kind of credits are there if we make them more green?' " she said.
With lawyers needed for contracts, financial deals and regulatory compliance, it makes sense for law firms to offer a total package on such issues, Gotthelf said. "We are seeing much more clearly that environmental practice touches all aspects of life and is in every discipline."
Understanding and using tax incentives is one way to assist businesses with climate change issues, Bennett said. But when the U.S. implements a carbon-regulatory scheme, it will have both economic and technological impacts beyond legal and regulatory compliance, he said.
The European Union's use for several years of climate change regulations gives a perspective on how U.S. businesses can productively incorporate such issues into commercial transactions.
For instance, assigning a price to a ton of emitted carbon dioxide impacts the value of real estate because carbon emissions caused by electricity consumption become an occupancy cost for tenant or landlord that can be built into a lease, he said. "We can address this additional risk or reward in a lease for both landlord and tenant clients," he said.
Lawyer Michael Gerrard of New York city-based Arnold & Porter L.L.P. said that municipalities are under a lot of political pressure, as sources of emission, as regulators and as buyers or sellers of credits.
He predicts that growth in climate change activity will be spurred, "if and when Congress adopts mandatory regulatory laws, which I expect to happen in 2009 and 2010 ... whether the next president is a Democrat or Republican."
Earlier this year, President Bush announced the administration's new stance on global climate change, and some segments of the public and Congress are pushing for more action.
Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Nov. 14 created a Michigan Climate Action Council to develop plans to reduce the state's energy use by 10 percent by the end of 2008 and to reduce electricity purchases by 20 percent by 2015. She also called for growth in the alternative energy industry and for the state to establish Renewable Portfolio Standards, all areas the Miller Canfield team addresses.
The Miller Canfield climate change team also will work with business, industry and government clients on sustainable development including LEED certification. LEED is the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building rating system established by the Washington, D.C.-based U.S. Green Building Council to set standards for environmentally sustainable construction.
Also on the team's agenda, Bennett said, is: waste-to-energy project certification; carbon emission reduction credits; voluntary emission reductions transactions on the Chicago Climate Exchange and over-the-counter markets; public nuisance litigation alternative energy projects; and bio-refinery regulations, among other climate issues.
Team lawyers in metro Detroit, along with Bennett, are Amanda Van Dusen, Mike McGee, Ronald Hodess, Anna Maiuri, Duncan Ogilvie and Jean-Vierre Adams.
Based in Lansing are William Danhof, Harvey Messing, James Lancaster and Bree Popp Woodruff .
Trent Taylor is in Grand Rapids and Paul Durbin is in Chicago. |
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Wineries Fight State Shipping Laws
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/12/10 17:52
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Unionville Vineyards plans to expand by planting more pinot noir and adding Rhone varietals next year, but winemaker Cameron Stark knows he's fighting an uphill battle.
He recognizes New Jersey's reputation as a wine producer isn't exactly that of California or even Oregon. But vineyards here and in a dozen other states face another hurdle because of their states' stringent wine shipping laws, which wineries say are stymieing their growth and consumers say are limiting their choices.
"If laws changed, I think it would dramatically affect our business," said Stark, who came to Unionville from Napa Valley.
Many regions across the country are trying to become another Napa Valley or Sonoma, with wine industries that attract tourists.
But laws in some states still prohibit wineries from shipping directly to consumers, two years after a landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling led many to believe that all states would allow vineyards to ship wine directly to consumers across the country.
The Supreme Court ruling overturned laws in New York and Michigan that prohibited consumers from buying wine directly from out-of-state wineries. Wineries and consumers had sued, alleging those states violated the Constitution because they allowed in-state wineries to ship directly to consumers but prevented shipments from out-of-state.
The court said either all wineries should be allowed to ship directly to consumers or none, but each state still decides whether to allow shipments.
In the states where direct shipping is still banned, it often amounts to battle between wineries that want new customers and wholesalers who want to keep the system intact where intermediaries are a required step between wineries and customers. Wineries can also keep more profit if they don't rely on a wholesaler or retail store.
Allowing direct shipping would add another benefit for less prominent regions whose wines haven't been reviewed by influential wine publications, which don't want to write about wines that aren't accessible to everyone, said Jim Trezise, president of the New York Wine & Grape Foundation.
"In order to get broad-based respect, you need national distribution," he said. "You can get respect, but it's narrowly focused with the few people who can get your wines."
The ruling and a subsequent new state law allowed New Yorkers to receive wine from California and other states.
At the same time, it also opened channels of commerce to allow consumers in other states to directly receive New York wines, Trezise said. He noted that last year, the Finger Lakes region of New York State and the North Fork of Long Island landed on the cover of Wine Spectator.
That's attention emerging regions can only dream about.
Curtis Wallin, owner of Holly Ridge Winery in Livingston, Tenn., said the Internet has spurred interest from potential customers around the country, and he would like to be able to ship to whoever wants to buy his 35 varieties of wine. He said legislators in Tennessee aren't pushing for changing the shipping laws.
"We'd see between 30 and 40 percent increase of sales," said Wallin, who produces about 1,500 cases annually. "We're just a small winery and that's why shipping would mean a lot to us."
Bill Nelson, president of WineAmerica, the national trade association of American wineries, said bills died in Arkansas and Oklahoma this year, but there is legislative interest in a few states for next year.
One of those is New Jersey. About 3.3 percent of the nation's table wine — or 11.5 million cases, according the 2006 Adams Wine Handbook — was consumed last year in the Garden State, making it the most populous state with restrictive shipping laws, Nelson said.
Wineries in New Jersey cannot ship wine, and consumers cannot receive direct shipments from any state, including New Jersey.
With nearly three dozen wineries and more opening next year, New Jersey is looking to promote wine as an economic development strategy, said state Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus.
State Senator Ray Lesniak and Assemblyman John Burzichelli, who chair economic development committees, say they support changes to the shipping laws.
"I think a free flow of goods and services is good for the economy and good for the consumer," said Lesniak, who favors wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. "The more we restrict trade, the less quality of services you get and the higher the price to the consumer and it damages the economy."
Burzichelli said he doesn't agree with the argument that shipping wine is a public safety concern because of arguments that underage drinkers would buy wine on the Internet.
"I grew up in households where there were barrels of homemade wines in the basement," he said.
They're likely to find opposition from New Jersey wholesalers. Lobbyist Jeffrey Warsh said wholesalers' concerns are public safety and taxation, and not losing their cut of profits.
"I'm surprised that the public safety concerns are so minimized in favor of commercial interests," he said.
He said wholesalers wouldn't be affected by the "small, obscure vineyards producing small batches of product."
But those are the exactly types of wines that Matt Wagner would like to have shipped to him from California: Kosta Browne and Merry Edwards Wines in Sonoma or Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles.
"Basically, I can't get the wine I want," said Wagner, 29, of North Plainfield, N.J.
He enjoys boutique wines with small production that aren't sold in local stores. He also wants to buy directly from vineyards he and his wife have visited on vacations.
"There are ways around it," he said. "If you have relatives who live in Illinois, you can say, 'Hey, hold on to it until I see you next year.'"
Unlike New Jersey, Illinois allows direct shipping from wineries to consumers.
A 2003 federal lawsuit working its way through the court system in New Jersey also says consumers cannot get the wine they want because of shipping laws.
New shipping laws would help wineries as they try to grow, said Tom Sharko, owner of Alba Vineyard in Finesville, N.J., which produces about 13,000 cases per year with 60 percent of sales at the winery. He is planting more chardonnay, Riesling and pinot noir on his 93 1/2 acres, adding to foch, chambourcin and cayuga grapes.
He'd like to start a wine club and ship a few bottles per month to customers on a mailing list.
"There are wine clubs in California that sell their whole production that way," he said. "Instead of relying totally on a New Jersey base for customers, we would have a United States base of customers." |
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Court Battle Looms over Nina Wang's Estate
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/12/10 17:41
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A High Court judge in Hong Kong Monday appointed an administrator to oversee the estate of Asia's richest woman, the late Nina Wang, ahead of an anticipated court battle over her fortune estimated to be at least 4.2 billion dollars.
Wang, 69, the former chairwoman of the Chinachem property empire, died of cancer in April, apparently leaving her entire fortune to a part-time feng shui master Chan Chun Cheun.
The will is being challenged by relatives acting through a Chinachem charitable foundation and judge Andrew Cheung said at a hearing Monday he expected a 'protracted' litigation over the huge fortune.
Speaking after the hearing, Chan's solicitor Jonathan Midgley, who had sought an administration order on behalf of Chan, said he still hoped the case could be settled outside court.
Wang was named as the richest woman in Asia in 2006 with a fortune estimated at 4.2 billion dollars, although some estimates suggested her real worth may have been closer to 13 billion dollars.
With no children of her own, Wang wrote a new will in 2006, two years after her ovarian cancer was diagnosed, making 48-year-old Chan her sole beneficiary.
However, her sisters and other relatives filed suit to fight for her estate, which was originally shared between charities and family members in an earlier 2002 will.
Chan is an expert in feng shui, the ancient Chinese practice of placement and arrangement of space to achieve harmony with the environment, and is consulted by property developers for readings.
Wang herself died only shortly after winning an eight-year legal battle over the fortune of her husband Teddy, which she inherited after he was kidnapped in 1990 and later declared dead when no trace of him was ever found.
She built his company, Chinachem, up into a multi-billion-dollar business empire, but initially lost a probate battle with her father-in-law.
In a 2002 hearing, Hong Kong's High Court heard claims that Nina Wang had an affair in the 1960s which led Teddy to cut her out of his will, although they remained married.
Appellate court judges initially ruled she had probably forged the will of her late husband and, after the ruling, police charged Nina Wang with forgery.
The charges were dropped, however, after Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal overturned the probate decision and ruled there was no evidence to support the claim that Wang had forged the will.
Despite her enormous wealth, Wang, who had her hair in pigtails and wore mini-skirts well into her 60s, was notoriously frugal, once claiming she needed only around 400 dollars a month to live. |
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Class Action Filed Against Genesco, Inc.
Class Action News |
2007/12/10 17:28
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Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C. announces that a class action lawsuit has been commenced in the United States District Court for the Middle District of Tennessee, 07cv1183, on behalfof purchasers of the common stock of Genesco, Inc.("Genesco" or the "Company")(NYSE:GCO) between April 20, 2007 and November 26, 2007, inclusive (the "ClassPeriod"), seeking to pursue remedies under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the "Exchange Act").
If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than February 4, 2008. In order to serve as lead plaintiff, however, you must meet certain legal requirements. If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, please contact plaintiff's counsel, Deborah R. Gross or Susan R. Gross at 866-561-3600 or 215-561-3600 or via email at debbie@bernardmgross.com or susang@bernardmgross.com. If you are a member of this class, please contact the Law Offices Bernard M. Gross to view a copy of the complaint as filed or to join this action. Any member of the purported class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain an absent class member.
The complaint charges Genesco and certain of its officers and directors with violations of the Securities Act of 1934. Genesco is in the footwear business. The complaint alleges that during the Class Period, defendants made false and misleading statements concerning Genesco's business and prospects. As a result of their representations, Genesco was seen as an attractive acquisition target for Foot Locker, Inc. and others. Subsequently, The Finish Line, Inc. made an increased offer, based on Genesco's purported success. When the truth about Genesco's results began to be revealed, however, Finish Line indicated it would no longer pursue the acquisition. Then, on November 26, 2007, Genesco received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's office for the Southern District of New York seeking documents related to its merger agreement and in connection with alleged violations of federal fraud statutes. On this news, Genesco's stock plunged to $25.44 per share on November 27, 2007, almost a 16% drop.
The plaintiff is represented by Law Offices Bernard M. Gross P.C., which has expertise in prosecuting investor class actions and extensive experience in actions involving financial fraud.
If you wish to discuss this action or have any questions concerning this Notice or rights or interests with respect to these matters,
CONTACT: Law Offices Bernard M. Gross, P.C.
Susan R. Gross, Esq.
Deborah R. Gross, Esq.
The Wanamaker Bldg
100 Penn Sq. East, Suite 450
Philadelphia, PA 19103
Telephone: 866-561-3600 (toll free)
or 215-561-3600
E-mail: susang@bernardmgross.com or
debbie@bernardmgross.com.
Website: www.bernardmgross.com |
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Linda Grant Williams joins Dreier LLP
Law Firm News |
2007/12/10 16:43
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Dreier LLP announced today that Linda
Grant Williams has joined the firm as a partner in the Corporate &
Securities Department. Prior to joining the firm, Ms. Grant was of counsel
to Greenberg Traurig LLP in New York, and was previously a partner at
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP.
"We are delighted and very fortunate to have Linda Grant Williams join
Dreier LLP," stated Marc S. Dreier, founder and managing partner of Dreier
LLP. "Her expertise in advising public-private partnerships complements our
current capabilities representing capital providers in the construction and
financing of major real estate holdings."
Ms. Grant Williams will continue her practice in representing banks,
pension funds and other capital providers in the construction and permanent
financing of hotels, shopping centers, office buildings, industrial
complexes, multifamily projects, cogeneration and other energy projects.
Some of her notable real estate and construction projects include the
financing of The Forum at Caesar's Palace, Two Rodeo Drive and One Colorado
Shopping Centers in Southern California and the Greenwich Office Park in
Greenwich, Connecticut.
"Joining Dreier LLP enables me to provide clients with the litigation
expertise, relationships and wide-ranging capabilities of a full service
law firm," Ms. Grant Williams stated. "I also share Marc Dreier's vision of
a cutting edge, entrepreneurial firm that applies creative thinking to
client issues."
Ms. Grant Williams was instrumental in structuring financings for the
Oakland Raiders, Golden State Warriors, and in the renovation of the Rose
Bowl in Pasadena, California. She was recognized by Sports Business Journal
as one of the country's leading sports executives and credited with the
creation of sports securitization, utilized at both the Pepsi Center in
Denver, Colorado and The Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. Most
recently, Ms. Grant Williams created a groundbreaking method for a more
cost effective method of financing U.S. airports, resulting in greater
bankruptcy protection for bondholders and dramatically lowering financing
costs for airlines. This patent-pending business method innovation has been
generally approved for use at the tri-state area airports by The Port
Authority of New York and New Jersey.
Ms. Grant Williams received a B.S. in Political Science with high
distinction from the University of Arizona in 1974 and a J.D., cum laude,
from Loyola Law School in 1979, where she was a member of the Loyola Law
Review and received the American Jurisprudence Constitutional Law Award.
Ms. Grant Williams is a member of the Bar of the States of New York and
California and was recently appointed to the Association of the Bar of the
City of New York Structured Finance Committee.
Background on Dreier LLP
Dreier LLP was founded in 1996 by Marc Dreier as a more responsive and
innovative alternative to traditional "large-firm" lawyering. Dreier LLP
represents a wide range of institutional, entrepreneurial and individual
clients in diverse sectors of financial, industrial and service-oriented
markets. The firm's principal practices are commercial litigation, real
estate, bankruptcy and corporate reorganization, employment, corporate and
securities, entertainment, intellectual property, matrimonial and tax.
Dreier LLP's Los Angeles affiliate, Dreier Stein & Kahan LLP, has its
principal practice in entertainment and commercial litigation and corporate
transactions. The firm's affiliate Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera LLP has an
extensive practice in the area of trusts and estates law. Pitta & Dreier
LLP is an affiliate which specializes in labor law, and Pitta, Bishop, Del
Giorno & Dreier LLP specializes in government relations. In the 10 years
since its founding, Dreier LLP, with its affiliate members, has grown to
more than 200 attorneys, with its principal office at 499 Park Avenue in
Manhattan, and additional offices in Los Angeles; Santa Monica, California;
Albany, New York; and Stamford, Connecticut. |
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Bank Robber Blames Gambling and Loan Sharks
Court Feed News |
2007/12/07 18:13
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Self-described gambling addict Scott A. Hasenjaeger was hedging his bets when he robbed a Marseilles bank in January -- he said in court this week he was partly hoping to get caught and partly hoping to get away.
Either way, a federal judge called in his marker Tuesday.
The 34-year-old Hasenjaeger was sentenced to one year and one day in prison. However, the former insurance agent and part-time post office letter carrier from Minooka will be able to spend the holidays with his wife and three small children -- he doesn't have to report to prison until January.
Wearing a ski mask, Hasenjaeger entered Twin Oaks Savings Bank in Marseilles Jan. 24 and pointed at tellers a BB handgun that resembled a semi-automatic pistol. He made off with about $35,277, some of which he dropped as he left the bank. State police arrested Hasenjaeger about 45 minutes later in Minooka with a portion of the loot. As part of his deal to plead guilty, he agreed to pay back the rest of the money.
In seeking mercy, Hasenjaeger told the judge he grew up the son of an "emotionally-detached alcoholic father," catching the betting bug around age 8, when he blew $100 on a cruise ship slot machine.
Picking up his story in college, Hasenjaeger said he was the leading scorer for the 1993-1994 Central Connecticut State University basketball squad. The night before the "biggest game of the season," Hasenjaeger said he used $3,000 in credit card money to gamble at a casino, which he built into $12,000, before losing it all. With empty pockets, he duped a cab driver into taking him back to campus, promising to pay the fare once there. However, after he was dropped off, he fled without paying and was arrested by campus police. He played miserably the next night and was booted from the team the next year.
After his failed college career, he was hired and rose to become a district manager with American General Finance in Minooka, but continued to lose thousands of dollars through gambling.
At the time of the bank robbery, Hasenjaeger said loan sharks were circling him, he was on the verge of losing his job, and his house -- mortgaged twice to get money to pay gambling debts -- was in foreclosure. He said he partly wanted to get caught, because then he figured he would be forced to quit gambling.
After his arrest, he declared bankruptcy and his family now is about to be evicted.
Hasenjaeger joined Gamblers Anonymous, and in 1995 and 2000 was hospitalized at Proctor Hospital in Peoria for what doctors termed a "severe gambling disorder." For brief periods after each hospitalization, Hasenjaeger said he refrained from wagering.
Hasenjaeger's court-appointed attorney, Robert G. Clarke, wrote of his client:
"Virtually all of his family, many of whom he has hurt quite severely, and some of his friends, some of whom have been betrayed by earlier promises of reformation, attest to his good will and his persuasive efforts to reform since his arrest."
In 1995, Hasenjaeger was convicted of criminal damage to property.
Until he reports to prison, Hasenjaeger is under electronic monitoring and has to remain home from 10 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily. He also is prohibited from gambling. |
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