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Skadden Beefs up Security with Endpoint
Law Firm News |
2007/11/21 17:24
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Endpoint security has given one of the world's largest law firms the ironclad network security it needs to enforce its strict policies while also ensuring that the network and the computers connected to it are safe from attack.
It wasn't always that way at Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP. When the network was put in place in 1992, policies were relatively relaxed. Drives were open to allow end users to write and save to floppy disks and other media. It took only about a week for a virus to get out onto the network.
According to Nancy Lundergan, manager of security and process at Skadden, that one incident led to a re-evaluation of network security.
"We can't have that," she said, adding that by nature the law firm's network is a portal to massive amounts of confidential data, such as case files and other necessary legal information.
But with nearly 5,000 endpoints deployed throughout the network, Lundergan said, Skadden's options for locking things down were somewhat limited. The firm wanted an agentless monitoring and remediation tool to support layered internal security management.
Lundergan said the agentless portion was a must because, with the number of endpoints in use, it would be nearly impossible for Skadden's IT staff to install a client-based software solution on each and every machine.
As it stands, Skadden allows only desktop PCs to access the network. Laptops and notebooks are a no-no. Most of the firm's applications are on Citrix servers, so there are not many applications saved on the actual desktops themselves.
Originally, Skadden looked to network access control (NAC) solutions to make sure that desktops accessing the network were approved and to push devices that were not up to snuff into an Internet-only environment. Lundergan said NAC is currently being implemented in some of Skadden's 22 physical offices and could be in use in many by early next year. But along with NAC, Lundergan wanted an additional layer of endpoint security.
Skadden went with Promisec's Spectator Professional for its clientless endpoint security needs.
"We don't have to worry about deploying it on the machines," Lundergan said. "We can centrally run it. We didn't even look at agent-based solutions."
And with Skadden's "strict" security policy that bars file sharing, Skype, music players and most other types of downloads, being able to scan and monitor the applications that computers are running is a necessity, Lundergan said.
"We want to make sure people aren't using their work machines as jukeboxes," she said. "This is the desktop we have out there, and we make sure machines are doing what they're supposed to do."
Lundergan said she frequently scans the network to see the applications loaded on desktops and what processes they have gone through. She said she can search through registries and follow digital footprints to ensure that security and use policies are followed.
"If I find something, I can isolate it and do a deeper scan," she said.
It's imperative that Skadden be able to identify and fix deviations from its policy without creating a negative impact on the network's performance or integrity, Lundergan added. She can monitor who is on the network and when, ensuring that all software and hardware being used is approved while also making sure that there are no hidden threats inside the network.
Also, she said, since Promisec's solution installs on one server, it offers that agentless, single point of management that the firm's network of Windows-based machines requires.
"It's very important for us to be able to know that our endpoints are secure across the entire enterprise," Lundergan said. |
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Winston & Strawn Settles Claim with GE Rainmaker
Law Firm News |
2007/11/21 17:15
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Winston & Strawn has settled on the eve of trial a lawsuit brought against it by a New York partner who claimed the firm broke a deal to exempt him from "decompression," a policy sharply reducing partners' pay after age 65, writes the New York Law Journal.
Throughout the 1990s, Anthony LoFrisco, 74, was one of the law firm's highest-paid partners, based largely on his close relationship with former General Electric (GE) chairman John "Jack" Welch. According to a 1994 agreement with Chicago-based Winston, LoFrisco was to be paid an amount equal to at least 13% of the firm's GE billings.
That arrangement expired in 2001 but LoFrisco claimed in his 2003 lawsuit that the firm agreed that year to extend the deal and exempt him from decompression. He accused the firm of reneging the following year, with decompression reducing his pay from $2.3m (£1.1m) in 2002 to $350,000 (£170,000) in 2004.
Trial in the matter was scheduled to begin Monday before Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Helen Freedman. But the parties said in a joint statement yesterday (20 November) that they reached an “amicable settlement” of the dispute on 10 November. The terms of the settlement are confidential.
As a result of the settlement, the parties stated: "LoFrisco's lawsuit will be dismissed and he will resign from the firm on 26 November, 2007."
Both Winston's lawyer, Philip Forlenza of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler, and LoFrisco's lawyer, Elkan Abramowitz of Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason Anello & Bohrer, declined to comment further.
The settlement ends an unusual suit that had drawn much attention to the issue of how firms handle aging rainmakers, many more of whom are now challenging firm policies that envision retirement at age 65 or earlier. In recent years, many firms have shown greater willingness to waive decompression, mandatory retirement or similar policies for older partners still responsible for large amounts of business.
The sensitive issue of how to manage aging partnerships was thrust into the spotlight last month after Sidley Austin agree to pay $27.5m (£13.1m) to settle an age discrimination claim with 32-former partners who were forced to give up equity partner status in 1999. |
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CPDC President Pleads Guilty to Obstruction of Audit
Court Feed News |
2007/11/19 19:43
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The president of the Los Angeles-based Community Partnership Development Corporation (CPDC) pleaded guilty this morning to charges of obstructing an audit conducted by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, which was looking into the expenditure of nearly $3.2 million of federal money on "engineering and construction management supervision fees."
Frank DeSantis, 49, of Santa Clarita, pleaded guilty to the felony obstruction charge before United States District Judge John F. Walter. DeSantis pleaded guilty to a one-count indictment that was returned by a federal grand jury in June and accused him of overstating work hours in relation to grant money that HUD had provided to the CPDC.
HUD provides funding, through the Low-Income Housing Preservation and Resident Homeownership Act of 1991 -- commonly called the Preservation Program -- to support the development and operation of privately owned rental properties for low-income families. The Preservation Program provides financial assistance in the form of grants to private owners for the purchase and rehabilitation of properties. In 1996 and 1997, DeSantis received Preservation Program grants, which he used to purchase three properties -- the New Brittany Housing Foundation Development, the L.A. Garden Community Association Development, and the Casa Community Association Development. In June 2002, HUD’s Office of Inspector General conducted an audit of the grant fund expenditures for the three developments. In order to explain the expenditure of $3,198,245, DeSantis submitted time sheets for CPDC employees. However, the time sheets proved to be false for three reasons: they were created long after the purported work took place, they showed more hours than the employees actually worked on the Preservation Program grant, and the time sheets failed to disclose that a significant number of hours were spent working on non-Preservation Program projects.
“Financial crimes aimed at multifamily housing undermine the economic viability of what is home to dozens and sometimes hundreds of families,” said Kenneth M Donohue, Inspector General for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. “To the extent that we can stop these destructive practices, the HUD Office of Inspector General will be a deterrent to these pernicious activities and a defender of the notion that people should be able to enjoy a safe and affordable home.”
DeSantis is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Walter on February 4. At that time, DeSantis faces a statutory maximum penalty of five years in federal prison. As part of his plea agreement, DeSantis has agreed to pay $400,000 to reimburse HUD for some of the money provided in Preservation Program grants.
This case is the result of an investigation by HUD's Office of Inspector General. |
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United Rentals Takes Cerberus to Court
Court Feed News |
2007/11/19 18:08
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United Rentals filed a lawsuit against Cerberus Capital Management seeking to force the private-equity firm to follow through with its buyout of the rental-equipment company.
The suit comes after Cerberus said last week that it wanted to pay a $100 million break-up fee to end the deal, partly because of volatility in the credit markets. United Rentals has contended that there are no financing obstacles to the $7 billion buyout, nor any significant changes in its business.
United Rentals said Monday that RAM Holdings and RAM Acquisition, two acquisition vehicles formed by Cerberus, are violating the merger agreement and do not have the right to simply pay the break-fee and walk away from the deal.
The company called Cerberus' action a "naked ploy" to extract a lower price for the buyout. Cerberus said last week it was willing to negotiate a revised deal.
Through the lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, United Rentals is seeking to consummate the merger agreement in accordance with its original terms.
With the suit, United Rentals joins Sallie Mae in launching a legal battle with its potential acquirers to force a buyout. Other companies, such as Harman and Acxiom, have seen their deals fall apart as turmoil in the credit markets affects private-equity firms' ability to raise financing.
Shares of United Rentals recently were down 37 cents, or 1.6%, to $23. The buyout had called for Cerberus to pay $34.50 a share for the company. |
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Maryland Police/Sheriff Investigate Taser Death
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/11/19 17:43
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Frederick law enforcement agencies are conducting dual investigations into the death of a 20-year-old man who died Sunday after a Frederick County Sheriff’s deputy used a Taser to subdue him.
According Cpl. Jennifer Bailey, spokeswoman for the Sheriff’s Office, a deputy responded to the 7000 block of Gresham Court East, Frederick, at 4:54 a.m. Sunday for the report of a fight in progress.
The deputy — whose identity has not been released — found four people fighting, and deployed a Taser, striking Jarrel Gray of Frederick.
Gray fell to the ground, and he received medical attention. He was transported to Frederick Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The deputy who fired the Taser has been placed on administrative leave with pay during the investigation, which is normal procedure.
On WFMD Monday morning, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins (R) said two investigations are under way: The Frederick Police Department is investigating Gray’s death, while the Sheriff’s Office is investigating the use of the Taser by one of its deputies.
According to Frederick County Circuit Court records, Gray was serving two years and six months of supervised probation stemming from charges of second-degree assault and resisting arrest in November 2006.
This incident comes almost two weeks after a Frederick County Sheriff’s deputy used a Taser in his role as a school resource officer at Tuscarora High School.
In that incident, an 18-year-old student was not injured as he resisted a deputy’s command to step away as he broke up a fight at the school. |
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Texas Judge Issues Injunction Against Tribe
Lawyer Blog News |
2007/11/19 17:40
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A Texas judge grants a permanent injunction against the Wichita-based Kaweah Indian Nation and its self-proclaimed chief, Malcomb Webber.
The unrecognized tribe is accused of defrauding illegal immigrants by falsely claiming they could get Social Security numbers if they bought tribal memberships.
The Texas attorney general's office had filed a lawsuit accusing Webber and his group of violating the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act.
The lawsuit is still pending against two other defendants. And a spokesman for the Texas attorney general's office said a ruling on any penalties and restitution will be made after the entire case is settled.
A court-appointed attorney for Webber has said Webber was a victim of renegade underlings. |
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