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Reed Smith cutting associates’ salaries 10%
Law Firm News |
2009/05/22 09:01
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pThe Reed Smith law firm said it will cut salaries for all U.S. associates by 10 percent across the board, effective July 1.
/ppIn an internal memo that was originally leaked to the Web site Abovethelaw.com Wednesday afternoon, managing partner Gregory Jordan said the firm had already adopted changes to its business plan because of the recession, changing client demands, and the competitive landscape in the legal industry. Among other things, Jordan said it has meant lower compensation levels for partners, though he did not specify by how much./ppA spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based firm, which has about 280 employees in Philadelphia, confirmed the authenticity of the memo./ppJordan said the firm will set the salaries for the incoming class of first-year associates in the United States at a later date, but they will be at least 10 percent lower than the current levels. Jordan said the firm will freeze associates’ salaries in its European and Middle Eastern offices, and will set the starting salary for newly qualified associates in the United Kingdom about 10 percent lower than the current level. Asian operations are not affected by the action./p |
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Nixon Peabody Cuts First Year Associates Pay
Law Firm News |
2009/04/29 09:11
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Nixon Peabody LLP has shaved $15,000 off of salaries for its first year associates in an effort to reduce expenses, the law firm confirmed this week.
In a memo to staff, firm managing partner and CEO Richard F. Langan said first year salaries will be reduced to $145,000, down from $160,000, for firm associates. The firm also has made performance-based salary cuts for current associates and has introduced a new bonus structure.
Up until this year big law firms have felt pressure to keep first-year associate salaries level with those at competitor firms.
Nixon Peabody, which has about 170 lawyers in Boston and a total of 720 lawyers, is the first major Boston firm to announce such a pay reduction, but is among several national law firms that have recently made the decision to reduce first year salaries.
Other firms that have cut first-year salaries in recent weeks include Robinson amp; Cole LLP, which has 200 lawyers nationally and 50 in Massachusetts, and McKenna Long amp; Aldridge, a Washington, D.C., firm.
Langan said in his memo, “Nixon Peabody LLP has taken measures over the past several months to review its cost of doing business while keeping its commitment to providing extraordinary client service. To maintain staffing levels in the best interest of our clients, we have decided to reduce starting compensation levels for incoming associates and summer associates to $145,000 in major financial centers with related reductions in associate compensation throughout the firm’s U.S. operations.”
The “major financial” centers the memo refers to reportedly include Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and California, according to Abovethelaw.com. Other regions will see smaller pay decreases, corresponding to lower salary levels.
Langan’s memo continued, “Additionally, we have made downward adjustments to the base pay of our current associates based on their individual performance and contribution to our firm. Along with this change in compensation, associates will be eligible for a new bonus program, based on the firm’s financial performance, which will reward top performing associates who make extraordinary contributions to the firm. With our new bonus program and strong firm culture, we expect to attract and retain the best and brightest talent for many years to come. Through this innovative approach to associate compensation, along with a wide range of innovative pricing arrangements to meet the varied needs of our clients, we are able to continue to provide our clients with the highest level of service and lower cost practical solutions in order to meet their business needs in this challenging economic climate. We appreciate our associates’ understanding and commitment to our firm and its future.” |
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Davis Wright Tremaine Being Sued
Law Firm News/Oregon |
2009/04/14 13:39
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Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, one of the Northwest’s largest law firms, is being sued for violating Oregon securities law by investors in Sunwest Management Inc., the disgraced senior living operator.
The Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine referred calls to the public relations department in its Seattle office, which could not be reached to comment.
The lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court names a series of Oregon limited liability corporations as plaintiffs and seeks to represent approximately 1,200 Oregon investors as a class action matter.
The named plaintiffs all invested in senior housing communities controlled by Jon Harder and Sunwest Management.
The suit accuses Davis Wright Tremaine and Timothy Dozois, a partner in the firm, of misleading investors into thinking they were buying into specific properties and that they would receive rent payments from Sunwest, which managed the series of allegedly independent properties. The suit seeks compensation for damages from the loss of value of Sunwest Management, once a $2 billion-plus company.
Damages could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Attorneys involved in the case said they do not know the limits of Davis Wright Tremaine’s professional liability insurance. Oregon is the only state that mandates malpractice insurance for attorneys, but the amount is limited to about $300,000 per related case, according to the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund. Large firms often carry excess insurance.
The suit seeks to hold Sunwest’s lawyers accountable to investors for misleading them about the nature of their investments.
“The defendants omitted material facts in connection with their own statements to investors. Defendants and other attorneys in Portland, Oregon also participated and materially assisted in the unlawful sale of these securities through their relationship with (Sunwest founder and controlling owner) Jon M. Harder and his enterprise of closely related Oregon companies,” plaintiffs claim.
Harder, who has filed for personal bankruptcy, is not a defendant in the case.
Justine Fischer, a Portland attorney working for the plaintiff’s team, said the next step is to have the suit designated as a “complex” case and assigned to a judge already hearing other legal matters pertaining to Harder and the Sunwest matter.
The investor suit mirrors a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Oregon by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Like the investor suit, the SEC suit characterizes Sunwest as a “Ponzi” scheme and said the company improperly managed its empire, which once included about 250 senior living centers, as a single operation instead of the unrelated businesses it described to investors.
Investors purchased shares of the real estate as tenants in common and were supposed to be paid rent by Sunwest Management.
Instead, Sunwest diverted funds from profitable properties to pay costs of unprofitable ones. When the economy collapsed and Sunwest could not secure credit, the company stopped making mortgage payments on some properties, triggering dozens of foreclosures and other legal actions.
The suit accuses Davis Wright Tremaine of facilitating the scheme by misrepresenting the “unitary” nature of the operation.
The suit says Davis Wright Tremaine and Dozois prepared numerous documents that misled investors into thinking they were buying into particular properties, including memoranda, disclosure materials, tenancy in common agreements, triple net lease documents, warranty deeds, operating agreements, real property purchase agreements and escrow instructions.
“The defendants and the Harder Enterprise did not tell investors that revenue generated in connection with the property they were investing in could be commingled and used to help fund less profitable properties owned and operated by the Harder Enterprise or would be loaned to less profitable properties. Investors also were not told that the Harder Enterprise had engaged extensively in such commingling of funds in the past and intended to continue do to so in the future,” the suit claims.
In addition to Fischer, the plaintiffs are being represented by two Washington, D.C., law firms, Cohen Milstein Sellers amp; Toll PLLC and the Law Office of Herbert Adelman. |
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Nationally Ranked Securities Group Joins SRFF LLP
Law Firm News |
2009/03/23 09:29
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Harvey J. Kesner, previously head of the New York Business and Securities Regulation Group at Haynes and Boone, LLP, and Ben Reichel, a partner, have joined the corporate and securities practice of Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP (SRFF) as partners. The new additions couple two of the most active and dynamic securities practices in New York and result in one of the most experienced and productive corporate finance groups in the United States, representing well over 100 publicly traded companies.
Both the SRFF practice and Mr. Kesner's group have long focused on the needs of public companies, hedge funds, institutional investors, money managers, high net worth individuals, underwriters, placement agents and broker-dealers. Both practices have a well-established prominence in PIPES, venture capital, reverse mergers, public offerings and general corporate and securities law compliance. Since 2007, the combined practices have represented over 87 PIPE transactions totaling $900 million in value. The addition of Harvey and Ben brings the total number of attorneys in the SRFF corporate finance group to 21 lawyers and the total number of lawyers firm wide to 30. SRFF's practice groups include business and securities litigation, securities enforcement and broker dealer regulation.
We are very fortunate to have Harvey and Ben join forces with us. The combination of their practice with ours continues our leading position in business counseling and securities transactions and has further expanded our market share, said Richard Friedman, managing partner of the firm. Their addition solidifies SRFF's position as an industry leader and demonstrates our tradition of growth by careful additions of individual practitioners and cohesive practice groups that share our collegial and entrepreneurial spirit, and a dedication to quality of service.
Mr. Kesner stated, Uniting both of these nationally recognized practices makes perfect sense. We are joining SRFF to consolidate our two similar and competitive practices under a single roof. We have always respected SRFF's professionals including their success in establishing a strong presence in China. Many of our friends and clients view SRFF as the international leader in small- and mid-cap public company representation and we look forward to continuing to expand both domestically and abroad.
Mr. Kesner focuses his practice on complex domestic and international transactions. He represents issuers, underwriters, agents and other financial intermediaries in public and private offerings, as well as in equity, debt, and derivative securities transactions. Mr. Kesner has an extensive background in representing issuers and other parties in mergers and acquisitions, private equity and venture capital transactions.
Mr. Kesner spent several years in Washington, D.C., where he was a senior attorney in the Division of Corporation Finance of the SEC. He holds an M.B.A. in finance from American University in Washington, D.C., where he also earned his J.D. Mr. Kesner received his B.S. from the State University of New York at Binghamton. Mr. Kesner served as General Counsel of a NYSE listed company and had previously been associated with several large New York law firms.
Mr. Reichel's practice focuses on corporate securities, venture capital, mergers and acquisitions, and general company representation. He has represented issuers in private and public offerings of debt and equity securities, including IPOs, secondary, PIPE and registered rights offerings. He has also represented investment firms and private companies in venture capital transactions, as well as hedge fund formation. In addition, Mr. Reichel has represented public and private companies, both as buyers and sellers, in various Mamp;A deals, including statutory mergers, stock purchase transactions and asset sales and acquisitions. His practice also includes assisting public companies with their SEC filings, and advising them on securities law and daily corporate matters. Mr. Reichel received his J.D. from New York University School of Law and completed his B.A. at Yeshiva University. |
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Levi Korinsky Investigate Breach of Fiduciary Duty
Law Firm News |
2009/03/04 09:03
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Levi amp; Korsinsky (Lamp;K) is investigating breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law by the board of directors of Nobel Learning Communities, Inc. (Nobel Learning or the Company) (Nasdaq:NLCI) arising out of their failure to negotiate in good faith with a potential purchaser of the Company and pursue a transaction designed to maximize shareholders value. On September 22, 2008, Knowledge Learning Corporation made an offer to buy the Company for $17 per share which represents a 25% premium to the prior day's closing share price and is a price the Company's stock has not reached since 1996. The Board, however, has taken actions designed to maintain control over the Company and impede the maximization of shareholder value. These actions include the adoption of a rights plan in response to purchases of Company stock by entities controlled by or affiliated with Michael Milken who is the founder of Knowledge Learning Corporation.
If you own common stock in Nobel Learning and wish to obtain additional information, please contact us at the number listed below or visit http://www.zlk.com/nlci.html
Lamp;K has experience in prosecuting investor securities litigation and an extensive practice in actions involving financial fraud and represents investors throughout the nation, concentrating its practice in securities and shareholder litigation. |
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Class Action Filed Against Oppenheimer Funds
Law Firm News |
2009/02/27 09:34
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Abraham, Fruchter amp; Twersky, LLP filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York against Oppenheimer Funds, Inc. (Oppenheimer) on behalf of purchasers of the Rochester Fund Municipals (Rochester or the Fund) (NASDAQ: RMUNX) (NASDAQ: RMUBX) (NASDAQ: RMUCX) from February 26, 2006 through October 21, 2008 (the Class Period).
The complaint charges Oppenheimer, the Fund and certain of its Trustees with violations of the Securities Act of 1933. The suit claims Oppenheimer, which runs the Fund, misled investors about the risks of investing in the Fund, resulting in an over 30% decline in the Fund's value. The lawsuit identifies the following funds as affected: A Shares (RMUNX), B Shares (RMUBX) and C Shares (RMUCX).
The complaint alleges that the Registration Statements through which shares of the Fund were sold failed to disclose that under certain circumstances Trusts which contain Inverse Floaters, such as those employed by the Fund, may be put to the Fund for repayment of principal. This caused the Trusts to be collapsed and required the Fund to repay the principal amount of the tendered securities. In order to do so, the Fund was forced to sell securities from its portfolio regardless of market conditions and accept prices far below the values at which the bonds were carried on its books.
This risk factor was always present wherever inverse floaters were employed. However, no disclosure was made in any of the Prospectuses filed as part of Registration Statements with respect to the sale of the Fund's shares. Because of this lack of disclosure, the Fund's shares traded at artificially inflated prices during the Class Period.
On October 21, 2008, Rochester filed a Prospectus Supplement which disclosed the relevant risks associated with the Fund's investment in Inverse Floaters. As of October 21, 2008, the Fund's shares traded at $12.35 per share, down from $18.00 per share at the beginning of the year.
Plaintiff seeks to recover damages on behalf of all those who purchased shares of Rochester Fund Municipals from February 26, 2006 through October 21, 2008. The Plaintiff is represented by Abraham, Fruchter amp; Twersky, LLP which has extensive experience in securities class action cases, having been ranked among the leading class action law firms in terms of recoveries achieved by a survey of class action law firms conducted by Institutional Shareholder Services.
If you would like to discuss this action or if you have any questions concerning this notice or your rights as a potential class member or lead plaintiff, you may contact: Jeffrey Abraham or Jack Fruchter of Abraham, Fruchter amp; Twersky, LLP at 212-279-5050, or via e-mail at jabraham@aftlaw.com or jfruchter@aftlaw.com, respectively. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than sixty days from today. Any member of the proposed class may move the Court to serve as lead plaintiff through counsel of their choice, or may choose to do nothing and remain a member of the proposed class. |
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