|
|
|
Greenberg Traurig Receives 2 International M&A Advisor Awards
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/17 10:04
|
The international law firm Greenberg Traurig, LLP won two awards in the Major Transaction category for Corporate/Strategic Acquisition of the Year and for Financing Deal of the Year at The M&A Advisor 3rd Annual International M&A Awards. The awards were presented for Greenberg Traurig's role in the business combination of Liberty Acquisition Holdings Corp. and Promotora de Informaciones, a transaction that involved more than 100 firm attorneys. The firm was also a finalist for M&A Deal of the Year and Turnaround Deal of the Year in the Major Transaction category and for Media, Entertainment and Telecom in the Sector Transaction category.
Leading the Liberty deal team at Greenberg Traurig were, from the Fort Lauderdale office, shareholders Donn Beloff, Bruce March and Brian Gavsie, and associate Bernie Grondin; from the Miami office, shareholders Patricia Menendez-Cambó, Chair of the firm’s Global Practice Group, Randy Bullard, and Mark Lopez, and associate Enrique Conde; from the New York office, shareholders Alan Annex and Ken Gerasimovich; from the Tysons Corner office, shareholder Jason Simon; from the Chicago office, shareholder Peter Lieberman; and from the Wilmington office, shareholder Kelly Terribile. The winners were announced at the 3rd Annual International M&A Awards Gala on Tuesday, October 11, 2011, at The Cornell Club in New York City.
Comprised of more than 350 lawyers in more than 30 offices, Greenberg Traurig’s Corporate and Securities/M&A Practice provides advice and services to companies and entrepreneurs throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. Greenberg Traurig’s practice groups and attorneys have been recognized as No. 1 in their respective geographic regions by The National Law Journal, Chambers & Partners, Corporate Board Member magazine, Latin Lawyer magazine and numerous regional and local professional publications.
Most recently, Greenberg Traurig ranked 5th among all law firms representing investment banks in U.S. mergers and acquisitions transactions, with 12 announced transactions, in the 2011 Six-Month Banker Representations listing published by Corporate Control Alert. Firms were ranked by the total number of deals having a value of $100 million or more during the period from January 1, 2011 to June 30, 2011. According to league table reports published by Bloomberg, mergermarket and Thomson Reuters, during the first half of 2011, Greenberg Traurig had 50 M&A deals announced globally, with a value of approximately $60 billion, up from 30 announced deals valued at approximately $16 billion in the first half of 2010. The firm's advance was propelled by its role in several high-profile transactions. Greenberg Traurig ranked in the top 15 law firms nationally and top 20 law firms globally in eight rankings in the reports, which highlight deal activity at top law firms across a broad array of deal types, regions, and industry sectors.
For additional information, please visit www.gtlaw.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court to hear bid to sue Shell for Nigerian abuses
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/17 10:04
|
The Supreme Court said Monday it will use a dispute between Nigerian villagers and oil giant Royal Dutch Shell to decide whether corporations may be held liable in U.S. courts for alleged human rights abuses overseas.
The justices said they will review a federal appeals court ruling in favor of Shell. The case centers on the 222-year-old Alien Tort Statute that has been increasingly used in recent years to sue corporations for alleged abuses abroad.
The villagers argue Shell was complicit in torture and other crimes against humanity in the country's oil-rich Ogoni region in the Niger Delta.
A divided panel of federal appeals court judges in New York said the 18th century law may not be used against corporations. More recently, appellate judges in Washington said it could.
In a second case the court agreed to hear, the justices will weigh whether the Torture Victims Protection Act of 1992 can be invoked against organizations, or only individuals.
The sons and widow of Azzam Rahim have filed a civil lawsuit against the Palestinian Authority and the Palestine Liberation Organization. The Palestinian-born Rahim was a naturalized U.S. citizen who was beaten and died in the custody of Palestinian intelligence officers in Jericho in 1995. Three officers were jailed for their role in the case, according to a State Department report.
But when Rahim's relatives sought money damages for his death, the federal appeals court in Washington said they could not use the 1992 law to go after the Palestinian organizations. The law may be applied only to "natural persons," the appeals court said.
The Nigerians' lawsuit stems from alleged human rights violations between 1992 and 1995. The suit claims that Shell was eager to stop protests about continuing oil exploration in the area and was complicit in Nigerian government actions that included fatal shootings, rapes, beatings, arrests and property destruction. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Utah bank sued over overdraft fees, policies
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/11 09:43
|
Zions Bank's overdraft policies and practices are being challenged in a Utah federal class action lawsuit.
Filed this week in Salt Lake City's U.S. District Court, the lawsuit contends the bank makes it difficult - if not impossible - for customers to avoid fees, even if they closely monitor accounts.
The Deseret News of Salt Lake City reports the lawsuit was filed by three law firms on behalf of a Sandy woman and other Zions customers charged overdraft fees between 2005 and 2010.
In court papers, attorneys say Zions manipulated and altered the order in which debit transactions were posted in order to maximize the number of overdrafts.
Based in Salt Lake City, Zions has branches in 10 states.
A spokeswoman says the company doesn't comment on pending lawsuits.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Court won't hear NH presidential ballot question
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/11 09:43
|
The Supreme Court won't hear an appeal from the Libertarian Party over whether New Hampshire officials should have let 2008 Libertarian candidate Bob Barr be the party's sole candidate on the presidential ballot.
The high court on Tuesday refused to hear an appeal from the party, which wanted Barr as the only candidate carrying its brand on the 2008 ballot.
A second candidate, George Phillies, also petitioned his way onto the New Hampshire ballot under the Libertarian banner. Barr and the party sued, saying Barr should have been the only Libertarian candidate on that ballot.
But the federal courts threw out the party's claim that Phillies' affiliation should have been removed because the national party didn't want his name on the ballot. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Alberto Gonzales joins Nashville law firm
Headline Legal News |
2011/10/06 09:35
|
Former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the first Hispanic attorney general in U.S. history, has joined one of Nashville’s largest law firms and will play a role in mentoring younger lawyers.
Gonzales, 56, will focus on government relations, government investigations and white-collar defense for Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP, the firm said Wednesday.
He also will be involved in the firm’s diversity initiatives, which include a mentoring program.
“It is a great honor for me to join Waller Lansden, a firm that I greatly admire,” Gonzales said in a statement. “Waller Lansden has a reputation for providing incisive legal representation while caring deeply for its clients. The firm’s breakthrough initiatives to encourage diversity in the workplace are admirable.”
Gonzales became the first Hispanic attorney general in U.S. history when President George W. Bush appointed him in 2005.
But he left the post in 2007 under a cloud of controversy stemming from allegations that, under his watch, the U.S. Justice Department improperly hired and fired several U.S. attorneys for political reasons.
|
|
|
|
|
|