The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

In Howrey Case, Hispanic Farmers Implore Judge Regarding Representation

Hundreds of Hispanic farmers who had been represented by Howrey in a suit against the federal government alleging discriminatory lending practices, have asked a federal judge to ensure that they aren’t left without representation.

Howrey’s bankruptcy trustee filed a motion last month to allow the estate withdraw from the case, but the farmers don’t want Howrey to go. Earlier this month the judge approved the request.

Stephen Hill, a former antitrust partner who has been working on the case since 2002, told our sister publication Am Law Daily that he plans to stick with the case. Read up on all the latest happenings here.

Park Service Alerts Court of Intent to Enforce No-Camping Rules for Occupy D.C.

Updated at 5:23 p.m.

The National Park Service alerted Occupy D.C. demonstrators today of its intent to begin enforcing a no-camping rule starting on Monday, and also filed notice (PDF) with the federal judge overseeing the protesters' case against the agency about the warning this afternoon.

Attorneys for the Occupy D.C. demonstrators and the U.S. Department of the Interior are due in court Jan. 31 to argue over a preliminary injunction motion. The demonstrators have sued to keep the park service from removing any tents or property from McPherson Square, which they claim would be a violation of their constitutional rights since the items are part of their protest.

U.S. District Judges James Boasberg issued a minute order in December requiring the agency to give the court a 24-hour notice before attempting to enforce the no-sleeping rule. In the absence of such notice, the agency has been barred from interfering with the site, except in case of an emergency.

Several hours after the government notified the court of its warning, Boasberg issued a new minute order finding that the park service had complied with the previous order and that Park Police could “begin enforcing the Park Service's anti-camping regulations, including arresting those persons in McPherson Square who are in violation of those regulations and seizing for temporary impoundment their tents and other possessions.”

The Jan. 31 hearing will address the question of whether Park Police can destroy or remove tents that belong to people who are complying with the no-camping rule, Boasberg wrote.

Earlier this week, the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee called National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis to testify about the agency’s handling of the protest. Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and other committee members had pressed Jarvis to explain why U.S. Park Police had yet to enforce the no-camping rule when they were aware that demonstrators were sleeping on the site.

Jarvis responded that the agency had discretion in deciding how to enforce the no-camping rule, and that police had been trying to work with the protesters to get compliance while also upholding their First Amendment rights.

Washington solo practitioner Jeffrey Light, who is representing the protesters, said in a phone interview this afternoon that he wasn’t surprised by the notice issued by the park service today. “If somebody is violating the law, that’s not what the lawsuit is about,” Light said. At issue in the lawsuit, he said, is “what about people who aren’t doing something illegal.”

The protesters, in their court briefs, have not contested the legality of the no-camping rule.

A park service spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment this afternoon.

Sudanese Bishop Granted Asylum in U.S., with Covington's Help

Lawyers with Covington & Burling in Washington helped to secure asylum for a Sudanese Episcopalian Bishop after he became a target for his support of South Sudan, the firm said Friday.

Bishop Andudu Adam Elnail is a native of the Sudanese province of South Kordofan, which borders South Sudan to the north.

Elnail came to the U.S. seeking medical treatment in May 2011. In June 2011, a conflict broke out between the Army of Sudan and the Sudan People’s Liberation Army/Movement in South Kordofan. About the same time, Covington began representing Elnail’s quest for asylum pro bono. Associate Arjun Singh Sethi was the lead attorney representing Elnail, supported by partner Gerald Masoudi.

“It was an extremely urgent situation and within the span of a few days, his home was destroyed and looted, his office was destroyed and looted and his church was destroyed and looted,” Sethi said. “We also had evidence that the Sudanese government had a list of individuals who were targeted for execution.”

Sethi argued that if Elnail returned to his home, he would be persecuted for his political beliefs in support of South Sudanese independence. Covington prepared Elnail’s asylum application, his personal affidavit and an expert affidavit. Now that his asylum has been granted, Elnail, living in Denver, is trying to bring his family to the U.S. as derivative asylees.

“Asylum is the way for me to advocate for the people of South Kordofan,” Elnail said in a written statement. “I can do more for my people here than if I was in Sudan.”

Sethi said that many asylum seekers face the harsh reality that they may never again step foot in their homeland.

“As much as he is a wonderful advocate here, there is a part of him which is in Sudan,” Sethi said, referring to Elnail. “That is where he was born and that is where his heart remains.”

Fourteen Men Graduate from 2011 Fathering Court Program in D.C.

Updated at 3:42 p.m.

Darnell Morris said that when he started the District of Columbia Superior Court's Fathering Court program, his relationship with his 15-year-old daughter "wasn’t too perfect." Morris, 42, had been in trouble with the law before for selling drugs, but said he had heard about the Fathering Court program on television and wanted a shot "to better myself."

On Friday morning, Morris and thirteen other men graduated from the 2011 class of Fathering Court, which aims to not only help fathers comply with child support orders, but also become better parents.

"I’m a better person, I’m a better father," said Morris, who was joined during the ceremony by his three-year-old son, Darnell Caesar Jr.

The Fathering Court program began in 2008, and has graduated more than 50 men re-entering the community from prison who have child support responsibilities. Participants are connected with employment services, counseling and other support over the course of a year.

Only two graduates have re-offended since the program began, according to a court spokesman.

Superior Court Judge Milton Lee, who presides over the program, said during the ceremony that while times may be tough in terms of finding a steady job or a home, “our gentlemen have not let that stop them.”

“You are better men than people will ever know,” Lee said, acknowledging that many of the men overcame health, relationship and a host of other problems to complete the program. Lee credited program manager Ron Scott, presiding Family Court Judge Zoe Bush and other staff for their role in making the program a success.

Lobbyists Predict Federal Tax Code Overhaul Unlikely This Year

Congressional Democrats may have a difficult time convincing their Republican counterparts to look at an overhaul of the U.S. tax code this year as GOP lawmakers eye the elections in November, an SNR Denton lobbyist said Thursday.

Speaking as part of a firm teleconference on the outlook for tax reform, SNR Denton senior managing director Matthew Lapinski said he sees "very little motivation" from Republicans to work on an overhaul this year when the legislative and executive branches could be in GOP hands in 2013. The last major overhaul of the tax code occurred in 1986.

“Obviously there is a lot of question politically about what the world is going to look like,” he said. “But I would still imagine there’s going to be the desire to wait until a lame-duck [session of Congress] to see what the playing field looks like to handle a lot of these big issues.”

SNR Denton partner John Harrington, who also spoke on the teleconference, said he expects Congress to devote much of its time this year on work related to expiring tax provisions. The measures include the payroll tax reduction, which expires Feb. 29, and the George W. Bush-era tax cuts, which run out at the end of this year.

“They’re going to take up a lot of focus,” he said.

Despite the obstacles to overhauling the tax code in the coming months, lawmakers this year still may put out legislation that has a tax reform label, Harrington said.

The SNR Denton partner said lawmakers want to call anything they do reform “because from a salesmanship standpoint, it sounds better, and if nothing else, no one thinks they are making the tax code worse.”

“Tax reform is always in the eye of the beholder,” Harrington said.

AG Holder 'Bound and Determined' For Justice In Residential Mortgage Securities Market

The financial fraud group that is investigating the market for residential mortgage-backed securities has already issued civil subpoenas to 11 financial institutions, Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said today in formally announcing the team of lawyers and federal agents.

Holder and top Obama administration officials, speaking today with reporters at the Justice Department, declined to discuss the details of the pending investigations. The focus of the group is on the organization and securitization of home loans, not loan servicing.

Holder said the working group, which President Barack Obama noted in his State of the Union speech Tuesday, will include 55 U.S. Justice Department attorneys, in addition to resources from several state attorneys general and law enforcement agencies such as the FBI.

The group, Holder said, will identify, investigate and prosecute instances of wrongdoing in the packaging and sale of residential mortgage-backed securities. The first full meeting was scheduled to begin this afternoon.

“I am confident that this new effort will improve our ability to ensure justice for victims, help restore faith in our financial markets and institutions and allow us to answer the call that President Obama issued earlier this week, in his State of the Union address,” Holder said in a statement today.

Holder and Robert Khuzami, the enforcement director at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, said that not every failure was a violation of the law. “We also have learned that behavior that is reckless or unethical is not criminal,” Holder said.

The officials fended off skepticism that the working group is getting off the ground too late in the Obama administration and that its work is not new at all. The Obama administration put together a Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force in November 2009.

“The notion that there has been inactivity over the course of the last three years is belied by a troublesome little something called facts,” Holder said. “We have been doing a great deal. I am confident that with this new structure that we are putting in place today our efforts will be enhanced.”

Holder said the “the reality is that we’ve done a substantial amount.” The attorney general said the working group is targeting a specific financial fraud crime that has caused “great harm” to the economy.

“We are bound and determined and will hold people accountable in this sector,” Holder said.

The Morning Wrap

Spared: Transocean Ltd., the owner of the Deepwater Horizon rig that was the centerpiece of the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, will not have to pay compensatory damages stemming from the spill, The Wall Street Journal reports. A federal trial judge has upheld portions of the company's indemnity agreement with oil giant BP PLC.

Leading: A California state judge has picked the first bellwether suit in consolidated litigation against Toyota over allegations of unintended acceleration, The National Law Journal reports. An attorney for the plaintiff said the trial could start as early as this September. A February trial is set for federal multidistrict litigation against Toyota.

Strained: Cash-strapped local governments are grappling with the increasing costs associated with an aging inmate population. The Wall Street Journal said 55 and older prisoners comprise the fastest growing population group in state and federal prisons.

Dismissed: A New York state judge has thrown out a murder indictment, saying that 19 years was too long to prosecute the charge, The New York Law Journal reports. The judge said the delay denied the defendant due process rights to prompt prosecution.

Shrinking: The Washington Post reports on the shrinking Pentagon budget. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta outlined a proposal that would reduce the size of the Army and Marine Corps. The $523 billion request represents 1 percent decrease from the current year.

Bind: Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. finds himself in a tough spot amid the investigation of rape allegations against Greg Kelly, son of New York City Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly. The New York Times reports that Vance has an opportunity with the case to demonstrate competency in the political aspect of his position.

Censored: Twitter Inc. announced it now has the ability to make content selectively available to users based on geography. The Wall Street Journal said Twitter has not yet put the ability to withhold content to use. "As we continue to grow internationally, we will enter countries that have different ideas about the contours of freedom of expression," Twitter's announcement said.

More Bloodletting at Legal Services

Civil legal aid groups that receive money from the Legal Services Corp. estimated that they will cut 163 lawyers and 230 other employees this year after Congress trimmed the agency’s budget by 14% for fiscal 2012, according to an LSC survey released Thursday.

The projected reductions among 132 of the 135 LSC-funded organizations follow a loss in 2011 of 833 positions. The groups in 2010 had 9,059 employees, including 4,351 lawyers. In 2012, the organizations expect to have 7,833 workers, including 3,769 attorneys.

“I was not surprised to see this,” LSC President James Sandman said, adding that the staff losses will harm the ability of civil legal aid groups to help the poor.

Congress in November passed legislation that gave $348 million to LSC for fiscal 2012. LSC last had a $348 million budget in 2007.

The agency asked Congress to provide it with $517 million for fiscal 2012. For fiscal 2013, LSC is requesting $470 million.

The agency hands out more money for civil legal aid than any other U.S. organization. Many of the clients are individuals facing eviction or victims of domestic abuse.

Former Senator and Son No Longer Lobby for New Orleans Suburb

Updated at 5:10 p.m.

Steptoe & Johnson on Wednesday notified Congress that former Sen. J. Bennett Johnston (D-La.) and his son, N. Hunter Johnston, have stopped advocating for Jefferson Parish, La., after the duo lobbied for the municipality for at least a dozen years.

The firm ended its government advocacy relationship with Jefferson Parish on Dec. 31, according to a lobbying termination report filed with Congress. Steptoe received $120,000 last year for lobbying related to funding for flood control projects and reimbursement for Federal Emergency Management Agency community disaster loans, which the parish received after Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

According to N. Hunter Johnston’s biography, the lobbyist “was extensively involved in the Congressional response to Hurricane Katrina, representing the City of New Orleans and Jefferson Parish during this critical time and is closely identified with the flood control programs that have been implemented to protect this key area of the country.”

The former senator, who lobbies for Steptoe as part of an alliance with his firm, Johnston & Associates, referred a request for comment to his son. N. Hunter Johnston, a Steptoe partner, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. A parish spokeswoman didn't have an immediate comment.

Steptoe was one of three firms that lobbied for the parish last year, according to congressional records. But only Adams and Reese, which received $120,000 for its government advocacy work for the parish in 2011, is still registered to lobby for the municipality. Bell Heroux, which took in $30,000 for its lobbying efforts on behalf of the parish last year, ended its government advocacy relationship with the municipality on Sept. 21.

D.C. Superior Court Judges Earned Fourth Highest Salary Nationwide

Updated at 5:08 p.m.

District of Columbia Superior Court associate judges earned the fourth highest salary nationwide in 2011, according to a newly-released compilation of judicial salaries in state courts.

Superior Court associate judges have earned $174,000 annually since 2008, making them consistently among the highest paid general trial court judges in the country. From 2002 to 2005, they were the highest paid general trial court judges, and have stayed in the top four since then.

The District’s rank changes dramatically, however, when the data are adjusted to reflect cost of living. Superior Court associate judges earned an adjusted salary of $122,301, knocking them down to number 36, a reflection of the high cost of living in the Washington area.

The data were compiled by the National Center for State Courts, which surveys judicial salaries nationwide twice a year. The 2011 numbers released were for the first six months of the year.

General trial court judges in Alaska, California and Illinois earned more than Superior Court judges in 2011, according to the survey, receiving $177,888, $178,789 and $180,802, respectively. The national average pay for general trial court judges in 2011 was $120,629, up by about $600 from 2010.

In the District, like the majority of states, judicial salaries have not changed in recent years as courts have grappled with tight budgets. Only nine states – Illinois, Alaska, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Georgia, Rhode Island, Indiana, West Virginia and Montana – increased pay for general trial court judges in 2011.

Associates judges in the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, who earned $184,500 in 2011, ranked seventh among judges in state supreme courts. That salary also hasn’t changed since 2008.

A court representative could not immediately be reached.

Steptoe Adds Two Partners to Antitrust and Competition Practice in Washington

Steptoe & Johnson has added two attorneys to its antitrust and competition practice in Washington, the firm announced Thursday.

Edward Schwartz and Andrew Lee join Steptoe as partners from Shearman & Sterling and White & Case, respectively. Lee was previously an associate at White & Case.

Schwartz focuses on antitrust, complex litigation, mergers and non-merger antitrust investigations by regulators. He has defended clients in cases of antitrust, conspiratorial conduct, unilateral conduct and price discrimination.

Lee, who is fluent in Korean, advises domestic and international clients on antitrust compliance and counseling, criminal antitrust defense, civil class actions and litigation. He previously worked at the Federal Trade Commission where he investigated mergers in the retail, energy, e-commerce and telecommunications industries.

“Ed and Andrew bring significant experience representing clients in a range of industries in antitrust litigation, investigations and counseling,” Roger Warin, chair of the firm, said in a written statement.

DOJ Defends Keeping Bin Laden Death Photos Secret

The U.S. Justice Department has asked a federal judge to keep secret photos showing the death of Osama bin Laden, saying the images are classified because of their potential to incite violence against the United States.

The department filed court papers (PDF) Wednesday in a public records suit in Washington asking U.S. District Judge James Boasberg to keep the photos out of the public domain.

DOJ attorney Marcia Berman of the Civil Division’s federal programs branch said the photos “reveal specific intelligence activities and methods and specific military methods, tools, equipment, and techniques employed during or after the operation” that killed bin Laden in May.

“For over two decades, bin Laden was the leader and symbol of al-Qaida, a terrorist organization at war with the United States,” Berman said. “The mere release of the images could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt by the United States to humiliate bin Laden, which could trigger violence, attacks, or acts of revenge against the United States.”

Judicial Watch, the conservative nonprofit organization that advocates for transparency in government, sued the U.S. Department of Defense and the Central Intelligence Agency in May in Washington federal district court.

Judicial Watch attorneys James Peterson and Michael Bekesha complained that the agencies did not conduct an adequate search and that the CIA violated classification procedures. The Justice Department said the intelligence agency has complied with its obligations.

Bekesha said in court papers (PDF) that Judicial Watch isn’t seeking any government records “that have been properly classified or would actually cause harm to the national security by revealing intelligence methods or the identity of U.S. personnel or classified technology.”

D.C. Appeals Court Finds Fraud Exception to 'Government Contacts' Rule

Washington's local courts traditionally have turned away cases when the only ties to the city involved contact with a federal agency. A ruling (PDF) this morning by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals offers a new exception to that rule when fraud is a central allegation.

The rule, known as the government contacts exception, was designed to keep Washington's courts from becoming national judicial forums, overloaded with cases that have no real connection to the city. But the three-judge panel ruled this morning that local courts do have jurisdiction to hear cases when a defendant is accused of committing fraud against a Washington-based federal agency that injured the plaintiff.

The underlying case involves a lawsuit filed by Brazilian producers of materials used to make steel against their American counterparts. The Brazilian companies accused the U.S. producers of giving fraudulent information to the U.S. International Trade Commission and manipulating the commission into imposing import duties on foreign producers in the 1990s.

The court didn’t decide the merits of the case, which is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Under the D.C. Code, the D.C. Circuit can "certify" questions to the D.C. Court of Appeals if the federal appellate judges can't find precedent controlling an issue relating to an interpretation of D.C. law.

The Brazilian producers sued the U.S. producers in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. In March 2010, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer dismissed the case, finding that, under the government contacts rule, the court lacked jurisdiction to hear the case. The Brazilian producers appealed, at which point the D.C. Circuit asked the local appellate court to weigh in on whether there existed a fraud exception to the government contacts rule.

The local appeals court heard oral arguments on Oct. 27. In today’s decision, Associate Judge John Fisher wrote that “nothing in our previous decisions holds or was intended to imply that individuals who enter the District of Columbia to fraudulently induce unwarranted government action against others, and succeed in doing so, should be able to avoid defending their actions in this jurisdiction.

“Such fraud does not warrant our protection,” he wrote.

The Morning Wrap

Civil Rights: Black leaders throughout New Jersey ripped Gov. Chris Christie after he said that civil rights leaders would have gladly put the rights they were fighting for to a popular vote, according to The Star Ledger. On Tuesday Christie proposed putting gay marriage to a November voter referrendum. 

Questionnaire: The jurors in the Chandra Levy murder trial all previously knew of the case, according to questionnaires obtained by The Washington Post. The forms give insight into the jury that convicted Ingmar Guandique. 

Preparing to Launch: Facebook’s lawyers at Fenwick & West stopped clearance of trades on the secondary market, a sign that the social networking company is gearing up for its initial public offering, The New York Times reports. Such an offering would surely mark a highlight on the company’s “timeline.”

Tacos: The Hartford Courant editorial board had some harsh criticsm for East Haven Mayor Joseph Maturo Jr. after four police officers were arrested by the DOJ for violating the civil rights of Latino citizens. The board called Maturo an idiot after he said he might go home and have tacos when asked by a reporter how he would reach out to the Latino community.

Commission Recommends Three Attorneys for D.C. Superior Court Vacancy

Three attorneys working in the public sector are being recommended as candidates to fill retired District of Columbia Superior Court Judge Joan Zeldon's seat.

The District of Columbia Judicial Nomination Commission announced (PDF) this afternoon that it is recommending attorneys Maria-Claudia Amato, Rainey Brandt and Jason Tulley for President Barack Obama's consideration.

Zeldon, who has requested senior status, retired in December. Twenty attorneys applied to fill the vacancy. The White House will have 60 days to select a nominee to fill Zeldon’s seat, who will then go before the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs for confirmation proceedings.

Amato, according to the commission’s notice, has been general counsel for the District of Columbia Department of Corrections since 2006. From 1992 to 2006, she worked in the city’s Office of the Attorney General, serving as an assistant attorney general, a section chief for the civil rights division and senior litigator in the equity division.

“I’m honored and excited,” Amato said in a phone interview this afternoon. “It would be a continuation of a long career in public service and I think that it’s an area in which I could do a lot of good.”

Brandt is special counsel to Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, a position she’s held for the previous two chief judges as well. Before joining the court, Brandt taught at American University, where she continues to teach courses on the prison system and capital punishment part-time. Earlier in her career, Brandt also clerked for Superior Court Judges Michael Rankin and Stephanie Duncan-Peters. She declined to comment.

Tulley is special counsel to the director of the D.C. Public Defender Service and leads the agency’s Forensic Practice Group. He joined the Public Defender Service in 2003 and was promoted to supervisor in 2007. Before coming to Washington, he worked for the Capital Defender Office in New York City and also in private practice at Baltimore’s Bennett & Nathans. Tulley could not immediately be reached for comment.

Former House Members Take Aim at Obama Lobbying Restrictions

Updated at 5:07 p.m.

Former House members, who are now lobbyists, on Wednesday took aim at President Barack Obama's efforts to curb the power of government affairs professionals in Washington, saying they provide a valuable service to policymakers.

Speaking at an American League of Lobbyists forum, former Reps. James Walsh (R-N.Y.), a K&L Gates government affairs counselor; Philip English (R-Pa.), an Arent Fox senior government relations adviser; and Bruce Morrison (D-Conn.), chairman of Morrison Public Affairs Group, said they do more than just seek influence, they also give policymakers insights that help them do their jobs more effectively.

English said Obama’s decision to place restrictions on federal lobbyists “had a lot of unintended consequences.” In one of his first actions as president, Obama signed an executive order that puts constraints on the activities of executive branch officials who have been federal lobbyists, as well as appointees leaving the government to lobby.

“The fact is people in positions of power need the best advice and need institutional memory,” English said. “So I think there has to be a way of improving maybe the practices, as well as the reputation of government relations in Washington, to make it possible again for those relationships, for that input to be there. I think this is a huge issue for any future administration.”

Morrison said problems related to money in politics exist. But the president’s actions against lobbyists aren’t righting the wrongs, he said.

The former House member, however, said he isn’t sure how the lobbying community can fight back.

“We’re basically taking it and hoping it will pass,” he said.

Quinn Emanuel Hires New Co-Managing Partner in D.C.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has signed on a new co-managing partner for its Washington office.

The firm announced Wednesday that it hired trial lawyer William Burck, formerly a partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges.

Burck also has served as deputy counsel to former president George W. Bush in the White House Counsel’s office, and was an assistant U.S. attorney in New York City. He advises clients on a wide swath of white-collar matters related to the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, the False Claims Act and Dodd-Frank Act regulations, among others.

Burck said in an interview that Washington is playing an ever-increasing role in global regulation and litigation. “D.C. is the capital of the government world,” Burck said. “There are lots of regulatory issues and lots of litigation that is tied into D.C.”

He added that his experience managing lawyers at the White House will translate effectively in his new leadership role with Quinn Emanuel.

“I managed teams of lawyers on a variety of cases in the past,” Burck said. “The responsibility of a law firm is serving your clients and making sure your clients have the best people.”

D.C., Feds Move to Dismiss Performance Artist's Lawsuit Over 2003 Arrest

Lawyers for the District of Columbia and the federal government moved yesterday to dismiss, once and for all, a lawsuit filed more than six years ago by an Iowa man arrested inside the U.S. Capitol for what he claims was an act of performance art.

David Olaniyi sued (PDF) the District and federal government in 2005 in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, alleging numerous violations of his constitutional rights stemming from the 2003 arrest, his detention and a subsequent stop and search of his van.

Last February, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton dismissed (PDF) all but two of the claims, one against the District and one against the federal government. In separate motions filed yesterday, both moved for summary judgment.

Olaniyi's lawsuit is being handled pro bono by David Williams, Ryan Craig and A. Joseph Jay III of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in Washington.

“Based upon our review of the case, we felt that Mr. Olaniyi’s rights had been violated and we thought he deserved legal representation,” Williams said. He said they are still reviewing the motions for summary judgment, but that, “we believe that the claims that remain in the case are meritorious and that those claims deserve to be tried.”

The U.S. attorney’s office, through spokesman William Miller, declined to comment. A spokesman for the city’s Office of the Attorney General did not immediately return a request for comment this morning.

Olaniyi, according to his complaint, describes himself as “an artist, philosopher, scholar, performer, and director” whose work has been displayed in museums and galleries across the country. He developed a philosophy for his art called “Life is a Performance,” in which he would travel to different places and collect items for use in a stage play.

In March 2003, Olaniyi visited the U.S. Capitol. He was wearing a costume made “out of various materials from the D.C. environment,” according to his complaint, including newspapers, shampoo bottles, empty honey jars and duct tape; he wore the costume “in an effort to study people’s interactions with him.”

Financial Crimes, Trade Enforcement Targeted in State of the Union

In his State of the Union address last night, President Barack Obama announced the creation of two new law enforcement units, one targeting financial crimes, the other unfair trade practices.

Both announcements drew applause, though it's not entirely clear how the new initiatives will differ from some existing efforts.

Obama in his speech called on Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and state attorneys general to expand investigations into "the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis."

"This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans," Obama said.

DOJ officials said the department has already devoted significant resources to combating financial fraud. The Obama administration in 2009 put together the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, now led by veteran prosecutor Michael Bresnick. Bresnick more recently served as an assistant chief in the Justice Department's Fraud Section.

Justice Department officials said the new mortgage working group will be run out of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The group is focusing on mortgage origination and securitization abuses.

Lanny Breuer, the assistant attorney general for the Criminal Division, and Robert Khuzami, the director of enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, will serve as leaders of the mortgage working group.

Co-leaders include John Walsh, the U.S. attorney for Colorado, and Tony West, the DOJ's top lawyer in the Civil Division. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman will lead the effort on the state level, DOJ officials said.

The Justice Department said the working group has several goals, including holding accountable any financial institution that violated the law and providing compensation to victims and providing assistance to struggling homeowners.

"The administration is committed to ensuring that justice and relief are provided for the millions of American families harmed by the financial crisis," DOJ said in a statement. "This Working Group will focus on misconduct by financial institutions in the origination and securitization of mortgages that led to the global financial crisis."

DOJ officials said federal enforcement agencies and state attorneys general are continuing with negotiations to resolve allegations of misconduct-including so-called robosigning-in the home loan servicing market.

The initiative won praise from liberal advocacy group the Campaign for America's Future. "It is vital to this country that the banks are made accountable," said co-director Robert Borosage in a statement. "It is vital that they do not see the law as simply a minor price of doing profitable business, a speed bump on the way to their bonuses....The President announced a strong step towards the accountability that we need."

Obama also announced the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with "investigating unfair trading practices in countries like China," he said. "It's not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they're heavily subsidized."

According to the "Blueprint for an America Built to Last" released by the White House to supplement the speech, the unit "will bring together resources and investigators from across the Federal Government to go after unfair trade practices."

Trade publication Inside U.S. Trade reported that "informed sources" say the unit will be run out of the White House and led by Deputy National Security Advisor for International Affairs Michael Froman.

A White House spokeswoman declined comment. In the Blueprint for America, the White House also stated that "When competitors like China offer unfair export financing to help their companies win business overseas, the United States will provide financing to put our companies on an even footing."

Some trade lawyers see this a potentially problematic, given World Trade Organization prohibitions on government subsidies of domestic industries.

"Whether any particular export financing by one WTO member -- or counter-financing by another -- is legal or illegal under WTO rules is likely to be the subject of WTO dispute settlement under the WTO subsidies agreement," said Greenberg Traurig global practice group co-chair James Bacchus, who is a former WTO chief judge.

Another trade lawyer who asked not to be quoted by name because the policy may effect pending cases called the president's plan "a Wild West 'tit for tat' approach... Responding in kind to alleged subsidies provided by other governments simply puts the U.S. at risk of being hauled before the WTO itself."

Obama also promised "more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders," he said. "It's not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated."

Stopping the flow of goods that infringe U.S. intellectual property rights is the responsibility of U.S. Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, both part of the Department of Homeland Security. Border agents seized nearly 25,000 shipments of infringing goods from abroad in fiscal year 2011 - up 24 percent over 2010. The number one source country for knockoff products was mainland China, which accounted for 62 percent or $124.7 million of the total domestic value of seizures.

DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said, "There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. Details on this effort will be forthcoming in the weeks and months ahead."

By Mike Scarcella and Jenna Greene

The Morning Wrap

State of the Union: In his State of the Union address, President Obama warned of growing disparities between the rich and everyone else in America and outlined a series of steps that he believes will reinforce the tentative economic recovery, including proposals to eliminate tax incentives for companies to move jobs overseas, to make college more affordable and to expand help for credit-worthy homeowners looking to refinance mortgages at historically low interest rates, The Washington Post reports.

On Trial: Texas financier Allen Stanford used lies and bribes to steal the hard-earned savings of his customers, prosecutors said on Tuesday during the opening of his trial in Houston, Reuters reports.

Hostage Rescue: U.S. special forces swooped into Somalia in a pair of helicopters in a daring overnight raid to rescue two kidnapped aid workers -- an American and a Dane -- and killed several gunmen in the operation, CNN reports.

Gay Marriage: Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said he would veto a bill legalizing same-sex marriage if the legislature passes it, and he challenged the State Legislature instead to put the issue on the ballot for voters to decide, The New York Times reports.

Hostile Bid: Roche Holding AG offered about $5.7 billion in cash for Illumina Inc. to bolster cancer-drug sales, the third time since 2007 the Swiss drugmaker has made a hostile bid for a U.S. company, Bloomberg reports.

Supreme Court, Legal Issues Stay Out of the Spotlight at State of the Union

Two years ago, President Barack Obama made headlines at his State of the Union address by calling out the Supreme Court for its Citizens United decision, with six justices watching as he spoke. Tonight, with jobs and the economy taking center stage, Obama and the cameras largely ignored the five justices in attendance.

Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Elena Kagan were in the audience, as were Court officials including Clerk William Suter and Jeffrey Minear, counselor to the chief justice. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who attended for the last two years, was absent, likely in transit to a judicial conference in Guam where she is scheduled to speak in coming days.

Before and after the 2010 speech, justices have grumbled about attending the speech. Roberts said it was akin to a "political pep rally" at which the justices, to maintain their neutrality, mostly sit on their hands. Roanoke College professor Todd Peppers, author of a new paper charting the spotty attendance record of justices at State of the Union addresses through history, said Roberts' attendance in spite of his criticisms probably shows he wants to show the public that the judiciary is a "key but distinctive player in the dynamic of American government."

Alito, whose silent rebuke of Obama at the 2010 speech was replayed often on television, said later that he would likely not attend again. He has made good on his word, sitting out the 2011 speech and tonight's as well. Also missing were Justices Antonin Scalia and Clarence Thomas, both of whom have also complained about the awkwardness of attending such a political event.

Obama tonight did decry the "corrosive influence of money in politics," but instead of blaming the high court, he pointed to several proposals for legislative fixes. The judicary came up only one other time, as Obama urged a "simple up or down vote" on judicial and public service nominees within 90 days of being nominated.

That proposal drew immediate praise from Doug Kendall of the liberal Constitutional Accountability Center: "His call for an expedited process ... would benefit presidents of both political parties and the judiciary. Unprecedented obstruction by conservatives in the Senate have blocked even President Obama's most uncontroversial judicial nominees, and has brought the judiciary to the breaking point."

On other legal issues, Obama renewed his call for immigration reform and said he was asking Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. to launch a federal-state effort "to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis."

Judge Weighs SEC Suit Against Securities Investor Protection Corp.

Federal securities regulators want a judge in Washington to order liquidation proceedings to resolve potentially thousands of claims from investors who were caught up in the alleged multibillion-dollar fraud scheme executed by Texas financier R. Allen Stanford.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in December sued the congressionally created non-profit Securities Investor Protection Corporation over the group’s refusal to set up a claims process to help alleged Stanford Group Company victims recover funds.

U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins of Washington federal trial court on Tuesday presided over a three-hour hearing in the dispute, which tests the power of the SEC to compel the investor protection corporation to act. The judge did not immediately rule.

SEC trial attorney Matthew Martens urged Wilkins to issue an order forcing the SIPC, a membership corporation, to respond to the agency’s application seeking liquidation. The issuance of a show-cause order, Martens said, would still allow the investor group the chance to respond to the application.

Martens said full-blown litigation in Washington federal district court over who is and who isn’t a customer of the Stanford brokerage isn’t appropriate.

Those issues, he said, should be resolved in liquidation proceedings in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. The SEC in February 2009 sued Stanford and others in Houston federal district court alleging a massive Ponzi scheme that lasted many years.

Man Sues Supreme Court Marshal For Right to Hold Sign on Court Grounds

Updated at 4:45 p.m.

A Maryland man is suing U.S. Supreme Court Marshal Pamela Talkin, claiming that the rules barring protesters from displaying signs on the high court's grounds are unconstitutional.

Harold Hodge Jr., according to the complaint (PDF) filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, was arrested on Jan. 28, 2011 after he walked up the court's steps wearing a sign around his neck that read: "The U.S. Gov. Allows Police To Illegally Murder And Brutalize African Americans And Hispanic People."

Hodge was arrested by Supreme Court police and charged with violating a federal law that prohibits the display of flags, banners or other signs on the grounds of the high court. He agreed to stay away from the court and its grounds in exchange for having the charge dismissed on Sept. 14 by the U.S. attorney’s office.

According to the complaint, Hodge wants to go back to the Supreme Court to demonstrate, and wants a federal court judge to declare that the rules barring him from bringing a sign violate his First Amendment right to free speech.

“Hodge is deterred and chilled from engaging in peaceful, non-disruptive speech on the plaza of the Supreme Court building,” he wrote in the complaint.

Hodge is being represented by Washington solo practitioner William Farley, who took the case on behalf of The Rutherford Institute, a civil liberties group that provides legal services in First Amendment cases. Farley did not immediately return a request for comment.

In a written statement, Rutherford Institute President John Whitehead explained why the group is pursuing Hodge’s case: “If the First Amendment doesn’t protect this man’s right to stand approximately 100 feet from the doors of the Supreme Court and exercise his right to free speech—and silent speech, at that—it won’t protect anyone else’s rights.”

Besides Talkin, Hodge also named the city of the District of Columbia and the Metropolitan Police Department as defendants. Neither Talkin nor a police department spokeswoman immediately returned requests for comment.

A previous version of this article incorrectly stated the law enforcement agency that arrested Hodge.

Hunton & Williams Commodities Lawyers Leave for Sutherland

The former co-heads of Hunton & Williams’ commodities trading group have joined Sutherland Asbill & Brennan’s Washington office, Sutherland announced Monday.

David McIndoe and R. Michael Sweeney Jr. joined Sutherland as partners. Both attorneys have helped energy and financial companies navigate the reforms created under the Dodd-Frank Act.

McIndoe focuses his practice on derivatives, commodities, structured products, hedge funds and capital markets transactions. He has represented clients before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

Sweeney represents clients before the CFTC and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. His client list includes oil companies, investor-owned utilities, power producers, system operators, energy traders and energy markets.

“Dodd-Frank imposes a completely new regulatory structure for the derivatives market, and clients are demanding firms have adequate bench strength to advise them on how they should hedge their investments and other business risks in this new environment,” James Cain, head of Sutherland’s derivatives practice, said in a written statement. "Having been as deeply involved in the rulemaking process as other Sutherland lawyers have been, David and Michael immediately expand and reinforce our ability to guide clients through this critical time.”

Nancy Ware Sworn In As Offender Supervision Agency Director

Nancy Ware has technically been on the job as new director of the D.C. Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency since December, but she was ceremonially sworn in yesterday afternoon.

Ware, a former management analyst for the agency, was nominated by the White House to take over the agency in August. She was confirmed by the Senate in November and was sworn in to begin her duties on Dec. 1.

Yesterday's investiture offered Ware a chance to lay out her goals for the agency, which include focusing resources on the most serious offenders, reducing the rate of returning offenders and making sure residents on probation or parole get the services they need.

“My charge is a serious one,” Ware said. She said she wanted to help former offenders stay out of jail “by establishing strict accountability and continuing to strengthen our sanctions and incentives model.”

The Court Services and Offender Supervision Agency is a federal body that oversees probation, parole and supervised release for both local and federal courts in Washington; the agency oversees about 15,000 adults on release at any given time. District of Columbia Court of Appeals Judge Eric Washington, accompanied by U.S. District Chief Judge Royce Lamberth, presided over the ceremony.

Special guests included Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) and Mayor Vincent Gray (D). Norton praised Ware’s experience as the former executive director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council, a local group that brings together leaders from the city’s government, courts and law enforcement agencies.

Ware has been “preparing her whole life for this mission,” Norton said.

Lynch Named Energy Department's Acting General Counsel

Timothy Lynch has been named acting general counsel of the Department of Energy.

Lynch joined DOE in 2010 from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, where he was assistant chief litigation counsel, to serve as deputy general counsel for litigation and enforcement. At DOE, he’s been the point man for the long-running “downwinders” suit over radioactive fallout from the Hanford Nuclear Reservation.

On Lynch's watch, about a third of the cases have settled after more than two decades of litigation.

DOE, which has about 150 headquarters-based lawyers, has been without a confirmed general counsel since March 2011, when Scott Blake Harris left to head the legal department of Neustar Inc. Gregory Woods, who is currently deputy general counsel at the Department of Transportation, was nominated for the job in early August and has been awaiting a confirmation vote by the full Senate since November.

Sean Lev, who was previously Energy’s acting GC, jumped to the Federal Communications Commission last month, where he is deputy general counsel and special adviser to Chairman Julius Genachowski on matters concerning the transition to Internet Protocol networks.

Representatives Probe National Park Service Response to Occupy D.C.

During this morning's congressional hearing on the Occupy D.C. protest, no witness, including National Park Service Director Jonathan Jarvis, disputed that some demonstrators had been breaking the law by sleeping in McPherson Square.

Where opinions split was over whether the National Park Service had acted appropriately and within the scope of the law by not arresting anyone to date for violating the no-camping rule. Jarvis defended the agency's actions, but did say that he planned to begin enforcing the rule after giving the demonstrators a final warning.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee heard testimony this morning from Jarvis and city officials, including Paul Quander Jr., deputy mayor for public safety and justice, and Metropolitan Police Department Chief Cathy Lanier. Timothy Zick, a professor at the College of William and Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law, served as the panel's expert on constitutional law.

Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) called for the hearing earlier this month after expressing his displeasure with the National Park Service’s failure to enforce the no-sleeping rule. Speaking at the beginning of the hearing, he said he was “deeply disappointed” in the agency.

“I feel the National Park Service has entered in to an ideological fray,” Issa said.

The hearing was led by Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), chairman of the Subcommittee on Health Care, District of Columbia, Census and the National Archives. Gowdy asked whether the National Park Service’s decision not to arrest or cite any protesters for sleeping meant that any person in the future could bring a tent to a national park and camp, as long as they said they were protesting.

Jarvis said that the protest had been deemed a 24-hour vigil and that National Park Service regulations and court precedent give the agency some discretion in deciding how to respond to First Amendment-related activities. Jarvis said that Occupy D.C. represented an “unprecedented” expression of speech, and that his agency had been working with protesters to get compliance with the rules.

Gov't Minister in Equatorial Guinea Fights DOJ Forfeiture Case

A sitting member of the Equatorial Guinea cabinet whom prosecutors describe as a corrupt official is challenging the U.S. Justice Department’s effort to seize and forfeit tens of millions of dollars in property.

The official, Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, represented by a team from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton in Washington and lawyers from Houston's Foreman, DeGeurin & DeGeurin, late Monday filed an opposition to the forfeiture suit in Washington federal district court.

The attorneys, including Cleary partner Juan Morillo, said in the court papers that Nguema, the son of the country’s president, legally acquired the Gulfstream G-V aircraft that the federal prosecutors wants to seize. The lawyers have asked U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson to dismiss the case.

Prosecutors in October filed forfeiture complaints in Washington and in California federal district courts, accusing Nguema of abusing his position as a government minister to amass a personal fortune of more than $100 million. Nguema is the current minister of agriculture and forestry of Equatorial Guinea.

The $38.5 million airplane is the target asset in the Washington case. In California, prosecutors are going after a $30 million house and Michael Jackson memorabilia, among other items.

Morillo said in the court papers filed yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that DOJ forfeiture case is “unprecedented and unfounded.”

“The government has never previously brought a forfeiture case based on alleged violations of foreign law against the assets of a sitting foreign government official in good standing in his country, who has not been charged or convicted of a criminal offense in his country,” Morillo said.

Dickstein Shapiro Signs on McAfee as Lobbying Client

Dickstein Shapiro last week disclosed that two former members of Congress are lobbying for computer security company McAfee Inc.

Former Sen. Tim Hutchinson (R-Ark.) and Rep. Albert Wynn (D-Md.), senior advisers at the firm, are following matters concerning privacy, cyber security and online data protection for the Santa Clara, Calif.-based company, according to a lobbying registration filing. They are handling the account with six other Dickstein lobbyists.

Hutchinson, who served in the Senate from 1997 to 2003 after four years in the House, and Wynn, a congressman from 1993 to 2008, couldn’t be reached for an immediate comment. A McAfee spokeswoman didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

McAfee spent $710,000 on federal lobbying last year, according to congressional records. Of that money, $200,000 went to McBee Strategic Consulting, the only outside firm that lobbied for McAfee in 2011.

The company focused its government advocacy work last year on cyber security bills, as well as appropriations legislation related to the Defense Department, which uses McAfee products.

Race Under Way to Find Next DOJ Antitrust Chief

With the Justice Department's announcement yesterday that Antitrust Division head Sharis Pozen is stepping down, speculation in the antitrust bar ramped up over her replacement.

William Baer of Arnold & Porter has the inside track for the job, well-connected lawyers agree, but other names in contention include O’Melveny & Myers antitrust chair Richard Parker, Senate antitrust subcommittee general counsel Seth Bloom and Antitrust Division special advisor Leslie Overton.

Baer heads the antitrust group at Arnold & Porter – the same firm that was lead antitrust counsel for AT& T Inc. in its failed $39 billion bid for T-Mobile USA Inc. Pozen’s highest-profile move as acting head of the Antitrust Division was filing suit to block the deal in August. The merger was abandoned by the companies in December.

Bear, who headed the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Competition from 1995 until 2000, is widely regarded as one of the top antitrust lawyers in the country (The National Law Journal in 2010 named him one of most influential lawyers of the decade). He did not return a call seeking comment.

Also in the mix: Parker of O’Melveny, who is also a former head of the Bureau of Competition and is known for his skill as a litigator. He declined comment.

Antitrust Subcommittee GC Bloom is also mentioned. As a Senate staffer with the strong backing of his boss, Sen. Herbert Kohl (D-Wis.), who is retiring at the end of the year, Bloom may have an advantage when it comes to confirmability. Bloom “has been critical to the revived Congressional attention to key merger cases such as AT&T/T-Mobile and has the experience and savvy to continue the sound progressive policies of the administration,” said David Balto, a former FTC policy director. Bloom declined comment.

Another candidate is Leslie Overton, a former partner at Jones Day who is now a special adviser at the Antitrust Division. She is married to George Washington University Law School professor Spencer Overton, who raised $500,000 for Barack Obama’s campaign in 2008.

Pozen announced she will leave DOJ on April 30. A former partner at Hogan & Hartson (now Hogan Lovells), she joined DOJ in 2009 and was named acting head of the Antitrust Division in August 2011 after the departure of Christine Varney, who is now a partner at Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

“It has been an honor and privilege to serve in the Antitrust Division and in this administration for the past three years,” she said in a statement. “I have the utmost respect for the dedicated men and women of the division who devote themselves to protecting American consumers from anticompetitive conduct.” Pozen is reportedly not talking to law firms about future employment until she leaves DOJ.

“Sharis has been incredibly effective as head of the antitrust division,” said Janet McDavid, an antitrust partner as Hogan Lovells, who worked with Pozen at the firm. “She has brought to bear her substantive knowledge, her management skills and her people skills to run the division very effectively.”

The Morning Wrap

Tax Man: Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney released his federal tax returns this morning. The Washington Post reports that the former Massachusetts governor earned $42.6 million in income in 2010 and 2011, mostly stemming from investments, and paid about $6.2 million in federal taxes.

GPS Tracking: In case you missed it, The National Law Journal's Marcia Coyle reports on yesterday's ruling from the Supreme Court finding that the warrantless installation and use of a GPS device by police to track a suspect's vehicle violated privacy rights protected by the Fourth Amendment. The decision affirmed a ruling from the D.C. Circuit.

Oil Import Ban: The European Union approved a ban on importing oil from Iran, part of effort to pressure the Iranian government into making concessions on its nuclear program, The Wall Street Journal reports.

Judge on Trial: A Spanish judge is on trial for investigating alleged war crimes in that country during the early- to mid-20th century. The BBC reports that the judge is accused of violating a 1977 amnesty agreement that prohibits such investigations into the past.

Plea Deal: The last of eight Marines to stand trial for killing 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in 2005 entered a guilty plea yesterday, the Los Angeles Times reports. Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich pleaded guilty to negligent dereliction of duty and will serve no more than three months in jail.

Contenders: The nominees for this year's Academy Awards were announced this morning. The Los Angeles Times reports that this is the first time in nearly eight decades that a black-and-white silent film, "The Artist," is considered a favorite to take home the "Best Picture" award.

Former CIA Officer Charged With Leaking Classified Info To Press

A defense lawyer's classified filing in 2009 in a Guantanamo Bay detainee case triggered an investigation that has led to criminal charges against a former CIA officer, accused of leaking classified information to journalists, federal prosecutors said today.

Justice Department officials said the former CIA officer, John Kiriakou, was charged today in Alexandria federal district court with revealing classified information to reporters, including the name of a covert CIA officer. Click here for the criminal complaint.

Kiriakou, an intelligence officer from 1990 to 2004, served at CIA headquarters and in various classified assignments abroad. He was expected to make a court appearance this afternoon in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Prosecutors said Kiriakou was charged with one count of violating the Intelligence Identities Protection Act, for disclosing the identity of a covert agent, and two counts of violating the Espionage Act for allegedly providing classified material to reporters.

DOJ officials said The New York Times in 2008 published an article by national security reporter Scott Shane that disclosed one covert officer’s role in the then-secret operation in 2002 to capture terrorism suspect Abu Zubaydah.

“Safeguarding classified information, including the identities of CIA officers involved in sensitive operations, is critical to keeping our intelligence officers safe and protecting our national security,” Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said in a prepared statement. “Today’s charges reinforce the Justice Department’s commitment to hold accountable anyone who would violate the solemn duty not to disclose such sensitive information.”

U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago supervised the investigation of Kiriakou, DOJ officials said. The officials said Fitzgerald was appointed to lead the probe due to the potential conflicts in pending prosecutions of high-value Guantanamo Bay detainees.

Bingham McCutchen Lobbying for Universal Music Group

Bingham McCutchen last week notified Congress it is lobbying for Universal Music Group Inc. on competition matters, becoming the second law firm this year to disclose its advocacy on that issue for a major music label.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck also filed paperwork with Congress this month to lobby on antitrust matters for the Warner Music Group Corp. subsidiary called WMG Acquisition Corp. The filings come as U.S. antitrust authorities are reviewing Universal's planned acquisition of EMI Group Ltd.

Vivendi SA, Universal’s parent company, announced in November that it signed a $1.9 billion agreement to acquire EMI’s recorded music division. Len Blavatnik, owner of WMG parent company Access Industries Inc., made a $1.5 billion bid for the unit, but withdrew his offer, The Financial Times reported in October.

Universal, home to artists that include Lady Gaga, Kanye West and U2, secured 29.9% of U.S. music sales in 2011, garnering the largest market share of any record company, according to Nielsen Co. and Billboard magazine. EMI, which has the Beatles, Pink Floyd and Coldplay in its artist lineup, controlled 9.6%.

WMG, which counts Cee Lo Green, Death Cab for Cutie and Jason Mraz among its artists, had 19.1%, putting it in third place behind Sony Music Entertainment Inc.

Universal spent $3.7 million on its federal lobbying in 2011, according to congressional records. Bingham received $80,000 from Universal for advocacy work the firm did since it started lobbying for the company on Dec. 8.

Bingham partner Gary Slaiman, who heads the firm’s government affairs practice group, is handling the account

Neither Slaiman nor a Universal spokesman immediately responded to requests for comment.

D.C. Courts System Adopts New Code of Judicial Conduct

For the first time since 1995, the District of Columbia courts system has adopted new rules for judicial conduct, which encourage judges to take a more "affirmative role" in making sure pro se litigants understand legal proceedings.

The new code closely follows the American Bar Association's Model Code of Judicial Conduct, which was adopted in 2007. The Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct for District of Columbia courts released the new rules on Friday, having made few changes to a draft made public in September.

In one notable departure from the American Bar Association's model code, the new code includes a section spelling out “reasonable accommodations” judges in the District of Columbia Superior Court and Court of Appeals can offer to pro se litigants. These include explaining legal proceedings, changing the traditional order of collecting evidence, avoiding legal jargon and making referrals to any resources that might help a pro se litigant.

In one addition to the draft version of the revised code, the rules also permit judges to ask “neutral questions” to clarify information presented in court.

A large and growing number of litigants who come through the civil division of Superior Court do so without a lawyer, court statistics show. Superior Court Chief Judge Lee Satterfield, in an earlier interview, has said that under the existing code, some judges didn’t see authority for taking those extra steps with pro se litigants.

“We want to let judges know that in circumstances…that dictate a greater role, it's appropriate as long as you're maintaining the neutrality of your role,” he said.

Venable Hires Five-Member Patent Team from Patton Boggs

Updated 4:32 p.m.

A five-attorney patent prosecution and litigation team has made the jump from Patton Boggs to Venable, the latter firm announced Monday.

Partners Michele Frank, Toni-Junelle Herbert and Mark Shanks, of counsel Therese Finan and associate Fabian Koenigbauer will join Venable’s Washington office. The group deals primarily with clients in the biotechnology, medical device and life sciences industries in matters related to patent prosecution, commercialization, strategic portfolio management and litigation.

Frank, a former patent examiner with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, specializes in patent counseling and portfolio management, transactions and setting up in-house IP departments.

Herbert, who specializes in drug development, works on patent rights acquisition in the U.S. and abroad. She represents clients from the chemical, pharmaceutical, boat propulsion technology and biotechnology industries.

In 2003, Herbert and Shanks folded their IP boutique firm into Reed Smith, according to a press release.

Shanks represents foreign and domestic companies in patent and trade secret litigation related to biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and chemical processing.

With the enactment of the America Invents Act, Shanks said that he anticipates he and his colleagues will be arguing more often before the Patent and Trademark Office.

“Like many firms, we anticipate with the AIA, we will be in the realm of opposition and doing more arguing on behalf of our clients,” Shanks said.

Shanks said that the group was drawn to Venable because of the strength of its general practices as well as its active patent prosecutions. “It’s an unbeatable combination,” he said. “The bench strength and the team mentality should be a great service to our clients."

“We are seeing strong demand for top-notch IP counsel,” Michael Gollin, chair of Venable’s life sciences practice group, said in a written statement. “In Michele, Toni, Mark, Therese and Fabian, we gain outstanding attorneys who have proven skills representing life sciences companies, through every step of the IP life cycle, including commercialization and disputes.”

This Week in The National Law Journal

Intellectual Property: A special report explores the Leahy-Smith America Invents Act, which shifts the United States from a system where a patent is awarded to the first person who comes up with an invention to one where it's awarded to the first person who files a patent application.

Fight over false claims decisions: Michael Scarcella reports on a government-contracting fraud suit before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that tests the scope of the government's authority to abruptly end a whistleblower suit to protect the interests of the United States.

Howrey exiles: Several months after Howrey's demise, Matthew Huisman reports on how its former attorneys are settling in at other firms.

Mystery man: Tony Mauro profiles Arnold & Porter attorney Anthony Franze, who wrote a soon-to-be-released thriller novel set in the U.S. Supreme Court.

Disorderly conduct: An overhaul of Washington's disorderly conduct laws last year left the Office of the Attorney General without an area of its traditional prosecutorial authority. Zoe Tillman reports that a fix is in the works.

The Morning Wrap

Updated at 9:12 a.m.

Giffords Resignation: Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), who was shot in the head last year, will step down from Congress this week following President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday, The Arizona Republic reports. "I have more work to do on my recovery, so to do what is best for Arizona, I will step down this week," Giffords said in a YouTube video. "I'm getting better every day. My spirit is high. I will return and we will work together for Arizona and this great country."

Gingrich Victory: Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich won the South Carolina Republican primary on Saturday, The State of Columbia, S.C., reports. Gingrich, who received 40% of the vote, is the first Republican to win the primary without winning the New Hampshire primary or Iowa caucuses. Mitt Romney came in second place with 28% of the vote.

Paterno Dies: Former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died Sunday after complications from lung cancer, the Centre Daily Times of State College, Pa., reports. He was 85. Paterno's death came less than three months after Penn State fired him for his role in a scandal stemming from child sex abuse allegations leveled against former assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

Postponed: Congress put online piracy bills on hold Friday after Wikipedia and other Web sites last week went dark in protest of the legislation, The Washington Post reports. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said he would delay a vote planned for Tuesday on the Senate's Protect Intellectual Property Act. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas) said he will try to reach a consensus with copyright holders and Internet companies before his panel moves forward with its consideration of the House's Stop Online Piracy Act.

Bennett's Client: Hogan Lovells partner Robert Bennett has withdrawn as the lawyer for Megaupload.com, which was indicted Thursday on federal charges that include copyright infringement, Reuters reports. The Washington-based lawyer defended Bill Clinton during the Monica Lewinsky scandal and Enron as it faced corporate fraud allegations.

Second Chance: A New York lawyer will get to reopen his case after he told a judge that he made several omissions stemming from vision problems and stress, the New York Law Journal reports. "It wasn't that I was unprepared," New Rochelle, N.Y., attorney John A. Vasile of McGovern, Connelly & Davidson said. "It was that the volume of reading was so great. Maybe I should have sought a continuance, but I was not thinking as clearly as I should have been."