The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Republic Holdings Signs Arent Fox to Lobby on D.C. Real Estate Issues

Arent Fox this week notified Congress that it is lobbying for a real estate development company that has created major retail, office and residential centers in Washington.

The law firm is advocating for Greenwich, Conn.-based Republic Holdings Corp. on the "[d]isposition of real estate parcels in the District of Columbia," according to a lobbying registration report. Washington Harbor on Georgetown's waterfront and Market Square, which is behind the U.S. Navy Memorial on Pennsylvania Avenue, are among the company's developments.

Arent partner Jon Bouker, co-manager of the firm’s government relations practice, is handling the account. Neither he nor a representative of Republic could immediately be reached for comment.

DOJ Preparing to Release Internal Probe of Ted Stevens Case

The U.S. Justice Department is preparing to release to Congress this week the government's internal investigation of the collapse of the Ted Stevens case, two people with knowledge of the report said.

The department's Office of Professional Responsibility investigation unfolded simultaneously with a criminal probe of the Stevens prosecution team. The OPR report, which could be submitted to Congress as early as this afternoon, examines whether any Stevens prosecutor crossed ethical boundaries in the handling of the case against the former Alaska senator, which collapsed in April 2009 amid allegations of government misconduct.

Attorney General Eric Holder Jr. said in congressional testimony in March he wants to make as much of the report public, to the extent the government can. DOJ is subject to Privacy Act guidelines, he said. Holder, who said then that the internal Stevens investigation had concluded, described the report as an “exhaustive study” of the failed prosecution.

The Stevens case has garnered significant attention on Capitol Hill in recent months as some members of Congress examine whether legislation is needed to put a greater burden on prosecutors to disclose more evidence to defense lawyers. DOJ is opposed to any legislative tinkering. Also, members of Congress have peppered Holder with questions about whether the department will sanction any Stevens prosecutor who was found to have run afoul of professional conduct rules.

Consumer Financial Agency Proposes New Nonbank Supervision Rules

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau today released a draft rule outlining how it plans to supervise debt collectors, consumer reporting agencies, money services companies and other small nonbanks that engage in “activities that pose risks to consumers.”

The draft rule sets out procedures to notify a nonbank that it is being considered for supervision and outlines how the nonbank can respond. Companies under CFPB supervision may be required to submit reports to the agency and undergo examinations.

Under the Dodd-Frank Act that created the CFPB, the agency has the authority to supervise any nonbank if the agency has a “reasonable cause” to believe it’s posing a risk to consumers based on complaints or other information. The law already gives the CFPB specific authority to supervise mortgage companies, payday lenders and private student loan lenders, and to oversee “larger participants” in other consumer financial product markets.

The Morning Wrap

Hero or Traitor: The doctor who helped the CIA track down Osama bin Laden was sentenced to 33 years in prison for treason, Pakistani officials told Reuters. Shakil Afridi was also accused of running a fake vaccine campaign to collect DNA samples. He is the first person to be sentenced in the bin Laden case.

Ruled: A jury rejected all claims of patent infringement, siding with Google in its dispute with Oracle, our sister publication, The Recorder, reports.

Solved?:  A man has admitted involvment in the case of Etan Patz, the 6-year-old boy from SOHO who mysteriously vanished 33 years ago. The New York Times reports that NYPD have taken Pedro Hernandez into custody and plan to release more details later today.

Drug War: Two Mexican drug cartels, the Sinaloa cartel and Los Zetas, are engaging in all-out warfare, unfolding in view of the public, The Washington Post reports. These public massacres often include the dumping of headless bodies as part of the cartels' intimidation tactics.

Jenner & Block Names New Managing Partner in D.C.

Jenner & Block has named a new managing partner for its Washington office, the firm announced Wednesday.

David DeBruin, co-chair of the firm’s complex commercial litigation practice and a 26-year veteran of the firm, takes over for Michael DeSanctis, managing partner since 2009. DeSanctis will remain a member of the firm’s management committee and continue to serve as co-chair of the election law and redistricting practice.

DeBruin focuses his practice on complex Supreme Court and appellate litigation, securities fraud and white collar criminal defense. He has handled matters before the Federal Election Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the former Interstate Commerce Commission, among other agencies. He also served as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee in 1986, during the impeachment proceedings of Judge Harry Claiborne.

D.C. Appeals Court Hears Litigation Outsourcing Contract Dispute

Updated at 4:03 p.m.

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals heard oral arguments yesterday in a contract dispute between Unocal Corp., now a part of Chevron Corp., and eLawForum Corp., now known as DryStone Capital Corp., which does corporate litigation outsourcing.

A three-judge panel will decide whether a District of Columbia Superior Court judge properly granted eLawForum summary judgment, awarding the company $6.9 million in unpaid fees, plus interest. Unocal, on appeal, is arguing that there were too many facts in dispute about their contract and the circumstances surrounding the end of that contract for the judge to make such a decision.

According to court briefs, Unocal signed a contract in 2004 for eLawForum to facilitate bidding for outside counsel to handle environmental lawsuits involving Unocal. As part of that contract, Unocal agreed to pay eLawForum a fee based on the money saved by going through eLawForum's bidding process.

Fore! Golf Products Maker Signs Crowell & Moring as Lobbyists

Crowell & Moring this week revealed to Congress that it is lobbying for the maker of Titleist and FootJoy golf products.

The firm is advocating for Acushnet Co. on tariff legislation, according to a lobbying registration report.

Crowell senior policy adviser Mike Gill, who is handling the account, couldn’t be reached immediately for comment.

Roger Clemens Presses Constitutional Dispute with Congress

As the perjury trial of Roger Clemens moves forward, lawyers for the former professional baseball pitcher today renewed their effort to force a top House Republican to testify.

Lawyers for Clemens said they want Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, to address comments he made during the 2008 congressional investigation of drug use in Major League Baseball.

A lead attorney for Clemens, Russell “Rusty” Hardin Jr., said today in a new court filing the defense intends to challenge the testimony of a congressional staffer, Phil Barnett, who earlier told jurors that the probe was legitimate congressional activity.

Issa, through House lawyers, has invoked the Constitution’s “speech or debate” clause, which accords some protection from outside intrusion to the legislative process. One of the questions in the Clemens case: Did the congressional inquiry of drugs in baseball serve any legitimate legislative purpose?

Roger Clemens's Lawyers Urge Judge to Block Proposed Drug Testimony

Defense lawyers for former baseball star Roger Clemens fired back today as prosecutors seek to squeeze in additional trial testimony to try to bolster the credibility of the government's chief witness.

Federal prosecutors this week in Washington asked U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton to allow the government to tell jurors at Clemens’s perjury trial about statements that Brian McNamee made to a former baseball player and to a Wall Street banker.

The government contends in a court filing that McNamee, Clemens’s former strength coach, told former baseball player David Segui in 2001 that he saved “darts”—slang for needles—from players McNamee allegedly injected. Prosecutors said the statement “directly rebuts the notion that Mr. McNamee recently fabricated this evidence” to avoid prosecution or gain fame and fortune.

Clemens’s defense attorneys, led by Russell “Rusty” Hardin Jr. of Houston, said today in court papers that the U.S. Justice Department is trying to introduce “rank hearsay” to show that Clemens is guilty through his association with Segui and other admitted users of performance enhancing drugs.

The Morning Wrap

Facebook IPO: Two top U.S. financial regulators said on Tuesday the issues around the initial public offering of Facebook should be reviewed, putting fresh pressure on the company, its lead underwriter, Morgan Stanley, and the Nasdaq stock exchange, Reuters reports.

Hidden Executions: The Associated Press and 16 other organization on Tuesday sued the state of Idaho to force officials to open the entirety of their executions. An AP investigation found that five Western states have shielded part of executions from public view, in apparent defiance of a 2002 ruling from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.

Going After Google: Google might be one of the coolest and smartest companies of this or any era, but it also upsets a lot of people — competitors who argue it wields its tremendous weight unfairly, officials who say it ignores local laws, privacy advocates who think it takes too much from its users. But Google is also superb at getting out of trouble, The New York Times reports.