The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Hearing Resumes on Alleged Mishandling of Evidence in D.C. Mass Arrests

Testimony resumed today on allegations of mishandled evidence related to mass arrests in Washington in 2002, after a judge halted the evidentiary hearing on November 9 amid concerns about legal representation for witnesses.

Litigation over the mass arrests at Pershing Park during protests against the World Bank and International Monetary Fund has spanned more than a decade; the plaintiffs, most of whom have since settled with the city, claimed the arrests were unlawful. Since 2010, U.S. District Magistrate Judge John Facciola has been tasked with investigating allegations that police and lawyers for the District tampered with, destroyed or withheld evidence.

Facciola stopped Metropolitan Police Department General Counsel Terrence Ryan during his testimony on November 9 and advised city lawyers that Ryan might need to hire his own attorney to avoid potential conflicts. According to a recent filing, Ryan wasn't ready to resume his testimony today so Facciola heard first from Marc Bynum, a technician brought in by the Metropolitan Police Department to recover an electronic report of police activity.

Linklaters Opens Washington Office

The presence of British "Magic Circle" firms in Washington has grown now that London-based Linklaters has announced the opening of a D.C. office. This marks the second time the firm has expanded into the Washington market.

Linklaters' U.S. co-managing partner Jeff Norton said in an interview that the Washington office was a natural extension of the firm's New York office and is aligned with the firm's vision of forming "one office, one market."

"Given the increase in the regulatory environment, we felt it was important to have people on the ground in D.C.," Norton said. The new office will focus on government, litigation, regulatory, tax and antitrust matters, among others.

The firm previously operated a Washington office from 1992 to 2002. According to a media report at the time, a firm spokeswoman said the branch was closed because, "There was no economic justification to keep the office open."

Still Looking to Merge, T-Mobile Hires Lobbyists with Brownstein Hyatt

As T-Mobile USA Inc. tries to combine with another wireless carrier, the company has hired a team of lobbyists from a law firm that fought against its now-scrapped merger with AT&T Inc.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck notified Congress last week that it is advocating for T-Mobile on its plan to merge with MetroPCS Communications Inc., according to lobbying registration paperwork. For Dish Network Corp.-affiliated Coalition for Mobile Wireless, the law firm in 2011 lobbied against AT&T's proposed $39 billion acquisition of T-Mobile, which Germany's Deutsche Telekom AG owns. Brownstein received $240,000 from the group, according to congressional records.

Firm Chairman Norman Brownstein and shareholders Allen Grunes, Marc Lampkin, Alfred Mottur and Manuel Ortiz are handling the T-Mobile account. Except for Brownstein, all of the lobbyists keep offices in Washington. Brownstein is based in Denver.

The Morning Wrap

Pressure Points: Morgan Stanley Chief Executive Officer James Gorman called on the investment bank's 30,000 employees to pressure U.S. lawmakers into reaching an agreement that averts the so-called fiscal cliff, Bloomberg reports.

Portrait of a Chairman: When he isn't chairing the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski enjoys a seat at a poker table. And as it turns out, he approaches cards much like he regulates: with great caution, the Washington Post reports.

Happy Birthday: Facebook has started an online gift service, hoping that the moneymaking potential of social gift giving will please its Wall Street investors, The New York Times reports.

In 'Defeat Jihad' Lawsuit, WMATA Paid $35K in Attorney Fees and Costs

After a Washington federal judge ruled last month that local public transit officials ran afoul of the First Amendment in delaying the posting of a controversial advertisement in rail stations, the agency agreed to pay $35,000 in attorney fees and costs to the group behind the ad, according to a document (PDF) recently obtained by Legal Times.

The American Freedom Defense Initiative, a New York-based organization, sued the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority in September after learning that the agency was postponing the ads. The ad read: "In any war between the civilized man and the savage, support the civilized man," with the tag, "Support Israel/Defeat Jihad."

WMATA lawyers argued that they had a "compelling" interest in delaying the ad because it posed a threat to public safety, but AFDI claimed that by indefinitely delaying the ad, the agency was in violation of the First Amendment. In early October, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer ruled that while the ad did have elements of hate speech, it was nonetheless protected under the First Amendment and ordered WMATA to post it.

Marlowe to Step Down as Head of American League of Lobbyists

Following two terms as the head of the American League of Lobbyists (ALL), Howard Marlowe has passed the trade group's gavel to the president of Advanced Capitol Consulting.

The group's members, gathering at the Capital Hilton in Washington Tuesday for ALL's annual meeting, unanimously approved Monte Ward for a one-year term as their next leader. Ward, who previously served as the organization's first vice president, will officially begin his term in January.

"I got to tell you I'm truly honored to be here as the next president of the American League of Lobbyists," Ward said during the meeting. "I know I have some big shoes to fill."

Dickstein Shapiro Fends Off Summary Judgment Motion in Malpractice Lawsuit

Dickstein Shapiro scored a victory yesterday in a legal malpractice lawsuit brought by former client Encyclopaedia Britannica, with a Washington federal judge denying (PDF) the company's motion for partial summary judgment and also ordering sanctions against the company's counsel.

Encyclopaedia Britannica sued Dickstein in 2010, accusing the firm of mishandling patent prosecutions. The latest motion for partial summary judgment dealt with judicial estoppel – whether the judge could bar Dickstein from making an argument that would seemingly contradict statements made while the firm was still representing the company.

U.S. District Judge John Bates denied Encyclopaedia Britannica's motion, finding that judicial estoppel couldn't apply to statements made by lawyers now being sued by a former client for malpractice. Lawyers can't be faulted for inconsistencies when they switch from representing the interests of a client to defending against allegations of misconduct, he said.

DOJ, House Lawyers to Meet for Settlement Talks Over Fast and Furious Documents

The U.S. Justice Department and House Republicans will continue to try to reach an agreement, short of a decision from a federal judge, over the disclosure of additional information about the controversial gun trafficking investigation Operation Fast and Furious.

Ian Gershengorn, a top DOJ lawyer in the Civil Division, and House general counsel Kerry Kircher said the two sides will meet soon to try to craft a settlement over the documents in dispute. President Barack Obama in June asserted executive privilege over certain documents, keeping the information out of reach from House Republicans.

House lawyers are contesting the merits of the privilege, arguing that DOJ should not be allowed to hide information from Congress after it has obtained a valid subpoena. Kircher said in recent court papers that a ruling in favor of DOJ would mark an unwarranted expansion of executive privilege.

Winston & Strawn Bolsters IP Practice with Lateral Partner

Winston & Strawn has added a partner to its intellectual property practice in Washington.

Thomas Dunham, formerly chair of Novak Druce + Quigg's litigation practice group and a member of the firm's executive committee, focuses his practice on patent litigation and appellate work.

Dunham has experience with wireless and wireline telecommunications, computer hardware and software, automotive technologies, networking technology, aviation systems, imaging, fiber optics, medical devices and optical disk technology.

Obama Nominates Three for Judgeships in Eastern Pennsylvania

President Barack Obama sent three judicial nominees to the Senate on Tuesday for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, all with experience working as public defenders or with a legal aid organization.

Nitza Quinones Alejandro, currently a judge on the Philadelphia County Court of Common Pleas who has handled civil and criminal cases since 1991, spent two years as a staff attorney for Community Legal Services, Inc. in Philadelphia during the 1970s, according to a White House press release.

Luis Felipe Restrepo, a U.S. magistrate in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania since 2006, was an assistant federal defender in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from 1990 to 1993 and an assistant defender with the Defender Association of Philadelphia from 1987 to 1990, the White House said.