The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Covington & Burling's Gross Revenue Grew by 6.4 Percent in 2012

Covington & Burling saw another steady year of growth in 2012, posting a 6.4 percent jump in gross revenue and a 5.4 percent increase in profits per partner, according to our reporting. Firm chair Timothy Hester said that it was an especially good year for the firm's litigation, corporate and transactional, and life sciences practices.

The firm's gross revenue grew from $611 million in 2011 to $650 million last year. Net income increased by 9.4 percent and crossed the $300 million mark, growing from $275.5 million in 2011 to $301.5 million last year. Revenue per lawyer went up by 1.7 percent, from $865,000 in 2011 to $880,000 last year.

"I think it reflects the ongoing strategic plan that we've had in place for a number of years where we've been focused on solid steady growth in the firm and focused on some of the things that we believe we're doing exceptionally well in terms of practice areas," Hester said. "Our very strong patent litigation, insurance, white collar and products liability practices were all up last year."

The Morning Wrap

'Here Comes the Judge': It's been three years since a judge sat full time at the federal courthouse Williamsport, Penn., WNEP of Scranton/Wilkes Barre reports. "I’m a country lawyer. Things have played out in such a way I’ve ended up as one of the federal judges for the middle district,” said new U.S. District Judge Matthew Brann.

Official Business?: U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson will decide this week whether former Senator Larry Craig (R-Idaho) should have used campaign funds to pay attorneys to defend him in an airport bathroom arrest, McClatchy Newspapers reports. Craigs' attorneys say the expenditure was allowed because the trip was part of his official job duties.

Frivolous Patent Case: The law firm of Pearl Cohen Zedek Latzer and two of its partners have been hit with more than $200,000 in sanctions for filing a frivolous patent case and, according to a federal judge in Manhattan, wasting the court's time, the hometown newspaper reports.

After Months of Delay, Senate Confirms Tenth Circuit Nominee Unanimously

Updated 11:20 a.m.

The Senate voted unanimously to confirm Robert Bacharach to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit on Monday, ending a confirmation saga that had become a prime example of how Senate partisan politics has slowed down the process of filling the nation's federal courts.

With the 93-0 vote, Bacharach became the second circuit court judge confirmed this month. He is part a slate of judicial nominees left over from last Congress, which Democrats in the Senate Judiciary Committee have been quickly pushing through to the full Senate.

Bacharach, currently a magistrate judge in the Western District of Oklahoma, waited more than a year after his nomination for the vote. He was first eligible for a full confirmation vote in May, more than 290 days ago. Republicans filibustered his nomination in July, however, even though Bacharach had wide support.

D.C. Circuit Appears Skeptical of FCC in Tennis Channel Case

A federal appeals court in Washington today appeared poised to strike down a Federal Communications Commission decision that found the country's largest cable television provider discriminated against the Tennis Channel by restricting its distribution to a sports package.

A lawyer for the commission, Peter Karanjia, faced tough questions from a panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, where Comcast Cable Communications LLC is fighting the FCC order. The agency ruling was the first-ever in two decades under a provision of federal communications law that Congress enacted to promote competition and diversity in cable television programming.

Judges on the D.C. Circuit panel expressed concern about whether the Tennis Channel's complaint is time-barred and whether the agency order could expand the power of the government to regulate the speech of other entities. One judge, Brett Kavanaugh, said the FCC "has a serious problem with the First Amendment here."

The appeals court didn't immediately rule in the closely watched case. Bloomberg L.P. filed papers in support of the FCC. On the other side, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association wants the FCC order vacated. A team from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher represents Comcast.

Daily D.C. Lateral Roundup: Arent Fox; Sutherland

The former chairman of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission has joined Arent Fox as a partner in Washington. Timothy Feighery will focus his practice on international arbitration, dispute resolutions and post-conflict claims work. As chairman, Feighery oversaw an agency within the Department of Justice charged with adjudicating the claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan has added a partner and three associates to its state and local tax practice. Todd Lard, formerly vice president and general counsel at the Council on State Taxation, joins as a partner. Lard's arrival coincides with the arrival of associates Todd Betor, Sahang-Hee Hahn and Saabir Kapoor, who also join the state and local tax practice. Before joining the council, Lard was counsel at Sutherland. He officially rejoins the firm March 4.

Wisconsin Health Official, Fresh off of Affair Allegation, Lands at McKenna Long

Amid an allegation of an affair, Wisconsin's top health official is stepping down to join the health policy practice of McKenna Long & Aldridge in Washington.

Dennis Smith, who has served as the secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Health Services since January 2011, will start at McKenna on March 1 as a managing director, the firm announced on Friday. On Tuesday, a man who allegedly tried to kill his wife, then the top lawyer at the agency, filed an affidavit in his case claiming that she professed her love for Smith in an email exchange with the secretary, the Wisconsin State Journal reported. Smith previously dismissed Andrew Spear's affair allegation when it first surfaced in August, saying he and Spear's wife, Mary, are only friends.

Smith is traveling and unavailable for comment, according to McKenna spokeswoman Courtney Smith. But he told the State Journal that his resignation isn't related to the Spear case.

"The timing of the announcement and what he filed in court are complete coincidences," Smith said. He added that his new job "has been in the works for some time."

Experts Debate Effects of Voting Rights Act Provision on Native Americans

Days before the U.S. Supreme Court was set to hear arguments in Shelby County v. Holder, a case challenging the constitutionality of Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act, legal experts said they feared that striking it down would hurt Indian Country and Native American voters.

Enacted in 1965 as a temporary provision, Section 5 freezes election practices or procedures in certain states and local governments, mostly in the south, until the new procedures have been subjected to review or "precleared" by the Justice Department or a federal court. Congress has since reauthorized Section 5 four times. Currently, it is set to expire in 2031.

In order to make changes to their voting rules, the states in question must demonstrate that the rules do not have the purpose of discriminating — or that regardless of intent, that the new rules will not have a discriminatory effect — based on race or color, or against a “language minority group,” including persons who are American Indian, Asian American, Alaskan Natives, or of Spanish heritage.

This Week in The National Law Journal

The Go-To Law Schools: NLJ's annual feature on which law schools sent the most graduates to major law firms showed that the picture was marginally brighter in 2012 - but that isn’t saying much.

Fed courts, DOJ prepare for big cuts: As politicians in Washington continue to blame each other for the looming mandatory budget cuts, called sequestration, Todd Ruger reports that agencies from the U.S. Department of Justice to the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts have been crafting plans to operate with substantially smaller budgets, including layoffs and furloughs.

Media's new litigation tool: The District of Columbia anti-SLAPP law's second anniversary is approaching at the end of March, but Zoe Tillman reports that its fate is unclear. A case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit next month could answer critical unresolved questions — notably, whether the law, which is aimed at protecting speech, applies in federal court.

Lawsuit's second serve: The Tennis Channel is at the heart of a dispute before a federal appeals court in Washington in a test of federal power to intrude on editorial discretion. Mike Scarcella has the story.

The Morning Wrap

Oil Spill: The civil trial against BP PLC over the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill is starting on Monday in New Orleans, The Times-Picayune reports.

Sunday Blessing: Speaking at his last Sunday blessing as pope, Benedict XVI told Catholics he won't abandon them when he resigns, The New York Times reports. "On the contrary, if God asks me, this is because I can continue to serve" the church "with the same dedication and the same love which I have tried to do so until now, but in a way more suitable to my age and to my strength," Benedict said.

Sandy Help: Several lawyers in parts of Long Island hit by Hurricane Sandy are applying their expertise to assist their neighbors pro bono, even as they continue to deal with their own challenges, the New York Law Journal reports. "I try to let them know they're not alone," Long Island attorney Tracey Discepolo said. "I'm in the same boat."

DOJ Intervenes in Whistleblower Suit Against Lance Armstrong

For a couple of years, the federal government has remained on the sidelines of a lawsuit in Washington that alleges Lance Armstrong and others made false claims to the U.S. Postal Service in connection with the agency's sponsorship of a professional cycling team.

The U.S. Justice Department announced today, ending months of speculation, that the government is jumping into the suit to back the plaintiff, Floyd Landis, who rode with Armstrong on the professional team the USPS-sponsored between 2002 and 2004. The government alleges Armstrong's use of performance-enhancing substances was a violation of the USPS sponsorship agreement. This amended complaint was filed today.

"Lance Armstrong and his cycling team took more than $30 million from the U.S. Postal Service based on their contractual promise to play fair and abide by the rules—including the rules against doping,” Ronald Machen Jr., the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a statement. “The Postal Service has now seen its sponsorship unfairly associated with what has been described as ‘the most sophisticated, professionalized, and successful doping program that sport has ever seen.’"

Lawyers who represent whistleblower said the case will be closely watched for what will likely be the battlefield of the dispute: Was the USPS harmed?