The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Consumer Financial Agency Chief Lays Out 2013 Agenda

At a public meeting this morning, the head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency will focus on a handful of priorities in 2013, including "the evil of discrimination" that prevents minorities from receiving equal access to credit.

The other types of issues the agency will concentrate on, said CFPB Director Richard Cordray at an agency consumer advisory board meeting, are deceptive marketing of consumer financial products and services; debt traps; and a category that included debt collection, loan servicing, and credit reporting.

Cordray said the CFPB is also developing new technological tools, such as "Ask CFPB," an interactive database of 1,000 answers to common consumer questions. Plus, he said the agency's consumer complaint database and Project Catalyst, which seeks to promote consumer-friendly financial product and service innovations, have helped to fulfill their pledge to broaden public participation.

Former Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case

Updated 4:36 p.m.

Former Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. pleaded guilty in Washington today to misusing campaign funds for personal use, telling a judge that he misled the American people. Now, for his lawyers, the big fight begins: minimizing the punishment.

Jackson is represented by Steptoe & Johnson LLP litigation partners Reid Weingarten and Brian Heberlig, who leads the firm's white-collar criminal defense practice. In a crowded courtroom today in downtown Washington, Jackson, who occasionally dabbed at his eyes, accepted responsibility for a scheme that prosecutors said involved the misuse of $750,000 in campaign funds. "I did those things," he said.

Jackson, an Illinois Democrat who spent 17 years in Congress before resigning last year, faces a sentencing guideline range of between 46 and 57 months in prison. The trial judge, Richard Wilkins, a former Venable partner who was appointed to the bench by President Barack Obama, isn't bound by that range. Weingarten told Wilkins today the defense plans a "very substantial presentation to the court." Sentencing is scheduled for June 28.

"There is reason for optimism," Weingarten told a throng of reporters outside the courthouse after the plea hearing. "We're hopeful, and we expect, that there will be fairness in the process. A person who has contributed so much to his community, and so much to so many people, will and should get credit for it."

Phillips 66 Retains Van Ness Feldman as New D.C. Lobbyists

Van Ness Feldman has become the first outside firm to lobby in Washington for Phillips 66 Co. since the oil and gas company spun off from ConocoPhillips Co. last year.

Phillips 66 enlisted the firm to advocate for it on oil and gas industry matters, tax reform and the looming $85 billion in spending cuts known as the sequester, according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress on Friday. Van Ness senior tax counsel Michael Platner is handling the account.

Platner declined to elaborate on his lobbying for the company.

Congressional Republicans Step Into Tenth Circuit Religious Freedom Case

Eleven Republican members of Congress have stepped into an ongoing legal battle over the Affordable Care Act, filing an amicus brief in support of one company's fight against the preventative services mandate.

The brief, filed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit, argues that the mandate violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) by requiring health insurance with plans that include coverage for contraception.

Hobby Lobby, a Christian-owned chain of stores based in Oklahoma, continues to challenge the mandate in court. The brief from nine senators and two representatives says the Department of Health and Human services ignored the RFRA when formulating a narrow religious exemption at the outset, "and have only begun to attend to its requirements because of litigation and the reaction to public scrutiny."

Crowell & Moring Shows Strong Financial Gains in 2012

Last year proved to be lucrative for Crowell & Moring. The D.C.-based firm showed strong financial gains in all of our metrics for 2012.

The biggest jump for Crowell – a full 16.3 percent, to $93 million – was in net income, according to our reporting. The firm also posted profits per partner of $925,000 and gross revenue of $349.5 million, increases of 9.5 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. Likewise, revenue per lawyer crept up 2.7 percent to $760,000.

Firm chairman Kent Gardiner said that the financial success of the firm cannot be attributed to a single factor, but rather a prolonged push to strengthen core practices at the firm. Two top practices in 2012 were litigation and trial work, as well as in the firm's government and regulatory groups. Within those broad areas, antitrust, government contracts, patents and trade secrets and environmental matters remained robust, he said. In the last year, the firm also bulked up its health care group, particularly in California, as well as its tax and regulatory practices.

The Morning Wrap

Spending Cuts: The economy, the middle class and several basic U.S. Justice Department priorities would suffer if Congress fails to stop severe federal spending cuts from taking effect on March 1, President Barack Obama said on Tuesday, The National Law Journal reports. Federal prosecutors "will have to close cases and let criminals go," he said.

SCOTUS: The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday issued four opinions on issues ranging from antitrust to drug-sniffing dogs. The National Law Journal takes a look.

Jackson Case: Former Representative Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) and his wife are set to appear before U.S. District Judge Robert Wilkins in D.C. on Wednesday, The Associated Press reports. They are facing charges related to an alleged scheme to spend $750,000 in campaign funds on personal items.

Daily D.C. Lateral Roundup: Paul Weiss; Pillsbury; Hogan Lovells

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has added a partner to its litigation department. Alexandra Walsh joins from Baker Botts, where she was a partner. Her litigation practice focuses on white collar criminal, civil, internal corporate investigations and appellate litigation.

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has bolstered its health care practice with the addition of Michael Paddock. Paddock, who joins the firm as a partner, was previously a partner at Crowell & Moring. He represents health care providers on matters related to health care fraud and abuse, federal false claims, physician self-referral and anti-kickback issues.

Hogan Lovells has added a partner to its government regulatory practice in Washington. Gary Veron, formerly a counsel in Sidley Austin's food and drug practice, focuses his practice on the intersection of food and drug law, regulatory and intellectual property. He has particular experience handling issues related to the Hatch-Waxman Act and life-cycle management.

Economics Professor Joins DOJ's Antitrust Division

Aviv Nevo has been appointed as deputy assistant attorney general for economic analysis at the Department of Justice's Antitrust Division, the agency announced today.

Nevo is currently a professor of economics at Northwestern University, where he focuses on empirical industrial organization and econometrics. Since 2003, he has also been a research associate for the National Bureau of Economic Research.

Starting April 1, Nevo will supervise the economic sections within the antitrust division and provide advice to the division's leader, Assistant Attorney General Bill Baer, on both merger and civil non-merger investigations.

Former Governor Announces First Law School Clinic Devoted to Pardons

Updated 5:09 p.m., 2/20/13

At a symposium last week hosted by Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, a former governor announced the formation of a new clinic there devoted to the study of pardons—the first of its type.

Former Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich Jr., the keynote speaker, highlighted clemency as one of the governor's most important powers, and said he took a real interest in the state's clemency process. Ehrlich, now a senior counsel at the Washington office of King & Spalding, said he granted clemency to more than 200 convicts during his four years in office.

After a series of stories published by the Washington Post and ProPublica shed light on a dysfunctional presidential pardon system, unfairly favoring white applicants, Ehrlich said he planned to open the nation's first law school clinic and training program devoted to pardons. Five law schools competed, and Ehrlich used his February 15 address to announce to a cheering crowd that Columbus School of Law had been chosen.

Akin Gump Shows Modest Revenue Gain, Sharp Partner Profit Drop in 2012

Updated at 3:42 p.m.

Despite a less than 1 percent increase in gross revenues and a drop in many key financial indicators for Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld in 2012, outgoing firm chairman R. Bruce McLean isn't concerned.

McLean said Akin felt "pretty good" about last year even with declines in net income, revenue per lawyer, profits per partner and average compensation for all partners. He said the firm, which posted $775 million in gross revenues for 2012, had an aggressive investment plan last year, opening outposts in Hong Kong and Singapore and moving to new offices in Abu Dhabi and Moscow. Highlights in 2012 for Akin also included obtaining a favorable decision for a client in an employment case that made it to the California Supreme Court, adding television manufacturer Vizio Inc. as a client in its intellectual property practice and securing "substantial" work in Foreign Corrupt Practice Act investigations, McLean said.

"Given what we accomplished this year, I think we're very pleased about how those numbers came out," said McLean, whom Akin U.S. managing partner Kim Koopersmith will succeed as chairman on April 1.