The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

New Brownstein Practice Focuses on Energy, Natural Resources Clients

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has started a new Washington-based practice focused on legal, lobbying and strategy services for energy and natural resources clients, the firm announced Wednesday.

The new practice will explore "complex infrastructure and policy matters that require a multi-disciplined approach," the firm said. Brownstein shareholder David Bernhardt, a former U.S. Interior Department solicitor, will lead the group, which has more than two dozen members located in the firm's Washington office and outposts in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada and New Mexico.

Bernhardt will receive assistance in D.C. from Brownstein shareholder Lawrence Jensen and of counsel Ryan Smith, as well as policy directors Luke Johnson, Elizabeth Gore and Jon Hrobsky, all of whom have experience working in the federal government on environmental issues. Jensen and Johnson are new hires whom the firm picked up within the past two months.

Bingham Bolsters Antitrust, White-collar Practice in D.C.

Bingham McCutchen is adding two attorneys from the U.S. Justice Department and the Federal Trade Commission to the firm’s Washington office.

Darren Tucker, a former senior competition advisor at the FTC, and Michael Whitlock, a DOJ Antitrust Division prosecutor, join the firm as partners in the antitrust, competition and trade regulation group.

At the FTC, Tucker was the top advisor to Commissioner Joshua Wright. Tucker was also the primary drafter of the In the Matter of North Carolina Board of Dental Examiners decision. The FTC in 2011 ruled the board violated the agency's rule on deceptive trade practice when it sought to block non-dentists from providing teeth whitening services.

During his tenure at DOJ, Whitlock investigated price fixing, bid rigging and market allocation by auto-part companies. Whitlock participated in the antitrust price-fixing prosecutions of freight services companies Horizon Lines LLC and Sea Star Lines LLC.

D.C. Bar president-elect candidates pitch their candidacies

The two lawyers running for D.C. Bar president-elect for the 2013–2014 term, Brigida Benitez of Steptoe & Johnson and Lorelie Masters of Jenner & Block, pitched their candidacy during an election forum Wednesday.

Both candidates advocated for more funding for access to justice programs, support and training for younger lawyers and increasing pro bono work.

Masters said if she’s elected she will address two main challenges her profession faces: the crisis in civil legal services and the lack of support and training for younger lawyers. She added that she would work on creating an official history of the D.C. Bar. “I think that it is important to know the past in order to form the future,” she said.

Futures Commission Names New General Counsel

The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has named Jonathan Marcus as its new general counsel, the agency announced Wednesday.

For the past two years Marcus has served as the deputy general counsel for litigation at the commission, which oversees futures and options markets. Marcus replaces Dan Berkovitz, who stepped down as general counsel in March.

During his tenure Berkovitz, who took on the role of general counsel in 2009, advised senior commission officials on the of the Dodd-Frank act.

Before joining the CFTC, Marcus was of counsel at Covington & Burling in its Supreme Court and appellate litigation practice. Prior to that he was assistant to the solicitor general at the U.S. Justice Department, between 2004 and 2007, and argued five cases before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Georgetown Law Argues for Dismissal of Age Discrimination Lawsuit

A Washington federal judge heard arguments Monday on whether the use of words such as "young" or "pick of the litter" in discussing law professor applicants was evidence of discrimination against older applicants in Georgetown University Law Center's hiring process.

Former North Dakota Attorney General Nicholas Spaeth sued Georgetown and five other schools after he failed to get an interview through the Association of American Law Schools faculty recruitment conference in 2010.

Georgetown moved for summary judgment, arguing that they had non-discriminatory reasons for rejecting Spaeth, in particular his lack of expressed interest in legal scholarship. U.S. District Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle heard arguments yesterday afternoon.

Sen. Tim Kaine’s Congressional Campaign Chair Joins Venable

Venable has hired a close confidant of Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) for its government affairs group, the law firm announced Monday.

Lawrence Roberts, who most recently advised Kaine on the senator's transition to Congress after his election in November, joined Venable as a partner in its Washington and Tysons Corner, Va., offices. He will focus on Virginia-related matters concerning transportation and telecommunications, among other issues.

Roberts said Venable has a strong government affairs practice and Tysons Corner office, where he said he will spend about 75 percent of this time.

Former Chief Judge of PTO Goes to Miles & Stockbridge

The former chief administrative patent judge of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has joined Miles & Stockbridge's Tysons Corner, Va., office as counsel.

Michael Fleming, who retired as chief judge in January 2011, spent 33 years with the government. He was influential in advising Congress and the administration on parts of the America Invents Act.

In addition to his six years as chief judge, Fleming spent 17 years as an administrative patent judge and four years as a supervisory patent examiner. The move to Miles & Stockbridge marks his first time in private practice. Because of his former post, Fleming had a two-year ban on doing business with the PTO. That prohibition ended January 1.

Now that the embargo is lifted, Fleming said he looks forward to working on matters before the PTO, in particular many of the statutory changes he was instrumental in forming. Among those are the ex parte and inter partes proceedings, a request for the patent office to review the validity of a patent.

Covington Adds Former House Judiciary Lawyer to Lobbying Practice

The former staff director and chief counsel of the House Judiciary Committee has joined the lobby shop at Covington & Burling.

Richard Hertling, who spent time on Capitol Hill and at the U.S. Justice Department, joins as of counsel in the public policy and government affairs practice. His arrival bolsters Covington's practice, which recently added Senator Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) and Representative Howard Berman (D-Calif.) to its stable of lobbyists.

Hertling clerked for Judge Henry Politz of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit after completing law school. He later was a trial attorney for three years in the Civil Division of DOJ and served on the Senate Judiciary Committee staff. During his seven years with the committee, Hertling was chief counsel and staff director for three subcommittees.

Daily D.C. Lateral Roundup: Sidley Austin; Nelson Mullins; Venable

Sidley Austin has added two partners to its antitrust/competition practice. William Blumenthal, the head of Clifford Chance’s U.S. antitrust practice and a former general counsel of the Federal Trade Commission, makes the move along with Kenneth Glazer, previously a partner at K&L Gates. Glazer is also a FTC veteran, serving as deputy director of the Bureau of Competition from 2006 to 2009. Blumenthal, who was the FTC’s top lawyer from 2005 to 2009,  has advised clients on all aspects of antitrust law, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, and pricing and distribution practices. Glazer in his three years at the Bureau of Competition oversaw challenges to multi-billion dollar acquisitions, as well as merger and non-merger investigations in numerous industries.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough had added a longtime bank regulatory attorney to its Washington office. Dwight Smith III, previously a senior of counsel at Morrison & Foerster, joins as partner in the financial services practice. Smith was deputy chief counsel for business transactions at the Office of Thrift Supervision from 1995 to 1999, where he oversaw significant mergers, acquisitions, and offerings and new entrants to the banking industry. He will counsel clients on financial and regulatory issues, including duties and obligations arising from the government's response to the financial crisis.

Randall Miller has moved from Arnold & Porter to Venable’s Northern Virginia and Washington offices. He joins as partner in the business litigation and advertising practice groups. For 16 years, Miller has represented national advertisers as both plaintiffs and defendants in competitor false advertising cases under the Lanham Act. He has litigated complex business disputes such as those involving breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, trade secrets and unfair competition claims.

Former Trade Representative Kirk Joins Gibson Dunn

Updated 1:13 p.m.

Ron Kirk, the former U.S. Trade Representative, has joined Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher as senior of counsel in the Dallas and Washington offices.

According to a release from the firm, Kirk will advise companies about international business.

As President Barack Obama's principal trade adviser, Kirk handled all aspects of U.S. trade policy. The trade office oversaw the ongoing Doha Development Agenda, an effort before the World Trade Organization which tries to eliminate trade barriers.

"The knowledge that I bring of negotiating in the trade arena can be a great value to many of our clients, particularly in many of the emerging economies," Kirk said in an interview. "I look forward to continuing my work in the international arena."