The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

'Operation Holiday Hoax' Targeted Counterfeit Goods

A six-day enforcement sting combating the importation and distribution of counterfeit and pirated goods has netted seven arrests and the seizure of merchandise worth more than $26 million in the United States, federal officials announced today.

Lanny Breuer, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, was on hand in Arlington, Va., today to announce the sting – dubbed “Operation Holiday Hoax.” The seized goods included Christmas ornaments, DVDs, CDs, clothing, shoes, handbags, perfume, stationery, phones and pharmaceuticals. In Mexico, the authorities seized an additional 272 tons of counterfeit goods.

“Consumers are entitled to rely on a marketplace that provides them with safe and legitimate products,” Breuer said in a prepared statement. “Consumers deserve to know that the goods and services they buy are what they say they are.”

The operation targeted the “most serious” intellectual property violators in the import and distribution network, Breuer said. Click here for a copy of the remarks.

In their own announcement supporting the law enforcement initiative, the Motion Picture Association of America and the Recording Industry Association of America said the sting had netted nearly 160,000 counterfeit DVDs and CDs.

“More than 2.4 million American jobs are supported by the movie and television industry alone,” MPAA chairman and CEO Dan Glickman said in a statement. “Each of the pirated DVDs shown here today represents a theft, not just from the motion picture studios, but from the hard earned wages of these men and women working in all 50 states of our union.”

Hausfeld LLP Files Class Action Over Guitar Prices

One of Washington, D.C.'s leading antitrust lawyers has jumped into the fray over guitar price fixing.

Michael Hausfeld, founder of Hausfeld LLP, is one of the lawyers behind one of the latest anti-trust class actions against the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), Guitar Center and major guitar manufacturers over an alleged industry-wide plan to prop up instrument prices. Hausfeld is joined on the suit, filed Oct. 13 at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, by Hausfeld LLP partner Hilary Ratway-Scherrer and a team from Philadelphia-based Spector Roseman Kodroff & Willis, including partners Jeffrey Kodroff, Jeffrey Corrigan and Jay Cohen.

The controversy over guitar prices has been simmering since March, when the Federal Trade Commission issued a cease and desist order to NAMM after settling charges that the group had fostered anti-competitive behavior using its trade shows. Instrument makers and retailers allegedly met at the events to establish price floors for their products. Since September, lawyers have filed a series of class actions in the Southern District of California against the companies involved.

In California, Latham & Watkins partner Charles Samel has appeared for Guitar Center, the nation’s largest instrument retailer. Howrey partner David Mayer has appeared for NAMM. A team from Bryan Cave, including partners Lawrence Scarborough and J. Alex Grimsley represents guitar maker Fender.

Hausfeld could not be reached for comment.

Ex-Sen. Smith Leaves Covington for NAB

The National Association of Broadcasters has chosen former Oregon Sen. Gordon Smith as its new president and chief executive officer, the trade group announced today.

Smith, 57, a Republican, served two terms in Congress and sat on the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees all broadcast-related legislation. He lost his bid for a third term to Democrat Jeff Merkley in 2008.

Smith had signed on at Covington & Burling as a senior advisor in March, but will now leave the firm Nov. 1 for his new job.

Covington partner Stuart Eizenstat said the firm is sorry to lose him.

“There aren’t a lot of former senators around,” he said. “I think he’s irreplaceable as a really substantive senator that’s had a real commitment to private practice.”

Eizenstat said he understands Smith leaving for what he called “a once in a lifetime opportunity.” He said he couldn’t say whether the firm might wind up working with the NAB.

“We’ve always had good luck in getting clients out of employees that leave,” he said. “But I have no way of knowing.”

Still, Eizenstat said he hopes to work with Smith while he’s still at the firm, especially when the president of Liechtenstein visits later this month. The firm lobbies on behalf of the principality on banking secrecy issues.

The National Association of Broadcasters’ choice of Smith to head the group marks a departure from its last two chiefs, who were an experienced lobbyist and a former radio station owner, respectively.

But Dennis Wharton, the group’s executive vice president, said Smith’s experience in Congress, especially his chairmanship of a Senate high-tech task force, qualify him for the post.

“He knows our business,” Wharton said. “He’s also interested in high technology and new media.”

Smith replaces David Rehr, who had been with the organization since 2005 but stepped down in May.

The association said Smith was not available for comment.

Smith is slated to make brief remarks at the NAB Radio Show in Philadelphia next week, and will be introduced to the group’s board of directors at a meeting in Dallas in mid-October.

He will face immediate pressure from the Recording Industry Association of America, which is looking to charge AM/FM stations for playing individual songs, Wharton said.

The broadcast group is also trying to push the Satellite Home Viewer Update and Reauthorization Act of 2009 through Congress. Approved Wednesday by the House Judiciary Committee, the act would extend cable and satellite providers’ license to broadcast copyrighted TV programs for another five years.

Michael Jackson Finally Takes the Stage in D.C. Court

His comeback tour is still postponed, but Michael Jackson may have managed to avoid a different disaster this week when lawyers appeared in federal court to fend off a potential default judgment against the pop star.

On Monday, attorneys from Dewey & LeBoeuf filed an appearance for Jackson at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, 11 days after the court clerk’s office filed entry of default against the performer. Jackson didn’t respond after his former publicist, Raymone Bain, filed a $44 million lawsuit against him on May 5. Last week, Judge James Robertson held a hearing with Bain’s attorney, Frederick Samuels, name partner of Cahn & Samuels, to discuss a possible default judgment for his client.

Yesterday, Jackson’s legal team, which includes Dewey partners Henry Asbill and Donna Gordon, filed a motion to clear out the default entry, claiming that Jackson was never actually served with the suit.

Earlier this month, Bain filed affidavits showing that copies of her suit had been handed off to a security guard at Jackson’s Los Angeles Home, and to a former representative of his company, MJJ Productions. But the documents never made it to Jackson, his lawyers said.

Instead, Jackson allegedly heard about the suit on June 7 from friends who had read about it in the media (news reports of the suit broke the day it was filed). You can see The National Law Journals coverage here, here and here.

“Despite rumors and innuendos that may have surfaced before that date, Mr. Jackson did not conceive any lawsuit would be possible” because of an agreement Bain allegedly signed, his lawyers wrote in their motion.

Besides asking Robertson to get rid of the default entry, Jackson’s lawyers have also filed a motion to dismiss Bain’s suit. The publicist alleges that Jackson never paid her money she earned by arranging a series of lucrative business deals for the star. But Jackson's lawyers say Bain signed a release agreement that paid her $500,000 in return for waiving her right to any future earnings.

UPDATE June 26

Lawyers Battle It Out Rock 'n' Roll-Style for Charity

If being a lawyer wasn't their job, you might have thought rocking out was.

With soaring guitar solos, gritty wails, and even a keytar at the sixth annual Banding Together: The Battle of the Law Firm Bands contest last night, rocking out was exactly that lawyers from some of Washington's top law firms were doing.

The event, held at the Black Cat, pitted eleven bands against one another in a friendly showdown in which the winner would be selected by how many votes they brought in from the crowd. And by votes, we mean money.

In what event promoters billed as "Chicago-style" voting, each vote cost a dollar, and everyone was encouraged to vote early and often. All proceeds benefited Gifts for the Homeless, which provides clothing and blankets to more than 30 homeless shelters in the Washington area.

The 1,000-strong crowd must have been paying attention because this year's competition brought in over $80,000, once sponsorships and other donations were thrown in. (Full disclosure: Legal Times was a sponsor.)

Gifts for the Homeless president Carol Weiser, a Sutherland partner, said this year's total was a bit down from last year, but she was impressed just the same.

"With the economy the way it is and with how many associate programs are struggling, we were thrilled," Weiser said.

You wouldn't have known the totals had dipped by the crowd. Judging the contest solely on audience enthusiasm, Williams & Connolly's Dangerous Communication Device [right] was the early favorite. (Put it this way, by the time DCD was through playing, there were seven pairs of women's underwear on stage. Seriously.) DCD pulled out a cheeky punk version of The Clash's "I Fought the Law and the Law Won," a fitting selection for a law firm band, really.

But Sutherland's Waterson and WMD and the Bad Ass Brass Band, composed of lawyers from Latham & Watkins and the Law Office of Richard Goldberg, gave them a run for their money. Waterson scored major crowd points when financial analyst Gary Aiken broke out his keytar for the band's cover of the Smashing Pumpkins' "Cherub Rock." And WMD played a sweet version of Stevie Wonder's "Superstition." It's a safe bet that President Obama, a known Stevie fan, would have approved. Sadly, he wasn't there. Maybe next year?

In the end though, DCD scored their second win in as many years, bringing in over $15,000 for Gifts for the Homeless. Though lead singer Paul Hourihan, a partner at Williams & Connolly, drew some gasps from the crowd when he said, "This may be the last year DCD plays together so we thank you for coming out." DCD drummer David Gerkin, a senior paralegal at Williams & Connolly, declined to elaborate, saying cryptically, "I would love to be back here next year, but you never know how things are going to play out."

Everyone interviewed by the BLT said the contest was simply a way to have fun while raising money for a worthy cause.

Waterson's lead vocalist Daniel Buchner [left], a Sutherland associate who coordinated the band lineup for the event, says pitching in for an event like this was "the least lawyers could do."

"Lawyers make so much money, so as much as the Washington legal community is hurting in this economy, there are a lot of people out there who are hurting  astronomically more," Buchner said.

More photos after the jump.

Michael Jackson Defaults in $44 Million Suit

Michael Jackson has defaulted in the $44 million lawsuit between himself and his former publicist.

The clerk’s office at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia entered the default entry earlier today. Jackson was sued on May 6 by his former publicist, Raymone Bain, who claimed the singer failed to pay her for her role in several major financial deals. Jackson has yet to officially make contact with the court or name a lawyer. Bain’s attorneys filed a motion for default earlier this week with Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

Bain’s lawyer, Cahn & Samuels name partner Frederick Samuels, declined to comment earlier this week on whether he has made contact with Jackson’s lawyers (assuming, of course, he has any).

No Word Yet From Michael Jackson in Contract Dispute

Will Jacko be a no show?

With the first court date in the civil suit between Michael Jackson and his former publicist, Raymone Bain, set for next week, the pop star has yet to officially name his lawyer or make any contact with the court. Bain’s attorneys from Cahn & Samuels have asked Judge James Robertson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for a default judgment. That would leave the singer on the hook for $44 million.

Early last month, Bain sued Jackson for breach of contract, claiming he had failed to pay her for work she did brokering several major financial deals on his behalf.

In court documents filed last week, Bain’s lawyers said they did not know who Jackson’s lawyers were and that the lawsuit itself was served to a security guard at Jackson’s Los Angeles home. A hearing is scheduled for Monday on whether the judge should grant Bain an injunction that would freeze some of Jackson’s assets.

Cahn & Samuels partner Frederick Samuels declined to comment on whether he had made any contact with Jackson’s representatives since last week.

Small D.C. IP Firm Handles Michael Jackson Suit

When publicist Raymone Bain wanted a team of Washington lawyers to represent her most famous client, King of Pop (and Peter Pan enthusiast) Michael Jackson, she went straight for big names from Big Law, recruiting Venable partners Gregory Cross and former U.S. Attorney General Benjamin Civiletti.

So who’s representing Bain now that she’s suing Jackson herself? An eight-lawyer D.C. intellectual property firm, Cahn & Samuels.

Bain filed a complaint against Jackson at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia this week accusing the troubled superstar of owing her $44 million. She alleges that Jackson, whom she represented from 2003 through 2007, failed to pay her for her roles in facilitating several major financial deals, including the 25th anniversary re-release of his hit album Thriller.

The breach of contract suit is a bit of a departure for Bain’s lawyer, Frederick Samuels, a registered patent attorney who has worked in IP law since 1986. He says he was referred to the case thanks to his own chart-topping client, Philly soul sensations the O’Jays. Samuels’ firm handles copyright work for the group, whose single “Love Train” hit No. 1 in 1973. Their general counsel, Rosalind Ray, was a friend of Bain’s, and knew of her plan to sue Jackson. She referred the publicist to Cahn & Samuels.

“I guess you could say we’re branching out in the type of client we have,” Samuels says.

Samuels says that while the case is a bit out of the ordinary for his firm, they are used to handling contract disputes.

“When we have an IP case with a contract claim, we handle the contract piece as well,” he says. “The difference here is that there isn’t the straight IP piece.”

As for the media frenzy that follows any Jacko-related lawsuit, Samuels says he’s still getting used to it.

“In our typical patent cases, people aren’t that concerned about it,” he says.

No word yet on who will be representing Jackson.