The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Edwards Mistrial Puts Sharp Focus On Justice Department

The botched campaign finance case against John Edwards was a blow for the government in a high-profile, aggressive prosecution, forcing a reassessment of the merits of the charges as the government decides whether a second trial is justified.

A jury Thursday in Greensboro, N.C., federal district court found Edwards, a former Democratic presidential candidate and U.S. Senator from North Carolina, not guilty on one of six counts rooted in a scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws. Edwards was indicted last summer.

Shortly after the mistrial, Edwards declared outside the courthouse that he did not break campaign finance laws. “While I didn't do anything I thought was illegal, I did an awful, awful lot that was wrong,” he said. “There is no one else responsible for my sins.”

A DOJ spokeswoman, Alisa Finelli, declined to comment on the Edwards case.

SEC Official Moves to BuckleySandler in June

Updated 6:14 p.m.

The chief of the Office of Market Intelligence for the Securities and Exchange Commission will join BuckleySandler in the Washington office, the firm announced Thursday.

Thomas Sporkin will join the firm as a partner, effective June 18, as a member of the firm’s criminal and civil enforcement defense practice.

For the past two and a half years, Sporkin has overseen a 50-person unit created following the Barnard Madoff Ponzi scheme. He has a 20-year history with the Division of Enforcement. As chief, Sporkin’s office Office of Market Intelligence worked closely with the Dodd-Frank whistleblower office and was responsible for more than half of all SEC investigations. The office investigated improper Foreign Corrupt Practices Act payments, financial fraud, market manipulations and insider trading.

Cincinnati College of Law Establishes Tort Chair Named After D.C. Partner

Updated 4:31 p.m.

The University of Cincinnati College of Law has created a tort law chair in honor of a Shook, Hardy & Bacon partner.

Victor Schwartz, who taught at the college from 1968 until 1977, is head of Shook Hardy’s public policy group and is known as a strong proponent of tort reform. He focuses his practice on appellate litigation, government affairs and public relations. He also maintains an appellate practice and advises manufacturers on liability prevention.

Funding for the endowment of the chair, the Victor E. Schwartz Chair in Tort Law, was organized by Schwartz’s former students. The endowment, which has a goal of $2 million, is to promote scholarship and the objective teaching of tort law, Schwartz said.

Judge Orders Former D.C. Councilman to Pay $353K in Restitution

Updated at 3:12 p.m.

Former District of Columbia Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., who pleaded guilty earlier this year to embezzling public funds, was ordered today to pay $353,000 in restitution to the city.

The ruling is a win of sorts for Thomas, who had argued against owing a higher restitution amount of $446,000, which was what the U.S. Probation Office had calculated as the city's total loss. U.S. District Judge John Bates indicated at Thomas' May 3 sentencing hearing that he was leaning toward the higher amount, but delayed a decision so he could hear from both sides.

In today's opinion (PDF), Bates found that because Thomas pleaded guilty to embezzling only $353,000, that amount was what he should owe. Bates also found that the plea agreement clearly stated that both sides agreed that Thomas would owe $353,000, as opposed to saying more generally that Thomas would have to make "full restitution," or something to that effect.

Wiretap Law Draws Scrutiny as Reauthorization Vote Nears

The Department of Justice wants Congress to reauthorize a five-year-old law that is one of the top tools for collecting foreign intelligence, but Democrats and privacy advocates say the public deserves more oversight on how it is used.

The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act allows the government to intercept e-mails and phone calls without a warrant. No detail of the programs results gets to the public, the critics complain, and little gets to Congress.

Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.) said Director of National Intelligence James Clapper Jr. will not disclose even in closed-door security briefings with Congress how many people are being subjected to surveillance in the United States.

Former Rep. Sandlin to Become GC at Raven Industries, a Lobbying Client

Former Representative Stephanie Herseth Sandlin (D-S.D.) is leaving Olsson Frank Weeda Terman Matz to be the general counsel and corporate development vice president for one of her lobbying clients.

Sandlin will start at Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Raven Industries Inc. on Sept. 1, the company announced on Wednesday. She joined Olsson Frank as a principal in Washington a couple months after she left Congress in January 2011.

The former congresswoman started lobbying during the second quarter of 2011 for Raven, according to congressional records. The engineering and technology company paid Olsson Frank at least $60,000 for its government advocacy work on defense and agriculture issues, among other matters. Raven only used Olsson Frank to lobby for it in Washington.

The Morning Wrap

Sentenced: The former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his involvement during Sierra Leone's civil war, reports The New York Times. He is the first former head of state to be convicted by an international tribunal since the Nuremberg trials after World War II.

Solved?: Police caught a break in a 1975 Montgomery County, Md. murder when the alleged suspect walked into the sherriff's office to clear up what he thought was a minor warrant. Bobby Coley is accused of being a hit man in the murder of Leopold Chromak, reports The Washington Post. But Chromak has not been heard of or seen since 1975. No body was ever found.

Bankruptcy: Dewey & LeBoeuf is trying to push its bankruptcy proceedings swiftly. Our sister publication, Am Law Daily has all the details from Wednesday's proceedings.

Call It What It Is: The Food and Drug Administration rejected the name change of high fructose corn syrup to "corn sugar," Associated Press reports. The Corn Refiners Association, which pushed for the name change, is also running a marketing campaign to persuade consumers that high fructose corn syrup and granular sugar have the same nutritional value. That, in turn, prompted its own lawsuit by the Sugar Association. 

NLRB Report on Social Media Highlights Overbroad Employer Restrictions

The National Labor Relations Board on May 30 issued a new report on social media policies for employees, giving real-world examples of company restrictions that cross the line, as well as highlighting instances where rules are valid.

"I hope that this report, with its specific examples of various employer policies and rules, will provide additional guidance in this area," said NLRB acting general counsel Lafe Solomon in a news release.

The key question in evaluating social media policies, according to the report, is whether restrictions “would reasonably be construed to chill the exercise of Section 7 rights” by employees under the National Labor Relations Act.

FTC Litigator Moves to Simpson Thacher & Bartlett

A former Federal Trade Commission official has joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett in Washington, the firm announced Wednesday.

Matt Reilly, former assistant director of the FTC, joins the firm as a partner in the antitrust practice. Starting in 2007, Reilly served as the head of the commission’s Mergers IV division and conducted investigations involving hospitals, retail and consumer products.

During his 13-year career with the government, he served as the lead litigator on the proposed Whole Foods-Wild Oats merger and the acquisition of Talecris Biotherapeutics Holdings Corp. by CSL Ltd.

“During Matt’s tenure at the FTC, he clearly established himself as an outstanding litigator and our clients globally will benefit greatly from his talent and insight,” Kevin Arquit, head of the antitrust practice, said in a written statement.

Morrison & Foerster Adds New Co-chair of Government Contracts Practice

Morrison & Foerster has added a lateral partner to serve as a new co-chair of the government contracts practice group, the firm announced Wednesday.

Bradley Wine, formerly the administrative head of Dickstein Shapiro’s government contracts practice, has represented companies in the research and development, defense, security and infrastructure, health care and information technology industries. He has experience with False Claims Act and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act matters.

In an interview, Wine said that he was attracted to Morrison & Foerster because of the firm’s plans to expand the practice. He said the practice was driven by existing clients who are grappling with a competitive government contracts market.