The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Legal Ethics Committee Weighs In On Disclosures By In-House Counsel

In-house lawyers suing their employers or clients for discrimination or a retaliatory firing can't disclose any confidences or secrets, unless they're defending against a counterclaim or affirmative defense, according to a new opinion from the D.C. Bar Legal Ethics Committee.

According to an opinion published online last week by the committee, the D.C. Bar Rules of Professional Conduct don't allow in-house lawyers to disclose confidences – information protected by attorney-client privilege – or secrets – information gleaned that a client has asked to keep secret or that would harm a client – in making a claim.

But the committee found that the rules do allow in-house lawyers to make those disclosures if the employer or client being sued calls into question the lawyer's conduct.

At D.C. Pro Bono Celebration, New York Judge Defends Bar Admission Rule

New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman delivers the keynote address via video.

No, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman didn't take a poll or worry about the reaction when he announced a plan in May to require 50 hours of pro bono service for admission to the New York bar. At a moment of crisis for access to justice, Lippman told a gathering of D.C. lawyers today, the judiciary and the legal profession "must be bold and proactive."

Lippman was the keynote speaker at an annual lunch held by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program and hosted by Arnold & Porter to honor pro bono work by local lawyers over the past year. Lippman was the driving force behind an at-times controversial plan to require pro bono work for admission to the New York bar, a rule that goes into effect January 1. Introducing Lippman today, James Sandman, president of the Legal Services Corporation, called him "a hero."

Speaking via video – Hurricane Sandy forced Lippman to cancel plans to travel to D.C. – Lippman said the idea for the requirement came out of the dire financial straits facing civil legal services organizations at a time when demand for legal services for low-income individuals is on the rise. In New York, he said that only an estimated 20 percent of civil legal services needs are being met.

Taiwan Signs Pillsbury to Lobby on Nuclear Power Pact

As Taiwan looks to negotiate a new peaceful nuclear power pact with the United States, the island nation has called on Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman for assistance in Washington.

Pillsbury notified Congress this week that it is lobbying for state-owned Taiwan Power Co. on a new Atomic Energy Act cooperation agreement between Taiwan's Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office and the American Institute of Taiwan, a nonprofit D.C. corporation. Without an official diplomatic relationship between the United States and Taiwan, the organizations serve as de facto embassies. (The United States recognizes the Beijing-based government of the People's Republic of China's position that Taiwan is part of China even though the island doesn't acknowledge that government.)

Taiwan's current nuclear power pact with the United States is set to expire in 2014. As part of the new agreement, the island is planning to give up its right to produce nuclear fuel, becoming the second country after the United Arab Emirates to do so, Global Security Newswire reported in July. Taiwan would import fuel from abroad to operate its six nuclear power plants, which, according to Taiwan Power, supplied 19 percent of the country's electricity in 2011.

American Red Cross Names New General Counsel

Updated 3:28 p.m.

The American Red Cross has named a new general counsel, David Meltzer, who takes over the role at the beginning of next year.

Meltzer, formerly the group's senior vice president for international services, starts as general counsel on January 1. His appointment was approved by the Red Cross Board of Governors.

In addition to his general counsel duties, Meltzer will also take on responsibility for the humanitarian organization's office of investigations, compliance and ethics.

FTC Approves Corning's Purchase of Labware Company Amid Competition Concerns

The Federal Trade Commission today approved Corning Inc.'s $730 million purchase of Discovery Labware, Inc., but is requiring it to provide assets and assistance to a fledgling competitor to settle concerns that the deal is anti-competitive.

Under the terms of the FTC consent decree, Corning will help new competitor Sigma-Aldrich Co. manufacture tissue culture treated dishes, multi-well plates and flasks - surfaces used by researchers at drug companies, biotech firms and universities to grow cells.

Corning will supply the items to Sigma-Aldrich to market under Sigma-Aldrich's own brand until the company is able to make them itself - an arrangement that will "immediately replace the competition lost as a result of Corning's acquisition of Discovery Labware," according to the FTC. Corning and Discovery are the two leading makers of the products.

The Morning Wrap

Double Blow: In the wake of Hurricane Sandy, many homeowners are likely to find that their flood insurance policies have lapsed or that they wrongly assumed their homeowners' policy would cover the damage, The New York Times reports.

Romney and FEMA: Last year, Mitt Romney seemed to indicate that he wanted to cut or even privatize the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Now, with FEMA leading the rescue efforts after Hurricane Sandy, the question of what Romney would do with the agency if he were to become president suddenly seems a lot more salient, Bloomberg Businessweek reports.

More Investigations: Barclays, already rocked by an interest rate rigging scandal, unveiled new U.S. regulatory investigations into the bank's financial probity on Wednesday and said its profit was hit by charges for mis-selling insurance, Reuters reports.

Attorney Sues Boies Schiller for Fraud

Updated at 5:58 p.m.

In a lawsuit filed yesterday, Boies, Schiller & Flexner is facing allegations of fraud from a solo practitioner who claims the firm deceived his clients into signing over their representation and filed claims on his clients’ behalf without their knowledge.

Paul Wolf, who practices in Washington and Colorado in the United States as well as in Colombia, filed a Download Does v Boies Schiller complaintcomplaint yesterday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the firm along with 98 other anonymous plaintiffs who are Colombian nationals. According to the complaint, Wolf has represented his co-plaintiffs in wrongful death and other cases against Chiquita Brands International over the company’s alleged support of “paramilitary and guerrilla violence” in Colombia.

Wolf claims that Boies Schiller, through a Colombian firm, convinced dozens of his clients into signing over their power of representation by convincing them that they were signing a document to apply for benefits or telling the clients that they were associated with Wolf. Other clients said they never signed anything that would have turned over their power of representation to other lawyers, Wolf alleged.

As D.C. Recovers from Storm, Lawyers Take Advantage of 'Teleworking'

Updated at 2:14 p.m.

With Hurricane Sandy still making its way out of the Washington region on Tuesday, many area workers stayed home for a second day. But the work of D.C. lawyers and policymakers hasn't ceased.

U.S. Justice Department headquarters in Washington are "open and operational," DOJ spokeswoman Gina Talamona said. As for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, it is "mostly closed," office spokesman William Miller wrote in an email. He wrote that some prosecutors and support staff are working today to handle presentments, arraignments and other matters concerning the District of Columbia Superior Court.

Superior Court plans to resume some of its operations on Tuesday. At 2 p.m., it will start holding adult arraignments and juvenile new referrals. But U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia and U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit are closed. At the U.S. Supreme Court, arguments that were scheduled for Tuesday have been moved to Thursday.

In Graphic Warnings Case, Tobacco Lawyers Fight Full D.C. Circuit Review

Lawyers for major tobacco companies said Monday they do not want the full U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to touch a panel's ruling that went against the government's controversial graphic warning labels requirement.

A divided three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit in August ruled against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's requirement that cigarette packs carry graphic images that depict the dangers of smoking. Judge Janice Rogers Brown called the images "inflammatory" and said they were "unabashed attempts to evoke emotion." The court said the proposed warning images violate the First Amendment.

The U.S. Justice Department wants the full D.C. Circuit to overturn the panel decision. Yesterday, responding to DOJ, lawyers for tobacco companies that include R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard urged the D.C. Circuit not to tangle with the panel decision. Ultimately, the U.S. Supreme Court could be asked for its assessment.

"The proposed warnings will not create more informed consumers and were never intended to," Jones Day litigation partner Noel Francisco, lead counsel for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., said in a court filing Monday. Francisco also said the images "had no measurable effect on consumer knowledge of the smoking risks the warnings address."

D.C. Crime Lab Chief Outlines Strategy for Preventing Scandals

Alluding to a recent Massachusetts crime lab scandal that has called into question hundreds of convictions, the acting director of the District of Columbia’s new forensic sciences lab said Friday that putting in a checks and balances system early on would be critical to preventing similar incidents at the city’s recently completed facility.

Max Houck was appointed over the summer to lead the new $220 million lab and the department created last year by the D.C. Council to oversee it, the D.C. Department of Forensic Sciences. He has served as acting director since August and appeared Friday before the judiciary committee for his confirmation hearing.

Houck referred to a controversy in Boston this year surrounding a state chemist accused of fabricating drug analysis results. He said he was considering “robust” methods for preventing such behavior, from blind case review and re-testing a certain percentage of cases to designating the forensic sciences department’s general counsel as an ombudsman to “act as a sounding board” for issues and concerns about the lab’s operations.