The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Sinclair Hires FCC Adviser to Lead New D.C. Office

Broadcasting behemoth Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. has snagged a Federal Communications Commission aide to serve as its chief lobbyist in Washington.

Rebecca Hanson, who focused on broadcast spectrum issues at the FCC Media Bureau, will join Sinclair on Jan. 2 as senior vice president for strategy and policy, the Hunt Valley, Md.-based operator of 164 television stations announced Tuesday. She will oversee a new D.C. office that will concentrate on policy and business matters for Sinclair.

Efforts to reach Hanson for comment weren't immediately successful. But in a written statement released by Sinclair, Hanson said she is "excited" to come to the company.

Q&A: What Makes the D.C. Circuit So Special?

Political debate raged in Washington this month about nominees to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. But both sides agreed on one thing: the court's importance. President Obama and senators repeatedly called it a key federal appeals court, or even, the second-most important court in the nation.

So, what makes the D.C. Circuit so different? What makes it special? And how does Congress really view the court?

Four former D.C. Circuit clerks set out to answer those questions and provide a deeper understanding of the court's role by studying how Congress has given authority to the D.C. Circuit. They will publish their findings in an article for the Cornell Journal of Law and Public Policy on Dec. 3, entitled "The Jurisdiction of the D.C. Circuit."

The National Law Journal caught up with one of the authors, Eric Fraser, an associate at Osborn Maledon in Phoenix, to ask him about the research amid the renewed debate over the D.C. Circuit.

Bankruptcy Court Approves Airline Merger

The $11 billion merger between American Airlines and US Airways was cleared for takeoff by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York, which today approved the airlines' antitrust settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, six states and the District of Columbia.

The court also ruled that the merger may be consummated even though a private antitrust lawsuit filed by San Francisco attorneys Joseph Alioto and David Cook is pending, according to a news release by American parent corporation AMR Corp. The case is being overseen by Judge Sean Lane.

Lead bankruptcy counsel Weil Gotshal & Manges today filed a notice with the bankruptcy court that the companies plan to complete the merger by Dec. 9.

The Morning Wrap

NSA Block: Microsoft is working on encrypting its Internet traffic amid fears that the National Security Agency may have broken into its global communications links, The Washington Post reports.

Round Two: The U.S. Supreme Court will take its second major look at the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act, agreeing to review the requirement that most employers provide health insurance coverage for contraception, including so-called "morning after" methods, The National Law Journal reports.

Show Us the Complaint: Lawyers for a Pennsylvania bank want JPMorgan Chase & Co. should turn over a draft complaint used as the lender negotiated a $13 billion deal to settle probes of its mortgage-bond sales and identify an employee who cooperated with the U.S. investigation, Bloomberg reports.

Cigar Industry Fires Up DC Lobbying Effort

More than a dozen small businesses in the cigar industry have come together to stub out proposed tobacco regulations and taxes in Washington, D.C.

The Small Business Cigar Coalition, an informal association of 15 makers of cigars and related products, has enlisted Alston & Bird to lobby for it on tax and U.S. Food and Drug Administration matters concerning cigars, according to lobbying registration paperwork filed with Congress Friday.

The coalition consists of Blunt Wrap U.S.A. Inc., Cheyenne International LLC, Dosal Tobacco Corp., Eastgate Tobacco Co., Good Times USA LLC, National Honey Almond Inc., National Tobacco Co., New Image Global Inc., Ohserase Manufacturing LLC, Show Cigars Inc., Tantus Tobacco LLC, Tobacco Technology Inc., Trendsettah Inc., Tobacco Rag Processors Inc. and Unitabac LLC.

Senate GOP Asks Justices to Find Recess Appointments Invalid

Senate Republicans weighed in Monday on the U.S. Supreme Court showdown over recess appointments, arguing that President Obama overreached his constitutional authority when he placed three members on the National Labor Relations Board.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and 44 of his colleagues in the Senate filed an amicus brief urging the high court to find Obama's actions breached the Constitution's separation of powers by usurping two Senate prerogatives.

The move encroached on the Senate's "Advice and Consent" for presidential appointments, as well as when and how to hold Senate sessions and when to adjourn, the brief states.

Treading Carefully, FTC Delays Ruling in Pipe Fitting Case

Under fire by members of Congress for holding in-house proceedings where the agency always wins, the Federal Trade Commission has delayed issuing a competition-related administrative decision.

The agency's four politically appointed commissioners last week were due to rule on a decision by Chief Administrative Law Judge Michael Chappell, who rejected a case by FTC prosecutors against McWane Inc. for colluding to fix prices in the water works fittings market in May. However, the judge did agree with the agency on other charges that McWane illegally excluded competitors.

The commissioners pushed the deadline for their review of the 464-page decision to late January.

Latham & Watkins Settles Pregnancy Discrimination Lawsuit

Latham & Watkins has reached a settlement with a former legal secretary who accused the firm of pregnancy discrimination.

Demetria Peart, who worked at the firm’s Washington office as a legal secretary from April 2007 to January 2008, said she was fired because the firm didn't want to make accommodations while she was pregnant. The firm denied discriminating against Peart, and argued the case should be dismissed because Peart failed to meet the minimum legal standards to support her claims.

In late October, U.S. District Judge Rosemary Collyer said Peart could move ahead with some of her claims. Yesterday, lawyers for Peart and the firm notified the judge they had reached an agreement and planned to jointly ask the court to dismiss the case.

Corporate Lawyer Lesmes Joins Morrison & Foerster

Only weeks after a prominent corporate lawyer left O'Melveny & Myers for Morrison & Foerster in Washington, another has followed suit.

Scott Lesmes joins Morrison & Foerster as a partner in the firm's corporate finance practice, the firm announced Monday. He follows partner Martin Dunn, who moved to the firm earlier this month.

Lesmes previously was a senior counsel in the capital markets practice of O'Melveny, which he joined in 2009. He also was chief legal officer for Allied Capital Corp. and deputy general counsel for Fannie Mae.

Supreme Court Will Review Contraceptive Coverage in Health Care Law

Setting up another constitutional showdown over the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court announced Tuesday it will hear two cases challenging, on religious grounds, the requirement that most employers provide health insurance coverage for contraception including so-called “morning after” methods.

The court will likely hear arguments in the consolidated cases Sebelius v. Hobby Lobby Stores and Conestoga Wood Specialties v. Sebelius in late March, with a decision by the end of June. They are among dozens of cases filed around the country by employers who say their free exercise of religion is violated by the requirement.

The justices met this morning in their private conference at which they consider pending petitions for possible review. It is not uncommon for the court to announce the cases it has granted right after the conference, rather than waiting for its regular Monday orders list. A quick announcement gives the lawyers more time to prepare.

Hobby Lobby is an Oklahoma-based chain of art and craft supply stores whose founder David Green operates the stores “in a manner consistent with Biblical principles,” according to its mission statement. Mardel Inc., a chain of Christian bookstores is a second party to the case and is also owned by the Green family. Conestoga Wood Specialties is a Mennonite furniture company from Pennsylvania.

In challenging the law, Hobby Lobby invoked the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA,) which says the government “shall not substantially burden a person’s religious exercise” unless the burden can be justified under a “strict scrutiny” standard.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit sided with the employers, finding that RFRA protects corporations as well as individuals, and that the requirement substantially burdens their religious rights.

In the Mennonite case, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit upheld the requirement to provide coverage. The conflict among circuits made high court review likely. More coverage later on the Supreme Court Brief, NLJ’s newsletter on the high court.