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| Chaldeans Can Help Pass Senate Bill S. 223 — Cast Light Onto Darkness |
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 The U.S. Senate is considering a bill -- S. 223 -- that would require senators to disclose their campaign contributions electronically, just like the House and presidential candidates have been doing for years. The Center for Responsive Politics, Sunlight Foundation and other transparency advocates have been pushing hard to get this bill passed this session, and they now have more than 40 co-sponsors of the bill.
The Chaldean Caucus needs your help to get it passed into law. Chaldean readers need to make two quick phone calls to your senators. Our pro-transparency coalition has set up http://Pass223.com so you can easily make the calls and report back what you hear.
Go to http://Pass223.com to urge the Senate to pass this bill without any amendments. The site leads you through simple steps on how to do it, and it even includes a suggested script. Then you can report back and let everyone know how the call went.
Here's some more information on the bill:
The Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act -- S. 223 -- is straightforward, 'no-brainer' legislation that must be passed. Senate campaigns, unlike House or presidential campaigns, file reports on paper. S. 223 would require senators to file their campaign finance reports electronically to the Federal Election Commission.
Currently, senators file their reports with the Secretary of the Senate, who then prints them out and delivers the reports in paper to the FEC. The FEC then must input them into their computer databases to be accessed by the public online. This process takes months, and it costs taxpayers about half a million dollars every election.
It also means that well-heeled donors can bundle contributions in the final, critical weeks of a campaign providing the funds necessary for last-minute negative attack ads or push polls with absolute anonymity.
It would mean a lot to the Chaldean community if you could make a couple quick calls to your Senator. The bill is supported by Chaldean Caucus and has a total of 45 co-sponsors. Let's increase that number.
Of the two Senators in Michigan, Sen. Levin is in full support while Democratic Sen. Stabenow continues to hide information. Michigan citizens can call her DC Office at (202) 224-4822 or her Michigan office at (313) 961-4330 and simply state:
“I am calling to ask Senator Stabenow to support S. 223, the Senate Campaign Disclosure Parity Act. This straightforward bill will ensure that senators file their campaign finance disclosure reports electronically, just like House members and Presidential candidates.
Will Senator Stabenow cosponsor or vote in favor of S. 223, and if not, why not?"
Then visit http://pass223.com/call/89/#calls and report their response.
Tell your friends, too. Pass it on. Pass S. 223.
Thank you for all that your help in trying to make our government more honest, efficient, transparent, and accountable.
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Filed in Government & Society, Chaldean Caucus :: ::  By Chaldean Caucus on Friday, August 08, 2008 :: 1256 Views
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How Junior Lawyers Can Deal With a Difficult Boss
The legal profession often imposes stress, especially on junior lawyers. Many aspects of the work, such as deadlines, changing client needs and unreasonable adversaries, can contribute to that stress. But what if your boss, instead of helping you, makes your life more difficult? Jones Day partner Steven C. Bennett informs us of the essential steps for coping with a difficult boss. For instance, learn to "gripe for the good" and you can help change your boss's misbehavior.
Will Billing Rate Freezes Become a Trend?
Levenfeld Pearlstein, a 75-lawyer Chicago firm that targets middle-market clients, won't raise its billing rates for services next year after learning that 2009 corporate legal budgets will be under pressure. And Pepe & Hazard, a Connecticut-based firm with about 60 lawyers, has announced a rate freeze for existing clients as a way of shouldering some of the burden that the current economic environment has put on clients.
Law Firms Consider Overhaul of Associate Bonus Structures
A shift may be coming in the way associate bonuses are structured, as firms use the economic downturn as a reason to overhaul associate compensation packages. Leaders at several firms say that while bonus structures aren't changing this year, models for next year may be more closely examined. Meanwhile, in the short term some firms are predicting reductions. K&L Gates managing partner Peter Kalis said he wouldn't be surprised if, across the country, bonuses were "more subdued" than they have been.
Getting Young People Into the Law School Pipeline
"Discover all the places the world DOES need another lawyer," teases a Web site aimed at college students who may have never considered law as a profession. It's one of the ambitious projects undertaken by the University of Connecticut School of Law's Ellen K. Rutt for the Law School Admissions Council. Rutt notes that LSAC's "pipeline initiatives" to expand access to legal education "are meant to be driven by what interaction gets [young people] going, not what we as stodgy law school types think will work."
Reed Smith Lays Off 115 Staff in U.S.
Reed Smith announced significant staff cuts Wednesday, letting go 115 staff positions in several departments across its U.S. offices. The firm also said 11 associates may be let go in its U.K. offices along with seven staff members after the firm does a "redundancy consultation exercise" in the country.
Networking Success for the Single Attorney
Previously, the American Dream meant getting married and having kids and a suburban life, but now many people are savoring their unmarried lifestyles. For single attorneys, being unattached doesn't have to negatively impact networking. They can leverage the freedom of being single to creatively develop their business networks. With the benefits of being single, though, come some drawbacks, such as having to deal more with drawing the line between professional and personal contacts.
Brown Rudnick Cuts 10 Percent of Work Force
Brown Rudnick has become the latest firm to make job cuts in the wake of the credit crisis, with the announcement that it is to lay off almost 10 percent of its global work force. The losses affect 20 lawyers, three paralegals and 20 support staff across the firm's Boston, Hartford, New York and Providence offices, and three associates and one member of the firm's support staff in London. The cuts are intended to help the firm "be successful in this more challenging economic environment," said CEO Joseph Ryan.
Boutique Firms Well-Positioned in Current Economy
While some boutique firms have suffered serious blows from the economy, many are seeing distinct advantages over larger competitors when it comes to weathering the storm, say boutique leaders and law firm observers. Boutiques generally have much lower overhead costs, little to no major debt, and more flexibility when it comes to costs and billing rates. One boutique chairman likens the difference between big firms and boutiques to the difference between driving a Lincoln Town Car and a Ferrari.
Fired Public Defender's Case Goes to Calif. Supreme Court
This week the California Supreme Court heard arguments in a case involving a former public defender who was fired after invoking his right to remain silent in response to an internal investigation. "You've got a landmark decision in the works," says Thomas Spielbauer, now a solo attorney with a mostly civil practice, about the case which has gained widespread interest. A lower court had partly vindicated Spielbauer by ruling that the PD's office violated his Fifth Amendment rights.
Bleak Outlook for Bonuses at Some N.Y. Firms
Early indications point to a bleak outlook for bonuses this year. Three New York firms -- Cravath, Swaine & Moore; Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom; and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett -- have confirmed that bonuses for 2008 will be down. Skadden announced it will pay the same base bonus as last year, but has done away with supplemental special bonuses. Meanwhile, at Cravath and Simpson, 2008 bonuses will be about half of what was paid last year.
Calif. Firm Trims About Half Dozen Attorneys, 15 Staff Members
Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, a California law firm with a sizable corporate and securities practice, has cut five to seven attorneys and up to 15 staff members in recent weeks, according to sources familiar with the situation. Several sources say that the firm recently conducted two rounds of job cuts. Most of those affected were let go in November.
Advice for the Lawlorn
In the list of job-hunting-tips [from your last column], I think number 20, advising applicants to use fake names and misrepresent themselves as recruiters, would constitute an ethical violation in the states where I've worked as an attorney.
Renewable Energy Fuels Finance Boom
Firms that have built expertise financing renewable-energy projects for equity investors are enjoying solid business, despite the credit crisis. They are completing a stream of deals to build power lines in Asia, trade "carbon credits" in Europe and nurture an array of new technologies expected to find markets in a world where power comes increasingly from wind and sun.
Pay Proves GCs Are Part of Elite Club
A review of the compensation of Southeastern chief legal officers who are listed among the top five highest-paid executives in their public companies' most recent Securities and Exchange Commission filings reveals an average total package in the neighborhood of a million dollars -- about $965,000. Their average base salaries were just a bit over $300,000, with bonuses and stock awards adding most of the value. And the top 62 had packages valued at more than $1 million. The highest exceeded $7 million.
Award to Halliburton Worker Upheld
A federal judge has refused to overturn an arbitrator's award in favor of a former Halliburton worker who claimed he was fired from a job in Iraq because of a sexual harassment complaint that the company never investigated. In Edward Harris v. Kellogg Brown & Root Technical Services Inc., U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Savage found that the Halliburton Dispute Resolution Plan gives broad powers to the arbitrator to interpret the company's rules and to determine the scope of the arbitrator's powers.
Bayer to Pay $97.5 Million to Settle Kickback Probe
German medical conglomerate Bayer will pay $97.5 million to settle U.S. government allegations that it paid kickbacks to medical suppliers to boost sales of its diabetes products. The Justice Department said on Nov. 25 that the settlement resolves an investigation into whether Bayer bribed 11 diabetic suppliers into switching patients to its products from competitors' offerings.
Federal Judge Penalizes Broker Over 'Egregious' Conduct
null: In re Ballard
Federal law did not preclude auto manufacturer from filing unsecured deficiency claim based on state law where Chapter 13 consumer debtor proposed to surrender "910 vehicle" whose value was less than balance remaining on auto loan (applying "hanging paragraph" to cases involving surrender of 910 vehicle).
null: Siepel v. Bank of America, N.A.
Securities Litigation Uniform Standards Act preempted state-law claims that trustee breached fiduciary duty by failing to disclose conflicts of interest in selection of nationally-traded investment securities.
Expanding the Scope of the Consumer Fraud Act in Real Estate Transactions
In Matera v. M.G.C.C. Group, Inc ., the Law Division has recently held that a cause of action can be alleged under the Consumer Fraud Act absent any contact between the parties, as long as there is a causal nexus between the alleged violation of the CFA and the alleged ascertainable loss. This holding marks a dramatic expansion of the CFA, threatening a new unforeseen and unwarranted breed of liability for real estate developers, lending institutions, and any entity which falls under the ambit of the CFA.
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