Blog Entries - December 2007

Looking Back at the Top Mergers and Acquisitions of 2007

james.crane@altep.com — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

It was a busy year for M&A in 2007. Through the first three quarters of 2007, there were reportedly 637 transactions worth $95B according to the Jordan Edmiston Group. Here were some of the biggest deals:

Nokia acquired Navteq for $8.1B: The world’s largest manufacturer of cell phones purchased Navteq, a leading provider of comprehensive digital map information.

News Corp. Acq [...]

Another Resource to Guide One Through E-Discovery

james.crane@altep.com — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

2007 has been a very interesting year. Since the adoption of the Amended Federal Rules in December of 2006, legal practitioners and litigation support companies have spent unprecedented amounts of time, resources, and energy into understanding and complying with discovery requirements for electronically stored information.

At Altep, we have been assisting our corporate law department partners manage their electronic discovery. Following t [...]

Still Waiting for the XM � Sirius Merger Outcome

james.crane@altep.com — Fri, 21 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

The proposed merger between the two satellite radio companies was expected to be decided by the end of 2007. As 2008 approaches, there is no sign of a last minute action, so the wait will continue. To catch you up on the timeline, Sirius and XM filed their Consolidated Application for Authority to
Transfer Control with the Federal Communications Commission on March 20 th. On September 4, 2007, Sirius and XM certified to the DOJ that they were in substa [...]

Law School Rankings ~ Do They Matter? Only if Your School is Near the Top

james.crane@altep.com — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

For those of you who missed it, the Princeton Review released their Law School Rankings earlier this year. To see the full list, go to the Princeton Review web site here: http://www.princetonreview.com/law/research/rankings/rankings.asp

For a quick look at the Top 50 without any purchase requirements, you can check out University of Cincinnati tax law Professor Paul Carron’s website tax law professor at:

Attorneys responsible for defending corporations know that it is a good idea to understand the business of the client. Now that the Federal Rules have been amended to explicitly direct parties to account for all electronically stored information, it is imperative that corporate counsel possess a thorough understanding of the organization’s electronic information infrastructure. Attorneys can no longer sit on the sideline and wait for IT personnel to deliver the data - [...]

The � Safe Harbor� in the Amended Federal Rules May Be Applicable to Deposition Statements

james.crane@altep.com — Thu, 06 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

In case you missed it, this past summer, the District Court of South Dakota presided over a breach of contract claim between a plaintiff franchisee versus a defendant franchisor regarding the misappropriation of an advertising idea. During his deposition, plaintiff’s president revealed the legal opinion of a patent attorney retained by plaintiff inadvertently, but without objection.

Defendant franchisor then sought the related and o [...]

Your Latin Lesson and Litigator's Horoscope to Live By

james.crane@altep.com — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 02:00:00 +0100

As I noted last month, it is up to the legal profession to keep Latin alive. For that reason, I will provide three useful, amusing, curious or thought-provoking Latin phrases every month to keep us fresh. ADDED BONUS: The always insightful Litigator's Horoscope to Live By. Do enjoy ~

I: En ventre sa mere - In its mother’s womb.

II: Magna componere parvis - To compare great things with small th [...]