Eric L. Foster, a partner in the firm's New York City office, appeared on Bloomberg TV on Monday, November 10, 2008 to discuss the economic crisis on Wall Street.
Mr. Foster, former counsel in the legal group with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, told Bloomberg that Congress wanted the Fed to be the lender of last resort.
"When everyone else falls down, the fed needs to remain standing. We had a banking crisis in the early 20th-century. The fed did what they were supposed to do. I think they are fed up. You are going to see a lot of changes in Congress and calls for more transparency. Some heads will roll at the end of this," Mr Foster said.
Vincent E. Frillici, a senior policy advisor in the firm's Washington office, was quoted in the Flint Journal on Saturday, November 15, 2008 in a feature story about his rise to prominence in the nation's Capitol. The newspaper noted that Mr. Frillici is not an elected official, but he still likes to solve people's problems as a lobbyist. Mr. Frillici, a native of Flint Township, "has been on the biggest stage in politics, serving as national finance director of one presidential campaign and working on others," the newspaper noted.
"I've just always been the guy trying to help people solve problems," Mr. Frillici told the paper. "I like being a problem-solver. I like putting people together to solve problems."
To read more, click here: http://www.mlive.com/flintjournal/index.ssf/2008/11/flint_twp_native_finds_success.html
PR guru John Hellerman cited the firm's magazine Capital Thinking magazine as public relations tip to help firms during challegning economic times in BisNow on Tuesday, November 18, 2008.
Click here to access Bisnow's full article.
Scott Weber, a partner in the firm's New Jersey office, recent op-eds appeared in Security Debrief, a must-read blog featuring top officials and experts about homeland security risks, on Wednesday, November 19, 2008. Mr. Weber has been asked to become a regular contributor on the blog, which is routinely picked up by other national security blogs and news reporters.
To read Mr. Weber's op-ed about how corporations should remain vigilant as the Obama team transitions into the White House
Click here to access the full article.
To read Mr. Weber's latest op-ed, click here.
Stuart M. Pape, the managing partner of the firm, was quoted by CQ Politics on November 6, 2008 about what the historic election of Sen. Barack Obama as president of the United States means for lobbyists. Pape said President-elect Obama could consider creating new disclosure requirements for lobbyists seeking an audience with executive branch officials. Under current law, firms and individuals who lobby political appointees are required to register with the House and Senate. But lobbyists seeking to influence career civil servants are not, CQ reported. "You’ll see by executive order maybe a requirement for disclosure of lobbying of executive branch officials that will in a rough way parallel what goes on now with congressional officials," said Pape during a web briefing sponsored by Patton Boggs and Qorvis Communications the day after the election. “It’s the easiest thing for an administration to do that has obviously taken a negative tack toward lobbying and public policy.”
Click here to access the full article.
Market Watch featured Richard Andersen, a new hire in the firm's New York office on November 6, 2008. Andersen brings to the table more than two decades of experience in both domestic and international transactional tax matters. He has counseled U.S. and international clients on a number of general corporate, partnership, financial products and international tax matters. Click here to access the full article.
Darryl Nirenberg, deputy chair of the firm's public policy department, was quoted in CQPolitics on November 5, 2008 in a story about the prospects for the lobbying industry in President-elect Obama's administration. Nirenberg noted that it will be a busy season in Washington when the newly-elected Congress convenes come January. “It’s clear members of Congress have a lot on their plate and will move very quickly,” Nirenberg said. He predicted that lobbying over the next several months “is going to be very labor intensive.”
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Nicholas W. Allard, chairman of the firm's public policy practice, was quoted in The Hill on November 5, 2008 in a story about how lobbyists will fare under President-elect Obama. Allard said that Obama’s insistence on keeping his administration lobbyist-free could do more harm than good by forcing him to rely on a staff inexperienced with Washington. “You don’t want only virgins and academics in your administration,” Allard said in a recent interview. Now more than ever, Allard told The Hill, people with expertise and experience — especially in banking and financial services — are needed.
Click here to access the full article.
Darryl Nirenberg, deputy chair in Patton Boggs public policy department, was quoted in The Deal on November 5, 2008 discussing the impact of the election of President-elect Barack Obama on the GOP. The loss of seats to Democrats could mean the ouster of House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, or GOP Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo, The Deal reported. Possible replacement candidates include Reps. Paul Ryan, 38, R-Wisc. and Eric Cantor, 45, R-Va., both lawmakers that led a high-profile ultimately unsuccessful effort to topple Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson's $700 billion government purchase plan. Nirenberg, speaking during a webinar sponsored by the firm and Qorvis Communications, said Cantor and Ryan may see the losses in their party as an opportunity to step up. Click here to access the full article.
The firm's efforts to ensure that the 2008 presidential election included as many voters as possible was featured in the BLT, the must-read blog of the Legal Times on November 4, 2008. Up to 30 lawyers at the firm's Washington fielded nationwide voter inquiries today on everything from registration problems. The firm was one of 40 private law firms around the country offering pro bono legal advice on a hotline administered by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights, Legal Times reported. A "swat team" of staff set up the call center within 24 hours after a last-minute request from the Lawyers’ Committee on Thursday afternoon. “Late in the game, they said, look, we’ve got more need than we have capacity," says public policy and lobbying partner, Rodney Slater, former secretary of the Transportation Department. "Can you do this … and can you do it by yesterday?”
Second year associate, Caitlin McCormick told the newspaper, "I think after the last couple of elections people seem to be much more passionate about voting,” she says. “They’re much more willing than they might have been in previous years to say, ‘I’m sticking it out because my vote needs to count.’”
Click here to access the full article.
Norman Antin and Kevin Houlihan, both partners in the firm's Washington office, were quoted in the Wall Street Journal on November 3, 2008 in a story about a spurt in publicly held institutions applying for government investments in coming weeks out of concern that failing to do so, could make them losers in a banking sector reshaped by the Treasury's $700 billion rescue plan. Antin said he is in constant contact with bank regulators and lawmakers on Capitol Hill.
Houlihan said the firm's banking and regulatory group now spends half its time on the rescue effort. Last week, after Treasury re-emphasized that only healthy banks would qualify for the program, five bankers contacted him in a day. He encouraged them all to apply.
"It's cheap capital, cheap insurance and a bonus for the institutions that are participating," he said.
Micah Green, a partner in the firm's Washington office appeared on the PBS Nightly Business Report on October 31, 2008 to discuss the financial crisis on Wall Street. Correspondent Darren Gersh asked Mr. Green about the Treasury Department's so-called TARP plan rules for smaller, privately held banks, and how that would be impacted by the presidential election. Green said the next president would want to make his mark on this massive program.
"You'll see much more focus on mortgage foreclosure issues. You might see an accelerated review of what additional companies and assets should be included. You'll see more accountability. But I'm not sure you'll see major seismic shifts into the decisions that have already been made," Green said.
Click here to access the interview.
Nicholas W. Allard, co-chair of the firm's public policy practice, appeared on the PBS Nightly Business Report on October 30, 2008 to discuss the impact of the presidential election on Congress and the financial rescue efforts. Correspondent Darren Gersh asked: If the polls are right and Senator Barack Obama wins on Tuesday, the only place Republicans can effectively fight tax increases or other government mandates on business will be in the Senate, provided there are still enough Republicans seats./././Of course, if Senator John McCain pulls out a win, the White House will check Democratic ambitions. And, in any case, the most likely scenario now is for Democrats to finish Election Day with 56 to 58 Senate seats. But even if Democrats get to 60, they won't act in lockstep on taxes, health care or anything else, says former Senate Democratic staffer Nick Allard.
"There are conservative Democrats and extremely liberal Democrats," Allard said. "And almost on any major issue, the Democrats are going to have to reach across the aisle to the Republicans to get to 60."
Click here to access the interview.
Benjamin Ginsberg, co-chair of the firm's public policy practice, appeared on Newshour with Jim Lehrer and Gwen Ifill on October 29, 2008 to discuss voting problems in the 2008 presidential election. Ginsberg was national counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2004. He was also on standby to join a post-election McCain recount team if needed. He suggested that more needed to be done to ensure that every vote counts. "It's a system that's built on a couple of things. Number one, it is a human system. We have, basically, volunteers, very well-intentioned people who work the polls every day, every Election Day, and that creates the natural problems that come from human error," Ginsberg said.
Click here to access the interview.
Stuart Pape, the firm's managing partner, and Vincent Frillici, a senior public policy advisor at the firm, were quoted in a November 3, 2008 National Law Journal story about how law firms are hiring lawmakers and top congressional staffers without law degrees in anticipation of overhauls in how the nation pays for multibillion-dollar infrastructure projects and regulates financial services. "You don't have to have a law degree to be smart and capable,'' Pape told the legal journal. "This may be a Washington phenomena because here we have a lot of clients with problems that are adjacent to the law. It is becoming increasingly common with firms that have public policy practices and do a lot of regulatory work to hire people who know their way around the bureaucracy.''
Frillici, who recently joined the firm, began his career working on the finance side of the 1996 Clinton presidential campaign and has worked in campaign fundraising and business development ever since.
"I see myself as a translator of the very complex language of policy and legislative prescriptions into understandable terms," Frillici told the legal journal. "Being the one on the [conference] call who asks for something to be explained is mostly for me, but if I don't understand it, the lawmaker who has to explain that back home will have a hard time understanding it. Law firms that don't have people who bring a political viewpoint into the conversation, their clients miss something.''
Click here to access the full story.
OCTOBER 2008
Benjamin L. Ginsberg, co-chairman of the firm's public policy practice, was quoted in an ABC News article on October 28, 2008, about the legal "war rooms" that are cropping up protect or challenge issues like voter registration cards, data bases, voting machines, and early and absentee ballots in preparation for election day.
"Since Bush v. Gore, there's a greater awareness of what can happen on the legal side of the equation," said Ginsberg who helped mastermind the recount efforts for President Bush in 2000. "It was a singularly historic event in the lives of lawyers and no one wants to miss it if the Fickle Finger of Fate actually strikes again in our lifetimes."
Click here to read the full story.
Todd Harrison, a partner in the firm's New York office, was quoted by USA Today on October 28, 2008, in an article about Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska, who was convicted of concealing more than $250,000 in gifts on his Senate financial disclosure forms. The trial included several missteps by prosecutors who mishandled witnesses and evidence, drawing repeated rebukes from U.S. District Judge Emmet Sullivan, according to the newspaper. Harrison said those missteps will likely be the basis of Stevens' appeal. "He doesn't have many strong issues for appeal," Harrison said. "All of those issues … were hashed out during the course of the trial, and Judge Sullivan was really tough on the prosecution."
Click here to read the full story.
Kathleen Lester, a partner in the firm's Washington office, was featured in Work Force Management on October 21, 2008, in an article about how healthcare reform is expected to become a top priority for the next Congress. One legislative proposal gaining traction in the Senate would be to require companies to disclose the amount of money they spend annually on health insurance on their employees’ W-2 tax forms. The thrust of the bill would be to educate workers about how much money their employers spend on health care. Lester told the publication that few of her clients have reacted to the bill, but the sponsors have the right motivation.
"It’s important for consumers to know what things cost and how it drives treatment options and quality [of care]," Lester said.
Click here to read the full story.
Micah Green, a partner in the firm's Washington office, was quoted by the Congressional Quarterly's Today publication on October 22, 2008 in a story that examined revenues generated by lobbying firms during the 3rd quarter. Patton Boggs once again emerged as the top revenue generator. Lobbyists told the publication that the economic downturn is likely to hurt their bottom line in the coming months. But they expect the blow to be cushioned by the fact that now, as the government prepares to overhaul financial and economic policy, they are more indispensable than ever to the business community. "It’s very safe to say what the last few months, particularly the last many weeks, has shown us is that the distance between the public policy environment of Washington and the financial marketplace has shortened considerably ... The linkage between the two is as important as I can ever remember it being," Green told the publication.
Green, the former president of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, added that clients have been compelled in recent weeks to reach out to get a better sense of the negotiations already going on inside government and to make sure Congress and the White House understand the impacts their policy proposals might have.
Click here to read the full article.
Jim Christian, a partner in the firm's Washington office, was quoted by the Hill on October 22, 2008 in a story that looked at 3rd quarter lobby revenues. The newspaper reported that a number of firms saw a decline in numbers due to the presidential election, the annual August recess and the all-consuming financial crisis on Wall Street that left little time for lawmakers to tackle other issues. Patton Boggs was the top earner on K Street in the third quarter, according to disclosure forms. "Everyone is holding their breath for the election," Christian said. "We have seen this before in election years, especially in presidential election years."
Click here to read the full article.
DeMaruice Smith and Todd Harrison, both partners at the firm, provided their legal expertise in an article published in the Financial Times on October 20, 2008 about the litigation fall-out from a financial crisis. A flood of investor lawsuits has poured into courtrooms following the collapse of Lehman Brothers, the pending sale of Merrill Lynch to Bank of America, the government takeover of AIG and the failure of Washingotn Mutual, according to the newspaper. "They believe they have a mission and the mission is to find out who is at fault and who is to blame and hold them responsible," said Smith, a former federal prosectuor.
Harrison, also a former prosecutor, told the paper that the cases might be tough to prove. "It could be a year or more to get documents and go through them, speak to potentially hundreds of witnesses and then bring charges . . . you have to prove people knew they were saying false statements. That will be hard to prove," he said.
Click here to read the full article.http://markets.ft.com/tearsheets/performance.asp?s=us:AIG
Todd Harrison, a partner in the firm's New York office, was quoted by Bloomberg on Friday, October 17, 2008, concerning the federal investigation into the demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Investigators are reportedly examining Lehman's role in the $330 billion auction rate securities market and possible crimes stemming from its $6 billion June stock issue, according to the news service. The demise of Lehman, which sought bankruptcy protection on Sept. 15th, accelerated a global credit crisis that has wiped out $30 trillion of equity value in the past year, the news service reported. "There's been an outcry from people in the streets, and that puts pressure on prosecutors to do something," Harrison told Bloomberg. "They're going to be looking at all aspects of the credit crisis, including the rating agencies and the mortgage lenders who packaged and sold securities.'' To read more, click here.
DeMaurice Smith and Micah Green, both partners in the firm's Washington office, were quoted in the October 8, 2008 edition of AmLaw Daily about the congressional financial rescue plan of Wall Street. The $700-billion plan has created new legal liability for corporate officers, directors, managers, and advisers involved in the mortgage-backed securities and collateralized debt obligations markets, according to Smith, head of the firm's government investigations and white-collar practice group. Green, the former president of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, said all eyes will be on Congress to ensure that a financial debacle of this magnitude does not happen again. "Congress gave a pint, if not a quart, of blood in the current bailout plan," Green said. "When they come back to work to make sure it never happens again, they're going to be out for more than a pound of flesh."
Smith and Green were speaking at a forum in New York sponsored by the firm and the Directors Roundtable entitled: "Wipeout, Bailout, Workout: the Regulatory, Business and Enforcement landscape."
To read the entire article click here.
Jeffrey Haas, a partner in the firm's Washington office was quoted in The National Law Journal on October 6, 2008, concerning the firm’s renewed focus on its troubled financial institutions practice. Mr. Haas discussed the firm’s diverse practice areas which have evolved and grown to meet the challenges stemming from the financial crisis. “A lot of companies face credit quality, liquidity or enforcement issues, and there are issues relating to insurance coverage, litigation, transactions, bankruptcy – it’s a long list,” he said. Mr. Haas counsels clients on bank regulatory issues, corporate and securities matters, and corporate governance issues. Click here to access the full story.
Charles Miller, Patton Boggs' deputy managing partner, was quoted in the Legal Times blog "BLT" on Friday, October 3, 2005 about the firm's new rapid fire financial task force. The task force was set up to help clients navigate the $700 billion rescue plan that just cleared Congress. The task force includes senior members of the firm’s public policy, litigation, and business departments and has brought together 30 attorneys from across the firm’s nine offices. "This kind of thing is not new to us. What we talk about internally is how to serve clients at the intersection of business and government. I can’t think of a bigger intersection of the two that has occurred in my lifetime than this bailout," Miller told Legal Times.
Click here to read the article.
Former Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and Stephanie Peters, both partners in at Patton Boggs, were quoted in "BLT," the must-read blog in Legal Times on October 2, 2008, discussing the firm's pro bono work with the Duke Ellington Jazz Festival. The festival has grown over the past four years, to attract more than 40,000 people to hear 100 performances across the city. To see photos and read the inside story of how Patton Boggs got involved in the festival, click here.
SEPTEMBER 2008
Robert Bearman, managing partner of the firm's Denver office, was quoted in a Denver Post story on September 27, 2008 about the public's growing frustration over executive compensation on Wall Street amdist the biggest financial debacle since the Great Depression. The public ire over the bank bailout and intense focus in Washington on executive compensation during the past few weeks will likely spur broader debate on the issue and put pressure on corporate boards across all industries, the article stated.
"With this push, compensation committees are going to feel the heat a lot more. This will energize the debate, and it will be a continuing debate," said Bearman, who specializes in corporate governance. "They will see that if they don't take actions by themselves, they're looking at increased federal legislation. Shareholders also will become more vocal."
Washington partner Jonathan Rubin was quoted in a September 25, 2008 Law 360 article regarding his testimony in front of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business. Rubin, testifying on behalf of the American Antitrust Institute, stated that the Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission need to adopt a more aggressive approach to exclusionary conduct in order to preserve competition and consumer choice. Click here to read the full article.
Micah Green, a partner in the firm's Washington office appeared on PBS' Nightly Business Report on September 19, 2008 and on Fox Network on September 20, 2008 to discuss the financial fall out from the collapse of some of Wall Street's largest investment banks and the $700 billion bailout of the financial services industry. To watch Mr. Green on PBS click here.
To watch Mr. Green on Fox click here.
Jason Rockwell, an associate in the Newark office, was quoted in a September 23, 2008 Star Ledger article about a pro bono victory on behalf of his client, Elena Mazza, in the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Patton Boggs appealed an earlier ruling by the U.S. District Court of New Jersey mandating the return of the client's 8-year old daughter to Argentina, where her father lived, for custody proceedings. The Court of Appeals reversed the earlier decision from the bench and decided "as a matter of law" the case should be dismissed. Click here to read the full article.
Talcott Franklin, a partner in the firm's Dallas office, was prominently featured in The Banker's September magazine discussing the growing number of lawsuits surrounding the U.S. credit crisis. To read the on-line version, click here.
Jonathan Rubin, a partner in the Washington office, was quoted in a September 8, 2008 Daily Record article about an antitrust lawsuit filed by Patton Boggs clients, the National Credit Reporting Association (NCRA) and Lenders’ Credit Services, against Equifax Inc. The suit alleges that the Atlanta-based Equifax is illegally trying to squeeze out smaller competitors by purchasing a crucial pipeline that provided the sole access point to Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system for 66 members. Rubin, the plaintiffs’ attorney in the case, stated that Equifax’s purchase was unfairly squeezing out competitors by restricting access to Freddie Mac. Click here to read the full article.
Law 360 quoted Patton Boggs partner Jonathan Rubin in a September 8, 2008 article discussing the antitrust lawsuit filed by Rubin’s clients, the National Credit Reporting Association (NCRA) and Lenders’ Credit Services, against credit bureau Equifax. In the article, Rubin discusses the dangers of Equifax’s purchase of a major pipeline that blocks access to Freddie Mac’s automated underwriting system for more than 60 of NCRA’s members. Rubin notes that Equifax’s purchase restricts competition to the point where many of its competitors will be forced out of business. Click here to read the full article.
Washington partner Jonathan Rubin was quoted in a Daily Record story about the ongoing suit between his clients, the National Credit Reporting Association and Lenders’ Credit Services, and defendant, Equifax Inc. The plaintiffs sought a temporary restraining order against Equifax to suspend the company’s new rules requiring mortgage credit reporting agencies who want to use Freddie Mac’s loan processor system to obtain end-user agreements with the ultimate lender. Rubin argued on behalf of the plaintiffs that the new rule was at attempt at an illegal monopoly. Click here to read the full article.
Mike Dino, a partner in the Denver office, was interviewed in the September 11, 2008 edition of the Rocky Mountain News about his role as the chief executive officer of the Denver 2008 Committee that hosted the recent Democratic National Committee convention. Click here to access the full article.
Micah Green, a partner in the Washington office, was quoted in a Bloomberg story on September 16, 2008 about donations to the presidential campaigns from Wall Street. Candidates Barack Obama and John McCain received more money from employees of securities and investment companies than from any other donors. Given the financial debacle on Wall Street, both are now calling for regulations the industry has resisted. Green said employees give to campaigns because they support the candidates' policies, not to gain influence. Click here to access the full article.
AUGUST 2008 An article in the Denver Post on August 29, 2008 featured the fine pro bono work of Robert Kapla, Matthew Oresman, Michael Driver, and Tim Glassco. The Patton Boggs team worked on behalf of the Denver-based foundation to convince Congress to require impact evaluations for all foreign aid sent to combat HIV-AIDS. As a result, federal agencies must now show that the money actually impacts the lives of the people who have the deadly disease.
Click here to read more.
Patton Boggs Partner Nick Allard was quoted in the August 27, 2008 edition of the London Telegraph defending the profession of lobbying. Lobbying, Mr. Allard said, is an honorable profession. "If you consider that the serpent in the garden of Eden as the first lobbyist then it's truly the oldest profession," Mr Allard said. "All the serpent did was persuade Eve that knowledge was a good thing. For that, he and his progeny were forced to spend the rest of eternity crawling around the earth being reviled." To read more,