The Legal Intelligencer Blog

White & Williams Acts Quickly to Fight Off Suspected Internet Hoax

Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

When White & Williams found out last week that an offshore company had apparently copied some of the firm’s Web pages and changed phone numbers to allegedly further a scam in which it told people they won a prize, the firm quickly called the FBI.

A note on the firm’s home page warns visitors of the suspected hoax.

“If you have been contacted by someone claiming to be Mark Sheffield or have been told to call the phone number 212-461-1859, please understand that this person is in no way related to the law firm of White and Williams LLP,” the statement said. “Do not send any money to this person or provide any personal information to him. Also, the website www.white-n-williams.com is not a website created or supported by, or in anyway affiliated with, the law firm of White and Williams LLP.”

White & Williams managing partner George Hartnett said fortunately it appears that no one was affected by the scam. He said the firm got a call from one person who heard from the company and didn’t think it sounded right, so they called the firm. He only knew of one or two people who received a call and said he thought the victims were random and not clients of the firm.

White & Williams contacted GoDaddy.com, the host of the fake site www.white-n-williams.com, and it was immediately taken down, Hartnett said.

The FBI took the information and said they hadn’t heard of the particular scam before, he said, adding that he was told this type of incident happens frequently. He said he hasn’t heard anything additional since the firm reported the incident last Friday.

8th Ward Backs DCC Judicial Slate But Shuns Hopefuls Without Bar Group 'Recommended' Rating

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

The Center City-based Eighth Ward voted last night to only back candidates endorsed by the Democratic City Committee who also have received a "recommended" rating by the Philadelphia Bar Association's ratings arm, Gregory Harvey of Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhoads and co-chairman of the 8th Ward reported.

While all the city's ward leaders have agreed to Democratic City Committee Chairman Bob Brady's call to coalesce around the same slate, the 8th Ward, at Harvey's recommendation, did not want to back candidates who also don't have the bar association judicial commission's "recommended" rating, Harvey said.

Brady appears willing to tolerate the decision of a ward, which finds the bar association's recommendations important, to only back the members of the DCC slate who are "recommended,” Harvey said. But ward committee officials did not want to endorse candidates without the City Committee's backing, since Brady has pushed for a unified citywide ticket without other names to the 8th Ward's recommend slate would not have been consistent with Brady's push to cut down on side deals between ward leaders and judicial candidates that undermine the effectiveness of the DCC's backing of a slate of candidate, Harvey said.

The candidates who have the DCC's backing and a "recommended" rating are: Philadelphia Common Pleas Judges Dan Anders, Angeles Roca and Joyce Eubanks, as well as attorneys Robert Coleman and Donna Woelpper for Common Pleas Court, and Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Pat Dugan as well as attorneys Joseph C. Waters Jr. and Charles Hayden for Municipal Court.

The candidates who have the DCC's backing but lack the  "recommended” rating are attorneys Sharon Williams-Losier and Roxanne Covington for Common Pleas Court.

A rating has not yet been issued for Philadelphia Municipal Court Judge Tom Nocella. 

The 8th Ward also endorsed Seth Williams for district attorney, Harvey said.

Bar Association's Law Week Events See Volunteer Increase

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

Organizers of the Philadelphia Bar Association's Law Week events are reporting a surge of participation by volunteer lawyers in activities that provide free legal advice to the public and teach children about the importance of the law.

There are 200 volunteers for events this year, an increase from last year's volunteer base of 120, according to Albertine "Abbie" Y. DuFrayne, of Petrelli Law and chairwoman-elect of the Young Lawyers Division. The YLD organizes the Law Week activities.

DuFrayne attributes the increase in volunteers to attorneys being motivated to become involved because of the country's recession. Some volunteers were concerned about the increased need of people who need legal assistance and can't afford to pay for lawyers, she said. Other volunteers felt the need to show a commitment to the city's community in a time when law firms are downsizing, she said.

"Through the increase in volunteers, we were able to expand our Legal Advice Live and Goldie Locks programs to help even more citizens and teach additional Philadelphia students the importance of the law," DuFrayne said.

Lawyers gave free advice at seven library branch locations throughout the city during the Legal Advice Live program.

During the Goldie Locks program, which will be held Friday, lawyers will put on mock trials based on well-known fairy tales in City Hall courtrooms for an audience of schoolchildren. U.S. Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell, of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, will address the students during the Goldilocks program Friday.

Lawyers also visited 15 classrooms for the Lawyer in the Classroom program, which is double the number of classrooms from two years ago, DuFrayne said.

Much Ado About Nothing? Recent Coverage of Lawyers’ Conflicts in the Broadcom and Stanford Cases

Recent high-profile cases have focused attention on conflicts issues for lawyers representing corporations.  Of particular interest, on April 1, Judge Cormac Carney of the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California suppressed portions of the government’s criminal option-backdating case against Broadcom’s former CFO William Ruehle and referred lawyers from Irell & Manella to the California bar, ruling that they violated duties of loyalty and confidentiality owed to confidentiality.  Irell represented Broadcom in an internal investigation of stock option granting, as well as the defense of the company and several individual directors and officers in related derivative and shareholder suits.  At Broadcom’s direction, Irell subsequently disclosed the substance of its conversations with Ruehle to both Broadcom’s auditors and the SEC.  Irell claimed that it had the right to do so because its lawyers gave Ruehle an Upjohn warning, cautioning him that they represented Broadcom and that the company therefore controlled the information they received from him. 

Carney held that the Upjohn warning did not give Irell the right to disclose Ruehle’s statements.  He expressed doubt that such a warning was given, but then went on to say the following, which has captured most people’s attention:

“[E]ven if an Upjohn warning were provided …, the substance of the warning … is woefully inadequate under the circumstances.  [Irell lawyers stated that they] were interviewing him on behalf of Broadcom in connection with their investigation of Broadcom’s stock option granting practices.  [They] never told Mr. Ruehle that [they] were not Mr. Ruehle’s lawyers or that Mr. Ruehle should consult with another lawyer.  Most importantly, neither [of them] ever told Mr. Ruehle that any statements he made to them could be shared with third parties, including the Government in a criminal investigation of him.”

This passage has caused tremendous teeth gnashing among lawyers who fear that the rulings will interfere with their ability to gather information from employees of their clients.  For example, The Wall Street Journal’s law blog quoted one former SEC lawyer as saying that the holding will result in “interview warnings turn[ing] into something akin to the Miranda warning the police give to suspects,” and BNA’s securities regulation and law reporter noted that the decision could “spur changes in how attorneys and federal prosecutors handle internal investigations.”

In fact, Carney’s decision is an unsurprising outcome, given the facts.  Irell was not just representing Broadcom, it was representing Ruehle personally in both shareholder and derivative actions, and Ruehle knew that.  Under the circumstances, an Upjohn warning was not only inadequate, it was arguably nonsensical.  After all, Irell had undertaken a joint representation of both Broadcom and Ruehle, and Broadcom could not waive Ruehle’s privilege.  However, Carney’s decision does not mean that lawyers must always caution corporate employees to consult with another lawyer or otherwise warn them not to speak.   

The real take-away from Carney’s decision is that law firms must be cognizant of potential conflicts from an early stage.  As corporations increasingly have to consider whether to waive a privilege in dealing with the SEC or other enforcement authorities, law firm lawyers must consider at the outset whether the company might face such a request.  If so, then the firm should probably decline related representations of individual officers and directors.  That position, of course, might make it more expensive for the client, which will have to retain separate counsel for its employees.  But if that cost ensures that the company’s counsel is not disqualified later because of conflicts between the company and its employees, it should prove well worth it to the client as well. 

Joshua D. Wolson is a member of the litigation department at Dilworth Paxson.  He can be reached at 215-575-7295 or jwolson@dilworthlaw.com.  This posting is for informational purposes only and should not be construed or interpreted as legal advice on any matter.

Allegheny Reassessments Invalid, Supreme Court Holds

By Peter Hall
Of the Legal Staff

In a decision that skirts a wholesale invalidation of Pennsylvania’s property tax assessment laws, the Supreme Court has found the base year assessment system as used in Allegheny County violates the state Constitution and ordered a countywide reassessment.

The opinion by Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille in Clifton v. Allegheny County and Pierce v. Allegheny County overturns a 2007 decision by Allegheny County Common Pleas Judge R. Stanton Wettick Jr. that statewide assessment laws permitting real estate taxes to be levied on base year market values that remain in place for an indefinite period of years are unconstitutional.

Castille wrote that the court disagreed with Wettick’s finding that the statutes are unconstitutional on their face. However, the court found that for many of the reasons cited in Wettick’s 111-page opinion, a countywide reassessment in Allegheny County is required.

Justice Max Baer authored a concurring opinion in which he said it would be appropriate for the court to set a constitutional threshold for uniformity and proposed a test to identify violations.

Allegheny County, acting under the state's assessment law, has chosen 2002 as the base year for determining the fair market value of real property subject to taxation.

But, Wettick pointed out, property values in at least one municipality appreciated by more than 35 percent between 2002 and 2005 while those in another municipality in the same school district declined by about 16 percent.

Such an arrangement creates the danger of unequal taxation and runs afoul of the state constitutional mandate for uniformity, Wettick said.

The Uniformity Clause, at Article VIII, Section 1 of the Pennsylvania Constitution was adopted in 1874 and has never been changed, Wettick said. Caselaw views the clause as requiring equality of taxation. The requirement is met, he said, only when the ratio of assessed value to actual value is the same for every property.

“It is not our charge to determine what may be the best system of assessment. Nor is this court capable of fixing a point in time at which a base year automatically becomes unconstitutionally non-uniform,” Castille wrote. “As the trial court noted, the General Assembly is the appropriate place in the first instance to fashion a more comprehensive and soundly constitutional scheme.”

Castille noted the trial court provides a useful survey of property assessment systems around the country and that the General Assembly would have that information at its disposal.

“Ultimately, our task is decisional, and Allegheny County is currently left with a broken system of property taxation,” Castille wrote.

High Court Hears Argument on Case That Could Impact Bad Faith Litigation

Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral argument in Caperton v. Massey Coal Co. Inc, and, in doing so, took under consideration an issue, which in the long run, could have a strong impact on the litigation and bad faith cases in the commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

In Caperton, U.S. Supreme Court grated certiorari on the issue of whether or not sizable contributions to judicial campaigns by one of  the litigants presented procedural due process problems where  the recipients of those donations failed to recuse themselves in such cases.  In   Caperton, a justice sitting on the West Virginia Supreme Court declined to recuse himself on appellate review of  a large civil verdict in favor of a campaign donor.

The court has yet to issue a ruling, but the petitioner’s chief argument was that regardless of whether or not actual bias could be shown or demonstrated, the appearance of impaired  partiality was so strong that procedural due process required recusal of the judge.  During oral argument before the court, the court seemed concerned with where the line should be drawn, and whether or not the size of the contribution should impact the analysis.

 Should the court find that a due process violation occurred by the judge’s failure to recuse himself in Caperton, such a ruling could have a direct impact on how bad faith cases are litigated in Pennsylvania. At the state court level, bad faith cases are tried directly to the bench, not the jury, see, Mishoe v. Erie Ins. Co., and therefore the impartiality of a judge sitting and hearing a bad faith case is of paramount significance, given the judge’s ability  to make certain findings of fact and ignore others.

When judges appear less then wholly impartial and unbiased, confidence in the system erodes.  In practical terms, parties litigating bad faith cases should, like other civil litigants,  investigate possible connections between opposing  litigants, their lawyers, and the judge or judges assigned to dispose of their dispute.   Depending on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Caperton, failing to do so might risk leaving some of your client’s due process rights unexercised.  Campaign finance data on public officials in Pennsylvania, including state court judges, is available to the public at www.campaignfinance.state.pa.us. 

 The writer’s experience is that in the vast majority of cases, judges err on the side of caution and recuse themselves even in situations where they may not need to.  As we have seen, however, there may be  jurists who unfortunately do not so self govern, and against whom the recusal remedy might be necessary. 

Charles Haddick
Dickie McCamey & Chilcote
http://www.dmclaw.com/

Pietragallo Gordon Founding Partner to Lead Disciplinary Board

By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff

William Pietragallo II was named the new chairman of the Disciplinary Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania, effective April 1, the court announced.

The founding member of Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti had served as the vice chairman of the board for the last year.

"I am honored to be appointed chair,” Pietragallo said in a statement. “It is made up of a group of distinguished, capable and honorable lawyers, and I will do my very best to fulfill the confidence that the Supreme Court has placed in me.”

The Disciplinary Board is an independent agency funded by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and consists of 14 members from across the state – 12 are lawyers and two are not.  It assists the Supreme Court in carrying out its exclusive jurisdiction over the licensing and discipline of attorneys in Pennsylvania. The members meet regularly to decide cases, policies and board administrative matters.

Along with his work on the Disciplinary Board, Pietragallo had recently completed a six-year term on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Civil Rules Committee. His practice is concentrated in the areas of commercial litigation, business, securities, and complex civil litigation.

Susquehanna County sole practitioner Francis X. O’Connor was named vice chairman of the board.

Pro-Networking: Increase Your Business Development – Week 3

If you have been following the previous two weeks blog on productive business development you would have read strategies to grow your book of business, increase the profile of your practice, and build your community profile. If you want to read the previous blog entries, see here.

This week I wanted to provide you with the tools you need to implement an action plan for these strategies.

Simply complete this worksheet and you will be able to document your progress and keep yourself on track with your productive business development.

Individual Attorney Pro-Networking™ Action Plan

Name: __________________________          Date: __________________________

I can connect the following three people this week?

Who are the movers and shakers I currently am connected with?

Who do I want to be connected with in the next 60 days?

Who do I know that can introduce me to these people?

Who are my best three referral sources for business?

I will take the following three actions to connect with these referral sources:

I will complete the following three activities to build my book of business this week:

I will meet with the following three referral sources this month:

I will attend the following networking activities in the next 30 days:

I will take the following strategic networking action in the next 60 days:

I will measure my Pro-Networking™ success in 60 days by:

Now it is time to take action, build your book of business today.

Neen James
www.neenjames.com

Turner Joins McCaffery in Questioning Williams' Fundraising

By Amaris Elliott-Engel
Of the Legal Staff

District attorney candidate Michael Turner on Friday, citing "new revelations," renewed his public call that the Philadelphia Board of Ethics investigate if opponent Seth Williams spent money on his campaign while still serving as a city official.

Turner claims that Williams may have violated Article 10, Section 3, of the Philadelphia Home Rule Charter by spending money on his district attorney campaign while he was serving as inspector general. Turner said in a statement that inaction by the Board of Ethics would blow a "gaping loophole" into the  charter's ban on city employee political activity.

Turner's statement comes a day after competitor Dan McCaffery made the same charge and after The Philadelphia Inquirer reported Williams’ campaign finances shows he spent money on his new campaign before he retired his 2005 campaign debt.

According to a city Law Department opinion shared with The Legal by Williams' campaign, it was permissible for Williams to raise money to retire his campaign debt.  The opinion was written by Evan Meyer, a senior attorney in the Law Department,

Dan Fee, Williams' campaign manager, called Turner's campaign "silly" and lacking a substantive focus on policy.

Harry Cook, Turner's campaign manager, said that it's important for the Ethics Board to make a finding on this issue before the May 19 primary. If Williams is the Democratic candidate but is later found to have violated the city Charter, "you could have the situation where the Democratic nominee was unable to stand election."

Cook also said Turner did not file a formal request, which would have to be kept confidential under ethics rules, but was making a public call for the Board of Ethics to tackle the matter.

Advice to Lawyers From the Media

After weeks of covering social media for lawyers, I can report on the actual media and what they had to say to more than 125 attendees at the Justinian Society and the Philadelphia Bar Association Bar-News Media Committee Italian-American media program.  The two organizations took a fresh approach to the standard media panel, incorporating Italian culture, great food, cocktails and schmoozing with colleagues and members of the media.  In fact, even Mayor Michael A. Nutter was on hand to say a few words.

Here are some of the insights and tips from the panelists on ways members of the legal profession can gain access and serve as resources to the media:

Letizia Rubino, marketing manager of NBC 10: Rubino urged attendees to think of NBC 10 as the "What if Station."  She told attorneys to make it interesting, bring their expertise and act as a resource to the media.

Pat Ciarrocchi , news anchor CBS 3: CBS 3 wants to hear stories that have a heart, or those that advance understanding of a certain issue.  Ciarrocchi said it is also important that you are able to explain an issue through the eyes of someone who has actually been affected by it.  Stories including an eyewitness to a crime, or a family that has been touched by a certain legal issue, will have a much greater impact on viewers than a straight reading of the news.

Marnie Hall, gossip columnist for Philly.com:  With Hall, it's pretty straightforward.  She wants good, juicy stories – what’s the gossip around town? It doesn’t have to be “Gossip” with a capital “G” it just has to make an interesting story and have a light-hearted side to it.  If you're not willing to offer any dirt, she always needs legal sources, too. And you should note that Hall’s program is in a video format online so the more visuals you have to include, the better.

Anthony Gargano, Sports Talk Radio Host 610 AM WIP: According to Gargano, 610 is Philadelphia's town hall radio station.  While most of the news tends to be about sports, radio hosts do comment on current issues. Gargano urged attorneys to call in if they're listening and comment; especially if they can offer a legal perspective or expand upon or correct something someone has said.

George Anastasia, crime reporter, Philadelphia Inquirer:  Anastasia said he is always looking to the answer to the question “Why?” The best thing you can provide to him is documentation regarding the criminal matters that he’s reporting about. The more discovery he has access to, the better.

Joanne Calabria, vice president public affairs, CBS3: Calabria joked that it’s her goal in life to keep her anchors out of Marnie Hall’s gossip column. She also explained that dealing with the media is all about being helpful. Whenever you can provide resource – even if it’s not you or someone in your firm -- that “good will” will go a long way!

Dr. Michael Cirigliano, health correspondent, FOX29:  Cirigliano brought a very different perspective to the panel. He’s looking for medical stories. And if there’s a medical story that has a legal angle, that’s great too. Whether it’s a medical device, medical insurance or medical malpractice issues, he’s a great person to feature the story. I spoke to him after the program, and he also wanted to remind everyone that visual displays are always more helpful so the viewing audience can better understand the technical issues.

Stephanie Esposito, reporter, WFMZ Channel 69 News of Allentown: I asked Esposito how lawyers from the region could be a resource. She explained that since their station covers the Lehigh Valley, they’re always looking for news happening there. But, she said, there are always opportunities to discuss issues that have a greater impact to the region – especially federal court cases and big trend stories.

Joe DeFelice, director, The Italian Tribune Delaware Valley Presence: DeFelice was so touching with his wonderful Phillies’ hat and reminder that we live in an amazing community. He’s looking for stories with heart and depth. He wants to feature people, food, trends and traditions – but for their publication – there must be an Italian tie. 

Sue Serio, weather report, FOX29: With Serio, I focused back on social media, which is very widely used by the folks at FOX29. Serio explained that most of the reporters and anchors are maintaining blogs and twitting on Twitter. She laughed when she mentioned Twitter, stating that it’s all new to them, too, but it is the direction that news media is taking and encouraged attorneys to get on board.

Lorraine Ranalli, author, Gravy Wars: Ranalli is a former news reporter for weather and traffic and now finds herself on the other side of the microphone. Ranalli is the author of Gravy Wars: South Philly Feuds, Foods and Attytudes (spelling is accurate). Ranalli told everyone to keep it real, be a good resource and don’t be afraid to talk to the media. They’re not going to bite you (no pun intended).

Ranalli was the perfect ending to the media program dealing with public relations for lawyers, which led to networking and Italian fare for more than two hours. The bottom line is that if you want news coverage, you have to build relationship, bring great information to the table and be a solid resource to the media. Showing up to these types of programs is one easy way to build your relationship for future media coverage.

Gina F. Rubel, Esq.
Furia Rubel Communications, Inc.
http://www.furiarubel.com/