Legal Pad

What the New Year Holds

Shane Byrne, who heads the S.F. and Palo Alto offices of Baker & McKenzie, probably isn't alone in happily saying goodbye to 2009. “If you turn the clock back to this time last year, it was a pretty uncertain time, and we were having to make some unpleasant decisions. And I think having come through that, we are pretty optimistic about 2010,” Byrne said.

Legal Pad asked for his outlook on the coming year, and he predicted compensation, employment and tax issues will continue to be busy areas. “Overall, we’re expecting it to be stronger than last year across all practices,” Byrne said.

In his own practice of M&A, lawyers are expecting venture backed startups that held their breath for all of 2009 to start looking for buyers.

“Unless the IPO market comes roaring back, an M&A exit is going to remain the best option,” he said. “When there was all that uncertainty at the start of last year, it was difficult for people to pull the trigger on deals. We are going to see more companies carving out businesses that they don’t want and selling them to companies that do want them.”

The outlook for associates, after the jump

McGrane on Roll with Sonic Boon

Wow, it’s really turning out to be a week of vindication for bankruptcy lawyer William McGrane of McGrane Greenfield. First, an appeal court on Tuesday reinstated his client's case against Marvell. See “The Case That Won’t Die.”

Now, McGrane’s getting a $300,000 New Year’s bonus from Northern District Bankruptcy Judge Marilyn Morgan, who ruled he is owed extra fees for his “substantial contribution” to the SonicBlue bankruptcy. (McGrane, his family and his law partners also happen to own a $12.5 million claim in the same case through an entity called SB Claims Holder.) He won the fees for his work on an evidentiary hearing in which he pressed O’Melveny & Myers partner Suzanne Uhland over her conduct in the case.

In her order (.pdf), Morgan showers praise on McGrane, but is brutal on the rest of the lot, beginning her scathing summary of the case with this ominous sentence: “The reorganization of SONICblue, Inc. has been tragically marred by the misdeeds of professionals.” (Translation: I’m going to rip you a new one.)

See the ripping and tearing, after the jump

Rounded Up: Broadcom to Pay $160M, Poizner and Schwarzenegger Bump Heads

Broadcom will pay $160 million to settle a class action securities suit. [WSJ Law Blog]

California Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner has filed a suit to stop Governor Schwarzenegger from selling off part of the state-run worker's compensation system to a private entity. Poizner says the plan would weaken the insurer and cause an increase in premiums for employers across the state. [LAT]

Capitol Weekly has compiled a list of all of the lawsuits involving furloughs of state employees. The list is long. Twenty-four lawsuits long. [Capitol Weekly]

The Yes on Prop 8 camp is encouraging U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker, by letter, to close the courtroom to cameras. [Mercury News]

Attorney General Jerry Brown plans to ask the California Supreme Court to revive a law prohibiting the possession of armor-resistant bullets by convicted violent felons. Last month, a state appeals court in L.A. overturned the law. [SFGate]

— Cynthia Foster

AOC Officially in Control of All County Courthouses

The Glenn County courthouse, in 1894 and today

California's trial court facilities are now entirely under control of the Administrative Office of the Courts, as the last of 532 courthouses and other buildings was officially transferred to the state today.

The vote of the Glenn County Board of Supervisors to transfer its historic courthouse in Willows concluded a seven-year process launched by the Trial Court Facilities Act of 2002.

“The transfer of the last court facility marks a significant milestone in the Judicial Council’s effort to establish the judiciary as a separate and equal branch of state government,” Chief Justice Ronald George said in a written statement. “This transfer completes a long-standing goal for our state.

A theme of George's 13-year tenure as chief justice has been the centralization of court administration. Under his watch the state's municipal and superior courts have unified, and their funding and now facilities have moved from county to state control.

The facilities transfer has at times been complicated by seismic safety issues. Last year the Legislature authorized $5 billion for courthouse construction and renovation. The Judicial Council has earmarked $32 million of that money for the Glenn County courthouse.

—  Scott Graham

Greenberg Traurig Kicking Tires in S.F.

Must be too sunny in Florida for Greenberg Traurig. The firm wants in on the San Francisco fog.

President Matthew Gorson confirmed Tuesday that he has been interviewing in San Francisco for the last six months with the hopes of opening an office here sometime in the first quarter of 2010. The firm already has a 30-lawyer office in East Palo Alto.

“There’s good opportunity now,” Gorson said. “The markets are different from Silicon Valley to San Francisco and it’s helpful to both offices to have a dual location.”

While we’ve heard a name floated for who might open the office, Gorson insisted nothing -- no lease and no hire -- has been finalized. Stay tuned.

—  Amanda Royal

Rounded Up: Edward Chen Facing Confirmation Roadblocks, Nokia Expands Fight With Apple

Riverside County Judge Villia Sherman, who came to the bench after being a full-time homemaker, has died at 68. [San Diego Union-Tribune]

The daughter of a woman who died at a San Mateo County hospital is suing the county for negligence. [Mercury News]

GOP leaders in the Senate have objected to President Obama's federal judgeship nomination of Bay Area U.S. Magistrate Edward Chen. [SFGate]

The arraignment of a 16-year-old Southern California boy is being postponed to give his attorney time to challenge a decision to try him as an adult. [SFGate]

Nokia has broadened its patent suit against apple. It's beef is no longer just with the iPhone; the phone maker says almost all of Apple's products violate Nokia's patents. [NYT]

— Cynthia Foster

Nothing Mellow About Dissent in Medical Pot Case

Attention, fight fans! In this corner, holding the prevailing opinion in People v. Moret, is First District Justice Paul Haerle. In the other, hoisting a 38-page dissent, is his colleague, Justice J. Anthony Kline.

Get ready to rumble!

In an unusually contentious ruling today, Haerle and Kline got in each other’s faces about whether a judge can order a criminal defendant to stop using medicinal marijuana while on probation when the underlying crime has nothing to do with pot use. Kline says you can’t. Haerle says you can, and -- unfortunately for Kline — Haerle was backed in the 2-1 ruling by Justice James Richman.

See the probationer's dilemma, after the jump

Rounded Up: California Full of Judicial Hellholes, Lawyers Making Music Together in LA

LA Superior Court has approved judgments against two teachers who received salary over-payments due to a payroll error. They didn't return the funds. Surprised? [LAT]

The city of Sacramento will argue at SCOTUS in support of Chicago's gun ordinance, which is under review. [Sac Bee]

An Arizona semiconductor chip-maker has made a tentative offer to acquire Milpitas's California Micro. [SFGate]

The American Tort Reform Foundation takes aim at Los Angeles, Orange, and San Francisco counties. The Foundation calls the counties "judicial hellholes." [OC Register]

Southern California lawyers band together to form the Los Angeles Lawyers Philharmonic Orchestra. [ABC News]

— Cynthia Foster

1,900 Rulings Later, Riverside Justice Hangs Up Robe

He authored about 1,900 rulings in his 12 years on Riverside’s Fourth District Court of Appeal, but he’s now calling it quits.

Justice Barton Gaut announced today that he’s retiring on Feb. 28 after a 47-year career as a lawyer and judge.

“Bart was any presiding justice’s dream — hard-working, productive and always available,” Manuel Ramirez, presiding justice of the Riverside court, said in a strangely past tense prepared statement. “He was principled, but open to a different perspective.”

Of Gaut’s many opinions, 105 were published.

Prior to joining the Fourth District, Gaut served a judge on the Riverside County Superior Court for two years and worked as a litigator for 33 years with Riverside’s Best, Best & Krieger.

— Mike McKee

Lateral Aspirants, Start Your Engines ...

After a rough 2009 for most firms, partners are busy behind the scenes checking out their options, according to a couple of recruiters we checked in with.

“Anybody who has been waiting to make a move will be ready once they know where the numbers are,” said recruiter Stacy Miller Azcarate. “I have so many people who have said, ‘I’m going to call you in January.’”

In 2009, recruiter Avis Caravello said many partners were jockeying to make sure they were paid what they deserved.

“The focus on the compensation, ‘If I don’t get X,’ was really heightened this year, because there’s less to go around,” she said.

“This is a busier time than typical for this time of year,” she said. “Some people definitely know now. They have a pretty good idea of their comp. I wouldn’t want to be a chairman at most firms this year, they are really trying to keep everyone happy and keep everyone in place.”

Why 2009 is like a hairball, coughed up after the jump.