Joe Lynyak was quoted in "Local bank experts weigh in on Willow mystery," an article from the May 6, 2008 issue of the Philadelphia Inquirer. The article examines Willow Financial Bancorp Inc.'s inability to account for a $6.2 million discrepancy on its books, even after spending $2 million trying to resolve the issue.

Lynyak, a lawyer with expertise in bank operations and regulation, said the $6.2 million loss did not jeopardize the bank financially, because it still had plenty of capital backing up its operations, according to public disclosures.

That does not mean, however, that regulators will not take action.

"It would be very difficult for the government not to require an accounting... on the part of management," said Lynyak.

Lynyak and other experts said it was likely that Willow's accounting problems stemmed from the 2005 merger of Willow Grove Bancorp Inc. and Chester Valley. The bank changed its name in 2006.

Claudia Lewis-Eng was quoted in "FDA Watch Over Natural Supplements Growing Keener," an article from the May 5, 2008 issue of Health Law 360.

The spate of warnings the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has recently put out about herbal products used for body building, male enhancement and weight loss have shed new light on dietary supplements and spurred worries over what goes into them. But some authorities say the FDA does not have enough power to adequately police this industry.

"It's uncommon for the FDA to test a dietary supplement to make sure the ingredient on the label is in the product, this is a definite step-up in enforcement," said Lewis-Eng. "FDA seems to be very concerned about male enhancement and about steroids being used as dietary supplements."

Climbing one spot from its 2007 ranking, Venable's Washington-area offices placed 19th in the Legal Times 2008 list of largest law firms in the D.C. metropolitan area. Venable's Rockville, Tysons and Washington offices also ranked 18th in revenue per partner and 20th in profits per partner. Venable was profiled as one of eight firms that "set the pace" in the D.C. market last year.

Overall, 2007 was a tremendous year for firms in the Washington area. For the first time, the combined Washington-office revenues of the D.C. 20 topped five billion dollars. This milestone is even more impressive given that 2007's numbers included none of the large contingency windfalls that drove up the totals on the 2007 and 2006 lists.

Jim Burdett was quoted in "Lawyers, money needed for Psystar's legal battle, " an article published May 2, 2008 to CNet.com. The story talks about the latest dispute over end user licensing agreements (EULAs). Psystar is currently selling Open Computers with Apple's Mac OS X Leopard preinstalled, in what appears to be a clear violation of Apple's software license agreement for that product. However, as the precedent for enforcing these types of licenses dates back to a 1996 ruling, many industry authorities believe that so-called shrink-wrap or click-wrap licenses are ripe for a new challenge.

Psystar's best shot--albeit a long one--at keeping its doors open for business would be to argue that Apple is illegally tying the purchase of its operating system to the purchase of its hardware because it has a monopoly on the sale of Mac OS X-based computers, said Burdett.

Burdett, a lawyer at Compaq during what he jokingly called the "First Clone Wars," said Psystar would have to convince a judge that the relevant market in this case is limited to just Mac OS X-based computers, not personal computers in general. Obviously, Apple has a very small share of the general personal computer operating system market but a rather large share of the Mac OS X market.

"People want Mac clones for the operating system, not the hardware," Burdett said. Apple will try to argue that its hardware is just as important a factor in making a Mac vs. PC buying decision, but Psystar will try to prove that with the response to the Open Computer, there is significant demand for Apple's operating system on non-Apple hardware.

"It would be an interesting situation to argue from the Sherman Act side, if you had the money," Burdett said. "I don't think it's too insurmountable, it's just a very costly issue to raise." Apple, with billions in cash, could easily fend off Psystar appeals for years if it can get a favorable ruling on its licensing agreement, or convince a judge to view the applicable market as the personal computing market in general.

Shaffin Datoo was quoted in "Independent Contractor Sues Under Title VII," an article from the May 1, 2008 issue of Inside Counsel. The article examines the implications of a sexual harassment suit brought by, Dr. Barbara Salamon, a physician with hospital staff privileges, against the Our Lady of Victory hospital, claiming that it violated her Title VII and New York City Human Rights Law rights.

Generally, physicians with hospital staff privileges are deemed independent contractors and are not offered the same civil protections as employees. The 2nd Circuit recently gave Salamon's action the green light, even though both laws only protect "employees."

Experts believe the court has opened the door to new Title VII claims from thousands of people who are usually pegged as independent contractors, including lawyers and others who exercise independent professional judgment.

"This decision has implications for every employer that hires independent contractors," says Datoo. "Employers will have to make sure to treat independent contractors differently than employees. Failure to do so may impose liability upon the employer under the anti-discrimination laws, and unemployment and workers' compensation laws," he says.

Mitch Mirviss was quoted in "Md. Fails in releasing child abuse information," an Associated Press article published April 29, 2008 by WTOP News.

Maryland is among the 10 worst states when it comes to releasing information to the public about child abuse in cases involving death or serious injury, creating serious barriers to reform, a national report has concluded.

Maryland received a grade of "F" in the study, which is being released Tuesday by two national child advocacy groups, First Star and the Children's Advocacy Institute of the University of San Diego School of Law.

Mirviss, an attorney for Venable LLP who has worked on cases involving foster children in Baltimore since 1985, said sealing important case records is "a grave problem here in Maryland."

"The public does not have access to information concerning serious incidents of child abuse or issues concerning the treatment of children while they're in foster care," Mirviss said. "As a result, the problems that are endemic in the system are not adequately monitored or addressed."

Ron Taylor was mentioned in "House Lawmakers Renew Push for OSHA Multi-Employer Enforcement," an article from the April 28, 2008 issue of Inside OSHA.

House Democratic lawmakers renewed their push for OSHA reform during a hearing on multi-employer enforcement April 24. The House workforce protections subcommittee hearing addressed lawmakers' concerns that OSHA failed to address potential company-wide safety issues following a 2007 worker fatality at a Cintas plant in Tulsa, OK. The subcommittee had requested days after the fatality that OSHA launch a nation-wide investigation of Cintas facilities.

Taylor testified that the current OSH Act is sufficient to protect workers and gives OSHA sufficient power to address violations.

Damon Wright authored "Amazing Stories in Discovery," an article published in April 2008 edition of the Rocket Docket News, the newsletter of the Northern Virginia Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The article concerns three recent strongly-worded federal court opinions where attorneys and parties were sanctioned for discovery abuse.

Mike Baader was quoted in "Lawyer Layoffs: Can they happen here?" an article from the April 27, 2008 issue of the Maryland Daily Record. As the economy continues to suffer, major law firms across the country are laying off associates, rescinding employment offers or cutting back summer programs, news of which invites speculation about how Maryland's legal market may be effected.

"The backdrop of the economy, we haven't felt it yet in the middle market and frankly, I don't expect that we're going to feel it," said Baader, managing partner of Venable LLP's Baltimore office. "It's sort of business as usual here in our firm."

If a downturn is here or on its way, though, there are many who expect this region will be spared the worst. Nationwide, the practice area experiencing the biggest problem is capital markets, which collapsed in the wake of the mortgage crisis. Many of the associates laid off from large out-of-town firms practiced securities law, which is not a major practice area for Maryland firms.

In a bad economy, industry authorities say that law firms usually hunker down and wait it out, hoping to emerge as survivors. For very large firms, it is sometimes an opportunity to acquire a failing smaller firm's lawyers or clients, or even the entire firm.

Baader said Venable has seen many opportunities recently to hire groups of attorneys from elsewhere.

"We have certainly seen in Washington and Baltimore over the last six months as healthy or larger amount of qualified resumes for lateral partners, groups of people, coming to our attention," Baader said.

Firmwide, though Venable elevated fewer attorneys to partner this year, the numbers for its Maryland offices were steady.

Marty Wagner's speech at the BNA-sponsored conference, "401 (k) Fiduciary Compliance: What Plan Sponsors Need to Know," was profiled in the April 25, 2008 issue of BNA's Pension & Benefits Daily. The article discusses the numerous traps that plan sponsors and plan administrators often fall into when administering tax code Section 401 (k) plans and outlines what Wagner calls the "top ten careless compliance consequences."

Tom Quinn was again named as a top lobbyist by The Hill.

After Democrats took control of Congress, they took control of K Street. Often junior partners during the years of Republican rule, Democratic lobbyists became the faces of their firms in 2007. Even as Democratic congressional leaders sought to break the bond between lobbyists and lawmakers, some advocates took the plunge and opened new shops. By year’s end, several had built books of business worth millions of dollars.

The Hill’s annual list of top lobbyists reflects the greater importance Democratic lobbyists play, while not forgetting the Republicans in town who maintain a major role in crafting legislation, particularly in the Senate, where voting margins are so close. Today’s list names the best "hired guns" and corporate lobbyists. To compile our list, we talked to key congressional aides and lobbyists themselves.

About Quinn the article said, "Wall Street regularly turns to Quinn for representation in the Democratic-controlled Congress."

Joe Lynyak was quoted in "Foreclosure Moves Open Gray Area in Preemption," an article form the April 21, 2008 issue of American Banker. The article discusses the brewing fight over whether and how much national banks and thrifts must comply with state laws designed to delay or prevent foreclosures. Unlike consumer protection laws, state foreclosure and real estate property laws generally are not preempted. But if such a law affects the substance of a loan -- or interferes with the bank's ability to collect a debt -- the issue becomes murkier.

To date only Maryland has passed a foreclosure prevention law, but seven other states have such bills pending. In theory, at least, most of these bills would not be preempted by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or the Office of Thrift Supervision, regulators said.

Many institutions fear challenging a state foreclosure law, even if parts of it could be preempted, and lawmakers have criticized regulators, particularly the OCC, for preempting state consumer protection laws.

"If someone is going to take an aggressive stance regarding preemption, the concerns are reputational risk in front of the public for taking the legal position, and the legal risk that ultimately the claimed preemption is either not found to be valid or the validity of the foreclosures are then called into question," said Lynyak. "This is really right at the edge of the battle on preemption and is a very, very complicated analysis."

Ron Jacobs was quoted in "No slowdown on K Street, " an article from the April 21, 2008 issue of The Hill. The article discusses the first-ever filing by lobbying firms of their quarterly revenues.

The filing deadline, Monday, April 21, 2008, marked a milestone for lobbying firms, which will have to electronically report their lobbying revenues on a quarterly basis from now on, instead of semiannually. Starting this year, the firms also have to provide information about some smaller clients and about their lobbyists' former jobs on Capitol Hill and within federal agencies.

Jacobs said that Congress actually streamlined some aspects of the system, such as doing away with the burdensome digital signatures. The electronic forms are easier to use, as well, Jacobs said.

Come July, though, when the firms have to file their first semiannual reports on political contributions by their lobbyists, the hassle factor will increase, Jacobs said. "That will be a complicated one to file."

"Ten Legal Trends Nonprofit Leaders Should Care About," an article authored by Jeff Tenenbaum was published in the Spring 2008 issue of NJ Society of Association Executives' Pace magazine. The article identifies 10 key legal issues and trends to which every nonprofit should pay close attention. It also includes a link to one or more articles on each topic to provide nonprofits with the information necessary to do some legal self-examination.

David Kettel's addition to the SEC and White Collar practice group in Los Angeles as a partner was covered in the National Law Journal, Securities Law 360, The Deal, New York Lawyer and The Recorder.

Prior to joining Venable, Kettel was a U.S. criminal prosecutor in the Central District of California, focusing on bank and bankruptcy fraud, bulk cash smuggling, narcotics trafficking, illegal alien smuggling, child pornography and identity theft.

Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Kristen Sitchler and Aaron Hiller authored "IRS releases draft instructions to redesigned Form 990," an article which was published in the April 11, 2008 issue of Association Trends. The article provides an overview of the first draft of the instructions to be used in completing the redesigned 2008 Form 990, which was released by the IRS on April 7.

Ralph Sharpe was quoted in " Citigroup, Wells Fargo May Fuel Recession by Curtailing Lending," an article published April 8, 2008 by Bloomberg. Bank holding companies including Citigroup Inc., Bank of America Corp. and Wells Fargo & Co. have the thinnest safety cushion against losses in seven years and the margin may erode further in coming weeks.

Credit ratings on $704 billion of bonds have been cut this year following the collapse of the U.S. housing market. The downgrades may compromise bank capital ratios enough that some of the largest institutions will no longer be considered well capitalized.

Falling below a regulatory benchmark that is intended to maintain a minimum level of capital to protect depositors against losses would subject banks to more scrutiny from regulators than they have ever experienced.

"The important thing to remember about capital ratios is that they are minimums," said Sharpe, who was director of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency's enforcement and compliance division from 1984 to 1994. "In good times everybody looks good, but when the tide goes out, you see who is not wearing their bathing suit."

Joe Lynyak was quoted in "Recent FDIC Actions Are Worrisome Sign of the Times," an article published on GlobeStreet.com on April 7, 2008. The FDIC recently announced plans to expand the group that manages assets from failed banks by as much as 60 percent.

Lynyak notes that there have been virtually no bank failures for the last decade, and speculates the FDIC is concerned about having enough resources in place as the financial services industry enters a difficult period.

The last year and a half has seen a significant increase in the amount of commercial real estate assets held by local, regional and national banks. The appraised value of these assets will be called into question by regulators, if they have not already.

Lynyak says the corrective action order will likely be the first of many to be issued in the coming months now that Q1 is all but over. "The FDIC posts these orders once a month, and I suspect we will be seeing many more of these. The FDIC has made clear it wants to be aggressive in these matters."

Ron Glancz was quoted in "Fed's Gains in Paulson Plan Could Have a Cost," an article from the April 2, 2008 issue of American Banker.

The Treasury Department's proposal to revamp the nation's regulatory system would let the Federal Reserve Board get its hands into more sectors of the economy but is also likely to prompt calls for more transparency at the central bank.

At issue is precisely how much risk the Fed's efforts to fight the credit crunch have created for taxpayers, a question the central bank has gamely sidestepped so far. But industry observers said that could change if provisions of the Treasury's blueprint are implemented and hand the Fed more authority.

"The more power you give the Fed, the more open they'll have to be," said Glancz. "When they act, they're going to have to issue announcements of their decisions and have longer decisions and have more public debate and hold more public hearings."

Ralph Sharpe was quoted in "National City looking for cash or a buyer," an article from the April 1, 2008 issue of Cleveland Business News. The article discusses the announcement by National City Corp., the once-mighty Northeast Ohio icon that employs 7,800 people in this nine-county region, that it's looking at "strategic alternatives" that could include the sale of the bank.

National City's announcement came a day after JPMorgan Chase & Co. issued a gloomy report that said National City has two options: Find more money to cover its losses or sell the company. The report also revealed that about 19 percent of the loans on National City's books, or $21 billion worth, are risky loans, including subprime, home equity and residential construction.

"I would fully expect regulators to apply pressure on banks to increase their capital" if the banks have lots of risky loans and overall troubled finances, Sharpe said.

National City is "probably getting a lot of supervisory attention," said Sharpe, explaining that regulators visit banks often if they think there are issues. "The whole idea is to look forward a little bit. . . . If the examiners are seeing trends, they're going to try to take steps as early in the process as possible before it becomes a problem."

Joe Lynyak was quoted in "Capital Shy, Fremont Also Short on Time," an article from the March 31, 2008 edition of American Banker. On March 26 the FDIC delivered a "prompt corrective action" directive to Fremont General Corp. The order bluntly told the bank to raise capital or sell itself in 60 days.

However, industry authorities speculate the $7.6 billion-asset Fremont Investment and Loan will likely fail; several takeover attempts have fallen apart since the FDIC cracked down on its subprime portfolio a year ago.

Observers saw the rare directive as a sign of things possibly to come from the FDIC. This year the agency has heightened preparations for more failures. Last week agency officials disclosed that they planned to increase staffing in the division of resolutions and receiverships by 60%, to 360 workers.

Lynyak said the credit losses the industry began seeing in earnest last year are now likely to lead to regulatory crackdowns on institutions' capital problems.

"This is something that is probably going to become relatively common in that, as a result of losses which people are either taking on an actual or accounting basis, the 'prompt corrective action' issues arising under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act now kick in," Lynyak said.

Shaffin Datoo was quoted in "Court questions docs' employment," an article from the March 2008 issue of Healthcare Finance News. The article addresses an appeals court ruling in Salamon v. Our Lady of Victory Hospital, which may throw into question whether physicians with admitting privileges could be considered employees of the hospitals at which they have privileges.

The case, remanded back to a district court for further consideration, could play havoc with the traditional hospital-physician relationship, raising potential issues involving human resources, taxes and malpractice.

Physicians with admitting privileges have been viewed as independent contractors in their relationships with hospitals because facilities don’t exert the degree of control over doctors that is typical with employees. Physicians with admitting privileges set their own hours, and the hospital does not pay them a salary. No court has ruled that an admitting physician is an employee, Datoo said.

"The New Form 990: Putting Your Best Foot Forward Under Heightened Scrutiny," an article authored by Jeffrey Tenenbaum, Kristen Sitchler, and Aaron Hiller was published in the March 2008 issue of the Association SOURCE. The article provides an overview of revisions by the IRS to the Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, a final draft of which was released on December 20, 2007.

Ron Glancz was quoted in "Regulatory Revamp Newest Plank in Obama's Platform," an article from the March 28, 2008 issue of American Banker. The article discusses the direction Sen. Barack Obama says he would chart on financial services if he won the White House, embracing a slew of ideas and calling for an overhaul of the regulatory system.

"I'm seriously concerned about if we screw up our system here, that all of our business is going to London," said Glancz. In the speech, he saw "a recognition that we live in a global marketplace."

A speech by Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on March 26 drew widespread media attention as he defended the Federal Reserve’s support of JP Morgan’s acquisition of Bear Stearns and became the latest public figure to call for more oversight of the investment banking industry.

The rapidly growing list of policymakers who have made similar statements includes House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank, Senate Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y. Federal Reserve Board officials have also signaled a perceived need for such action.

Mr. Paulson did temper his support for more regulation somewhat, saying bank-like oversight for investment firms may only be necessary if access to the discount window were made permanent.

Some observers praised Mr. Paulson's speech, saying it reflected a growing consensus that more oversight is needed.

"It's a recognition now by the administration that there does have to be some kind of framework put in place to deal with these major financial crises that cut across many financial players," said Ron Glancz, chair of Venable’s Financial Services Practice Group. "We need something in place so you don't have to reinvent the wheel next time you have a major crisis."

James Burdett was quoted in "Prepaid Patent Lawsuits Hit Retailers; Are Banks Next?" an article from the March 25, 2008 edition of American Banker. The article discusses the possibility that financial services companies, already beset by patent holders claiming rights over check image clearing and call center automation technologies, may soon confront similar claims related to prepaid cards.

Card Activation Technologies Inc. is pressing five federal lawsuits related to gift cards against six retailers and could pursue other types of companies that issue prepaid cards, including banks.

Burdett, who is not involved in the cases, noted that five different Card Activation lawsuits are before four different judges. Though the way each judge construes the claims will be a key issue, the others "are not required to follow the construction of the first judge" who rules, he said.

Burdett also said that even though filings by the publically traded Card Activation put the value of its patent at $3.7 billion, McDonald's Corp. settled with Card Activation for the relatively modest fee of $45, 000.

However, if Card Activation validates its patent against retail defendants, financial companies should take note. "If they go after the banks, it's a significant source of potential liability," Burdett said.

A. Christopher Sega was quoted in, "Protecting the Ranch," an article from the March 2008 edition of Financial Advisor. The article provides an overview of seven estate-planning strategies designed to help clients pass as much of their estate as possible to their heirs.

Charitable lead annuity trusts benefit from a downtrodden Section 7520 rate, says Sega. This trust pays the client's favorite charity a fixed amount for a term of years. His heirs receive what remains, so a gift is involved. Long story short, the lower the 7520, the smaller the gift's value and the larger the client's charitable income-tax deduction for establishing the trust, Sega says.

Notice of Christine McLaughlin's appointment as a 2008 Director at Large of American Women in Radio and Television was published in the March 21, 2008 issue of Radio Ink. This will be McLaughlin's second term on the organization's board.

Notice of Matt Journy's and Ann Thomas's additions to the Nonprofit Organizations practice group was published in the March 20, 2008 issue of Association Trends.

Rick Joyce was quoted in "FCC Raises Record $19.6 Billion In Auction of Wireless Airwaves," an article from the March 19, 2008 edition of the Washington Post. The article discusses the FCC's record-setting auction of wireless ariwaves, which ended yesterday after raising a $16.9 billion and setting the stage for the first nationwide network that would be open to all devices and software.

However, the sole bid for a block of spectrum to be used for public-safety workers, known as the D Block, was far below the minimum price set by the agency.

The minimum price for the D Block was too high considering the requirements to complete it, which some estimate could cost $5 billion to $7 billion, said Joyce.

"It is encumbered spectrum, simply put," Joyce said. "And that is wildly understating how complicated this spectrum will be to build out and operate."

Widge Devaney was quoted in "That sucking sound, " an article from the March 17, 2008 issue of Financial Week. The article discusses Eliot Spitzer's legacy and the predicted effect of his resignation on Washington, the financial system's regulatory structure, and Wall Street.

"He invigorated the entire enforcement environment," said Devaney, a former federal prosecutor in New Jersey. "The SEC and the U.S. attorney's office stepped up enforcement because they were afraid to lose cases to him."

Though officials are divided on the degree to which Spitzer's absence will be felt, they are in agreement that for better or worse, he was a force to be reckoned with.

Venable was ranked 22 overall and 14 among law firms in Legal Times' 2008 Influence Revenue Report, which was published March 17, 2008.

Legal Times' annual report on the revenue earned by lobbyists, the Influence 50, shows that, in total, the top-grossing practices in the country pulled in more than $1 billion for the first time last year.

Jonathan L. Pompan authored the article "New FTC Settlement Reinforces Need for Disclosures When Marketing and Advertising to Consumers in Financial Distress," which was published in the March 2008 issue of The Bottom Line.

The United States Organizations for Bankruptcy Alternatives (USOBA) was founded by members of the industry seeking representation specifically for debt negotiation outside of credit counseling and bankruptcy law. The mission of USOBA is to create and advocate an agenda only for the debt negotiation industry.

William Devaney was quoted in a story from Reuters, published March 14, 2008, about the likelihood that New York Governor Eliot Spitzer will face criminal charges.

If Mr. Spitzer really is "Client 9" who patronized an upscale prostitution ring, he could face prosecution for transporting a prostitute across state lines or for structuring money transfers to avoid detection -- or lastly for paying for sex.

"By sending the money into a known shell company, he's arguably aiding and abetting money laundering," said Devaney, a former New Jersey federal prosecutor now at Venable LLP in New York.

"The crime is not just the structuring, the crime is the intent to avoid the tax reporting requirement," he said.

Ron Taylor was quoted in "Lawyer says states' multi-employer policies open to challenge after summit decision," an article from the March 13, 2008 issue of the Occupational Safety and Health Reporter.

Taylor, speaking March 7, 2008 at the American Bar Association's Occupational Safety and Health Law Committee meeting, said all state plans have a multi-employer citation policy similar to that of federal OSHA, with minor differences.

The multi-employer citation policies in many states that manage their own occupational safety and health plans are open to challenge based on the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission's Summit Contractors Inc. decision, said Taylor.

Asa Hutchinson was quoted in "N.Y. can 'move on' as Spitzer faces backlash," an article from the March 13, 2008 issue of USA Today.

Gov. Eliot Spitzer's resignation clears the way for New York state politics to return to normal, but it doesn't necessarily end the investigation of allegations that he patronized an international call-girl ring.

Hutchinson says Michael Garcia, the U.S. attorney for the southern district of New York, should treat Spitzer as he would any defendant.

"You have to be careful that it's perceived as fair by the public," Hutchinson said. Spitzer could face two felony charges, Hutchinson said. Prosecutors could charge him under the Mann Act, which prohibits the interstate transportation of a woman for prostitution, and with conspiracy to launder funds, he said.

Bernard Rhee was quoted in "Signs that it's time to start looking," an article form the March 9, 2008 issue of The Daily Record. The article examines attorney job satisfaction and the question of whether to stay at a dissatisfying job and work to change things, or whether it's time to leave.

Rhee, a partner who joined Venable as part of a group from Saul Ewing LLP last year, offered this advice, "If you feel like your current firm cannot allow you to grow your practice, it's time to find somewhere that can."

"One sign is if there's limited room for your advancement," Rhee said. "[If] for some reason you feel like you've gotten stagnant or you've plateaued at a firm, that's a sign to sort of leave before you hit the wall."

Jeff Tenenbaum, Kristen Sitchler, and Aaron Hiller authored the article, "The New Form 990: Putting your best foot forward under heightened scrutiny, " which appeared in the March 7, 2008 issue of the Association Trends. The article provides an overview of revisions by the IRS to the Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, a final draft of which was released on December 20, 2007.

Though the Form 990 has served as the principal channel of communication between nonprofits (recently as many as 1.3 million) and the federal government for over 30 years, significant changes had not been made to it until now. The new Form 990 is intended to simplify the filing process and to better allow an organization to "tell its story" and includes revisions such as a streamlined summary page and a consolidated Schedule O.

Phil Horowitz was one of only four Washington, DC attorneys to be ranked as "Leading" for real estate in the PLC Which Lawyer? Yearbook 2008 rankings.

Horowitz was selected for being a "high profile and leading sector specialist, acknowledged for his extensive transactional, acquisition and disposal, and leasing know-how."

A. Christopher Sega was quoted in "IRS Releases Interim Guidance on Bundled Trust Fees," an article from the March 3, 2008 edition of Tax Notes. The article addresses the interim guidance, released recently by the IRS, pertaining to the treatment of bundled investment advisory costs and other expenses subject to the two percent floor under section 67.

The interim guidance announced that for the tax years beginning before January 1, 2008, the IRS will not require taxpayers to separate bundled fiduciary expenses into portions that are subject to the two percent floor and those that are not.

Sega said the IRS's intention to develop safe harbors would make the regulation more practical. "A percentage rule would give taxpayers an option to calculate a fully deductible amount without having to incur the expense of further inquiry, " he said. It is helpful that the notice requested comment on whether the nature of an asset has a bearing on the safe harbor, he said, as that question was also raised at oral argument in Knight.

John Beaty*was quoted in "The Politics of Lending," an article from the March 1, 2008 edition of American Banker. The story addresses the potential role of the subprime mortgage crisis on this year's elections.

Presidential elections usually hinge on the economy, and the ongoing mortgage crisis, along with the accompanying implosion of housing prices and spike in foreclosures, has Americans feeling less secure about their finances than they've been in a while. That's put reviving the economy -- and by definition, tackling the mortgage crisis -- at the top of candidates' agendas.

Already, mortgage brokers and credit-rating agencies have been blamed for parts of the problem. Bankers have thus far dodged serious damage, but could be next in line for a tar and feathering. "If foreclosure rates continue to snowball, it's likely that banks will be cast as a villain in the campaign," says Beaty. "It's not fair because banks didn't really cause the problem. But [the politicians] need a bad guy. If the public perceives that banks are the source of the pain, they'll be the bad guys."

*As published, the above quote is misattributed to John Cooney.

On February 28, 2008, The National Federation of Independent Business Legal Foundation (NFIB) announced that Maurice Baskin is joining the Legal Foundation's Advisory Board.

Karen Harned, executive director of NFIB's Legal Foundation, said that as employment law issues continue to appear in so many precedent-setting cases in the nation's courts, Baskin's knowledge will help ensure that the Legal Foundation continues to best serve small business owners.

The NFIB Legal Foundation relies on its advisory board, comprised of some of America's leading authorities on law, politics and government, to help guide the foundation in choosing cases to pursue and turns to the board for recommendations on topics for legal advisory material for small business owners.

Otho Thompson was quoted in "Judge weighs fate of city set-asides," an article from the February 27, 2008 issue of The Daily Record. The story reports on a dispute between the City of Baltimore and Bradshaw Construction Corp. over the award of a sewer construction contract.

Represented by Venable, Bradshaw, whose low bid was rejected for non-compliance with the City's minority and women owned enterprises (MBE) ordinance, is challenging that decision and has asked for a preliminary injunction in the hopes of enjoining the ongoing renovations to the sewage system on Lower Stony Run.

The implications of the case are far reaching and could signal change for the city's contractual set-aside policy and the contractors operating under its provisions.

The Venable team of lawyers advising Bradshaw include Matt Murnane and Alex Brown.

Michael G. Roberts was quoted in an article from the February 26, 2008 issue of American Shipper.

Cuba's massive potential as a Caribbean transshipment hub will depend just as much on who is the next U.S. president as it will on potential reform of the communist state post-Fidel Castro, said Roberts.

U.S. law (Helms-Burton) prohibits opening relations with Cuba until a democratic government is in place, but Roberts said that a U.S. presidential victory for Barack Obama would lead to dramatic changes in the embargo policy. He is less hopeful of change in the event of victory for either John McCain or Hillary Clinton.

"It's highly unlikely that there will be a meaningful change in U.S. policy before the end of this current administration," said Roberts.

On Sunday Fidel Castro's younger brother Raul, 76, was named president by Cuba's National Assembly. In spite of indications that Raul will not stray far from Fidel's vision, Roberts thinks that Raul and Cuba's other top-tier leaders understand that a move to greater economic freedom is essential.

"People are so used to false starts on Cuba when nothing really changes. It's not going to happen overnight but this is a very important step in the transition towards change in Cuba that will eventually produce a change in our policy," Roberts said.

Darek Bushnaq's recent appointment as a member of the Volunteers for Medical Engineering's board of directors was mentioned in the February 25, 2008 issue of The Daily Record.

Bushnaq has committed to helping VME and its volunteer engineers who have helped hundreds of disabled people become more independent by creating customized devices and adaptive technology.

Venable's reputation as the go-to M&A firm for mid-cap federal contracting companies was reinforced when five client deals were ranked among 2007’s 10 “Big Impact” deals (or groups of deals) in the February 25 issue of Washington Technology.

The deals among the top 10 in which Venable played a role include :

The $250 million acquisition of QSS Group, Inc. by Perot Systems Corporation

The $195 million acquisition of SRS Technologies, Inc. by ManTech International Corp. and $76.5 million acquisition of McDonald Bradley, Inc. by ManTech

The $78 million sale of Advanced Concepts, Inc. to L-1 Identity Solutions, Inc.

The $18 million sale of Potomac Management Group, Inc. to ATS Corporation

In addition to the inclusion of four Venable clients in the top 10 deals, 12 of the deals Venable closed during 2007 were included among the publication’s top 100 deals for the year. During 2007, Venable closed transactions in the federal contracting space with a total value of $1 billion.

Mergers & Acquisitions: Wallace Christner, James Dvorak, Elizabeth Hughes and Joe Schmelter; associates Monica Grande, Bjorn Hall and Emily Murphy

Government Contracts: partners Scott Hommer and William Walsh, Jr.; associates Keir Bancroft and Peter Riesen

Employee Benefits, Executive Compensation: partners Andrea O’Brien and John Wilhelm

Intellectual Property: partners Nora Garrote and A.J. Zottola

Tax: partners Brian O’Connor, Norman Lencz and associate Brian Masterson

The Washington Technology list of “Big Impact” deals is available here, and the list of the top 100 deals is available here.

Venable ranked 22 in the Roll Call Top Lobbying Firms for 2007 survey, which was published February 25, 2008. Firm rank was determined by total fees reported to the Senate and House.

K Street's top firms cashed in on the new legislative energy unleashed by new Democratic majorities to post solid overall growth of about 9 percent in 2007.

But the power switch and a Democratic-led revamp of lobbying rules—as well as a harsher earmark environment—spawned uncertainty that produced widely varying individual performances among the 25 largest shops.

Ray Shepherd was quoted in "Hot Topic: It's not war, but baseball is matter for Congress," an article from the February 23, 2008 edition of Newsday.com. The article discusses the relevance of drug use by professional and Olympic athletes as a Congressional issue, and the potentially positive impact that Congressional investigations into allegations of illegal drug use could have for professional sports such as baseball.

"Congress can walk and chew gum at the same time. This is a legitimate area of interest. And it's not like Congress is ignoring the war or the three-dollar-a-gallon gas prices, " said Shepherd. "Congress holds these kinds of hearings all the time. It's just that they rarely are on ESPN."

Proponents of Congressional involvement in professional sports argue that its significance in American culture justifies the regulation of those aspects of public policy that relate to sports.

Shepherd said he was convinced that the 2005 congressional hearings on steroids in baseball served as pump-priming motivation for the sport at last to face its drug issues. "Mark McGwire," he said, "is not in the Hall of Fame, and may never be in the Hall of Fame, because of those hearings."

Jim Burnley was quoted in "Any NWA deal likely to face tough antitrust test," an article from the February 21, 2008 issue of Pioneer Press. The article addresses the proposed merger between Northwest Airlines and Delta Air Lines and the certain tough review in store by federal antitrust regulators, who have the final word on creating the world's largest airline.

Burnley, a former U.S. transportation secretary under President Ronald Reagan, said the antitrust team "knows it will have a lot of people looking over its shoulder."

"They'll scrub it down as thoroughly as they can," Burnley said.

The sheer size and scope of a combined Delta-Northwest, and the possibility the merger would trigger a domino effect as competitors scramble to keep up, is a key point for politicians interested in pressuring regulators.

However, as far as size is concerned, Burnley said it's "not particularly relevant to the analysis. What they look at is the utlimate benefit to the consumer."

Andrew Currie was quoted in "Sidley's $80 Million Haul, " an article from the February 18, 2008 issue of Legal Times. The story discusses the Federal-Mogul Global Corp. bankruptcy which, in the course of six years, has employed more than 50 law firms from Delaware to Los Angeles and produced some staggering billables.

At press time, the last count revealed that the $6.3 billion Southfield, Mich.-based auto parts maker had sunk approximately $650 million -- much of it on legal fees -- into the case, which flowed from hundreds of thousands of asbestos injury claims related to gaskets, brake pads, and other parts the company manufactured.

"When you're talking about a case of this size, it's not an aberration for there to be fees of this magnitude, " says Currie, a Venable partner currently representing a creditor in the litigation.

Patricia McDermott was quoted in "CEO Pay; Behind the Numbers," an article from the February 16, 2008 edition of The National Journal. The article addresses the often misrepresented annual salaries of CEOs of associations and other nonprofits as reported in public compensation lists. Though the figures come directly from the Internal Revenue Service's Form 990, the tax document on which nonprofits report their annual budget, compensation payments, and financial underpinnings, accountants and tax lawyers agree that the Form 990 numbers don't tell the entire story.

When a group reports its CEO's salary, "what you're really seeing is a lot of different elements--salary, deferred compensation, retirement--and sometimes they're not broken out well," says McDermott.

Ray Shepherd was quoted in "Pettitte praised by Congress, but hits are coming soon, " an article published February 14, 2008 to SportsIllustrated.com. The story discusses the Congressional testimony given by Andy Pettitte against Roger Clemens. Pettitte, who said in his deposition, and again in his affidavit, that Clemens admitted using growth hormone in a conversation in either 1999 or 2000, received praise for his assumed honesty. The majority of the members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform were so satisfied with Pettitte's testimony and perceived character that they supported his dismissal from the hearing.

"I think it's about them just cutting him some slack," says Shepherd. " One can argue that that pressure [in a public hearing] sometimes changes people's answers. [But] I don't know what more you gain other than yet another witness in all of this."

"Obviously, they found him very credible," Shepherd says. " Pettitte played it just right. You go in and you testify truthfully, transparently and respond in a timely fashion."

Ray Shepherd was quoted in "Waxman has options but won't commit on Clemens," an article from the February 14, 2008 edition of The Los Angeles Times. The story examines the real possibility of perjury charges after Major League Baseball player Roger Clemens stuck to his story and testified that he had never used steroids or human growth hormone.

After nearly five hours of intense questioning of Clemens and his former personal trainer, Brian McNamee, by Henry A. Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, legal experts say Waxman's committee certainly has options to consider.

Shepherd said that while McNamee's stories are being confirmed, with the exception of his allegations about Clemens, Clemens has strayed into an area where he could be investigated and charged with violations under a false statement statute, including perjury or obstruction of Congress.

"This was remarkable theater, and with the additional evidence today, I believe with a Republican buy-in, like from ranking committee member Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), there could be a majority conclusion from the committee that there was additional false testimony," Shepherd said. "It won't just come from Waxman."

Some Republican members of the committee criticized McNamee, with Rep. Dan Burton (R-Ind.) scolding the trainer for producing "lie after lie after lie," regarding McNamee's involvement in a 2001 sexual battery investigation in Florida.

Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), however, handed Clemens what Shepherd said was "a damning indictment," when he told the pitcher, "If I walked in here even-steven, the person I believe most is Andy Pettitte. He swings the balance to Mr. McNamee."

Said Shepherd: "Cummings is a thoughtful congressman, he pored over those documents, did his homework, and listened intently. For him to make that statement was real insightful as to what the other side of the dais was thinking."

Suzanne Garwood was quoted in "Foreclosure Bill Would Mandate Mitigation," an article in the February 13, 2008 issue of American Banker. The article discusses proposed legislation by Rep. Maxine Waters, chair of the House Financial Services Housing Subcommittee, which would ban foreclosures unless lenders make good-faith efforts to keep borrowers in their home and would require reporting on modifications.

The bill is intended to amend the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act by prohibiting foreclosures unless loan-loss-mitigation efforts had been tried first. It also defines acceptable loss-mitigation activities, including waivers of late payments and penalty interest, forbearance, modification of loan terms, extension of maturity date, and having another mortgage company assume the loan.

Industry representatives who have analyzed the draft said it would create a host of problems. "It seems awfully patriarchal in terms of laying out suggested loss mitigation that servicers are doing naturally; and to have to check off these boxes would be terribly burdensome," said Garwood. "These efforts are sort of directed at shoring up a problem that servicers are already addressing. The horse is probably already out of the barn, and this bill doesn't really help. It just adds more burden and unnecessarily so."

As Venable's Baltimore office prepares for the move to the Pratt Street corridor, it is subletting 30,000 square feet in the Candler Building from Johns Hopkins' Public Health division to accommodate its information technology and accounting operations.

Jim Burnley was quoted in the Bloomberg News story "Airline mergers to face scrutiny," which ran in the February 8, 2008 edition of The Chicago Daily Herald.

A U.S. airline merger plan would get a "long" review by U.S. lawmakers concerned the industry may consolidate to as few as two major carriers, the House aviation subcommittee chairman said.

In response to comments made by lawmakers challenging airline executives, Burnley said their ability to influence whether a merger gets approved is "very limited."

The U.S. Justice Department's antitrust division decides mergers, leaving lawmakers mainly with the "bully pulpit" to try to influence public opinion, said Burnley.

Sig Libowitz, a first year associate in the SEC and White Collar Group, wrote the screenplay for, produced, and appears in "The Response," a 30 minute short film based on the transcripts of the military's Combatant Status Review tribunals held at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The film was inspired by actual transcripts of detainee hearings that Libowitz read while a law student at the University of Maryland.

"You don't have to be an attorney, or even a regular viewer of Law and Order, to know that the military tribunals that take place at the Guantanamo prison camp are worlds away from what most Americans know as the criminal justice system," wrote the Baltimore Sun's Jean Marbella in a feature article about Libowitz and the film.

"The issues on both sides are complex and we went to great lengths to portray that complexity without forcing a point of view on the audience," said Libowitz." This film is about the questions and the issues raised. Rather than hit an audience over the head, the belief was that by telling a compelling and suspenseful courtroom drama, we can engage an audience and present a process and a situation that most people are unaware of."

The film, which was shot at the University of Maryland School of Law over three days last week, has received widespread media attention in numerous outlets including The Baltimore Sun, Slate.com, The Washington Times, The Associated Press, Newsweek, Forbes, WTOP.com, The Guardian of London and The International Herald Tribune.

The film stars Peter Riegart (Crossing Delancey, Animal House, The Sopranos), Kate Mulgrew ( "Captain Janeway" in Star Trek-Voyager, Throw Momma from the Train), and Aasif Mandvi, one of the star "correspondents" of Comedy Central's The Daily Show.

John Cooney was quoted in Associated Press article, "States Try to Silence Robo-Calls," February 7, 2008. The article addresses robo-calls, the campaign tactic overwhelmingly considered a nuisance, and the proposed legislation to expand the federal "do not call" list, overseen by the Federal Trade Commission, to allow voters to opt out of unwanted political robo-calls. The national "do not call" list, created in 2003, contains an exemption for organizations engaged in political, charitable or survey work.

On Wednesday, Congress sent to President Bush two bills to make permanent the program to protect consumers from unwanted phone calls from telemarketers via the no-call list. Excluding political robo-calls wasn't included, however, in part because banning the automated calls raises constitutional questions.

"Political speech occupies such an important part in the scheme of democratic government that any form of political speech including one that's delivered through this mechanism is protected by the First Amendment and entitled to the greatest degree of protection," said Cooney.

Cooney said limits on commercial telemarketers have been upheld by the courts because commercial speech is entitled to a lesser degree of protection. "Commercial speech is different because it proposes a transaction between buyer and seller and that is not as important to the functioning of the democracy as a call that proposes that you vote for somebody in an election."

Jim Burnley comments on recent efforts by regulators to repair aviation air traffic and solutions moving forward in the February 4, 2008 edition of CQ Weekly.

Jeffrey Tenenbaum and Aaron Hiller authored the article, "The New Form 990: Giving the IRS a Clearer Picture," which appeared in the February 2008 issue of the Association News. The article provides an overview of revisions by the IRS to the Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, a final draft of which was released on December 20, 2007.

Though the Form 990 has served as the principal channel of communication between nonprofits (recently as many as 1.3 million) and the federal government for over 30 years, significant changes had not been made to it until now. The new Form 990 is intended to simplify the filing process and to better allow an organization to "tell its story" and includes revisions such as a streamlined summary page and a consolidated Schedule O.

Ari Karen was quoted in a recent Nation's Restaurant News article, on the wave of litigation the restaurant industry faces despite focused efforts to institute tort reform.

"The No. 1 lawsuit employers are now facing is the wage hour: minimum wage and overtime,” Karen says. “That may sound like it’s a little money, but you’d be surprised how quickly those numbers can add up. When you bring it across all your employees going back three to six years, depending on what state you’re in, you add attorney fees onto it, and a small amount of liability can very quickly become a very large number.”

Another common lawsuit faced by restaurants involves breaks, he says. If a worker says he wants to skip his break and eat while he’s doing dishes, that’s a violation of various state laws, “but that scenario happens in almost every restaurant,” Karen says. “These laws are arcane. They were written in the ’20s and ’30s, and they don’t necessarily apply to the world we live in now.”

According to Karen, other areas in restaurants frequently face lawsuits include benefit disputes and allegations of discrimination based on age, sexual preference and race.

Until such laws are reformed, Karen says, plaintiff lawyers will allege violations on behalf of clients. And when those cases come before a judge, the plaintiff almost always wins. According to Karen, restaurateurs can easily prevent break, wage and other disputes by having an attorney familiar with state laws conduct an audit to uncover the restaurant’s vulnerabilities and develop proactive corrective action plans.

Ron Glancz was quoted in "Ohio Attorney General Sues Freddie Mac, Says It Hid Exposure to Subprime Securities," an article from the January 28, 2008 edition of Legal News. Ohio Attorney General Marc Dann filed class securities claims against Freddie Mac, alleging the federally chartered home finance firm injured shareholders in the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System and others by hiding its vulnerability to securities backed by subprime mortgages.

The lawsuit, filed January 18, represents the latest in the growing collection of legal actions by state and local governments to hold financial services firms responsible for mortgage-related woes.

Glancz said the suit highlights the increasingly important role of state attorneys general in connection with financial services issues. Expect that trend to continue in other states as credit concerns play out, he said. "Attorneys general are going to be very active."

Michael G. Roberts was quoted in "Dubai Ports World to Spend $250m on Mariel facility," an article from the January 2008 edition of CubaNews. The article discusses Dubai Ports World's plans to invest between $250 million and $300 million to convert the dilapidated Cuban port of Mariel into a modern container facility.

"Dubai Ports has been very aggressive about taking its profits from the oil business and diversifying, " said Roberts. "Infrastructure is a very attractive investment area, and there's a huge need for investment in Cuba. They're not stupid. They've apparently been able to strike a deal with the Cuban government.

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Jeff Tenenbaum was quoted in “Life Is Good When Contracts Are Managed,” a story in the January 2008 issue of Associations Now magazine. The article draws on the contract management horror stories and best practices of association executives and attorneys who represent the groups to demonstrate the need for strong controls and contract approval processes.

“I’m not one of those people who say every contract needs to go through a legal review,” Tenenbaum says. “Often that’s just a crutch that doesn’t always solve the problems organizations have with contracts. It needs to be a joint effort between lawyers and the business manager in charge of the areas to determine how important the contract is and how much money is at stake."

Tenenbaum also points out the limitations of legal review. A lawyer may be good at reworking vendor-written contracts that provide all the protection to the service provider, but he or she is not going to be nearly as expert in determining if the business or financial parts of the agreement are appropriate for the organization.

Greg Cross chairman of Venable’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Group and Robert Gottlieb co-chair of the firm’s Real Estate Group were quoted in a December 31 Legal Times story on the outlook for law firms as the subprime crisis evolves.

“When money flows easily, the rising tide carries bad decisions,” Gottlieb said, sharing an explanation one of his clients gave for the easy credit that gave rise to the crisis. Those decisions will drive an upswing in work for firms with strong bankruptcy practices.

The outlook has not been this good for bankruptcy practices in several years according to Cross. “The story coming out of the subprime crisis is going to be what it does to liquidity for the next two to three years, which will determine what we do for the next five,” he said.

In general, the attorneys quoted in the story believe that Washington-area firms with a healthy portfolio of regulatory work will be somewhat insulated from downturns in the transactional market as clients will seek guidance on the direction regulatory agencies will take when the new Administration takes office a little more than a year from now.

Jeffrey Tenenbaum and Aaron Hiller authored the article, "Telling the IRS a better story: Unveiling the 2008 Form 990," which appeared in the December 21, 2007 edition of Association Trends. The article provides an overview of revisions by the IRS to the Form 990, Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax, a final draft of which was released on December 20, 2007.

Though the Form 990 has served as the principal channel of communication between nonprofits (recently as many as 1.3 million) and the federal government for over 30 years, significant changes had not been made to it until now. The new Form 990 is intended to simplify the filing process and to better allow an organization to "tell its story" and includes revisions such as a streamlined summary page and a consolidated Schedule O.

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Steven Ludwig published the December 2007 edition of his column, "The Medicine Chest" in Intellectual Property Today. This month's article, "Thank You GSK and Everyone Who Helped," discusses Glaxo Smith Kline's (GSK) October 9, 2007 complaint filed against the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) challenging the Final Rules, and the subsequent decision by Judge Cacheris to grant GSK's request for a preliminary injunction against the PTO, October 31, 2007.

GSK asked the Court to preliminarily and permanently enjoin the PTO from implementing the Final Rules as they were allegedly promulgated without proper legal authority and were vague, arbitrary and capricious. If implemented, the Final Rules would significantly change the way patent law has been practiced since its inception, thus GSK's victory is considered a win in favor of patent attorneys and the patent bar.

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Ed Wilson will appear on "Homeland Security: Inside & Out," a weekly show on public radio broadcast through KAMU 90.9 FM at Texas A&M University and available worldwide by clicking here will air on December 11, 2007 at 6:00 p.m. EST.

The interview focuses on the lectures Ed gives at the National War College on presidential powers and civil liberties in time of war.

Ron Taylor authored the article, "OSHA's Rule on Employees' Protective Equipment," which appeared in the December 11, 2007 edition of Employment Law 360. The article addresses the controversial rule passed by OSHA requiring employers to pay for employees' protective equipment and provides an overview of its constraints and implications to employers.

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A. Everett Hoeg, III was honored in the December 2007 edition of Virginia Business as one of the magazine’s 2007 Legal Elite for his tax, estates and trusts practice.

"My specialty allows me to form close relationships with my clients and to help them arrange their personal and financial affairs in ways that the wealth they have worked so hard to create can be preserved and passed on to their family members and charitable interests in tax-efficient and effective ways," Hoeg said.

For more than 30 years, Hoeg has helped multiple generations of Northern Virginia's entrepreneurs and executives build and protect their businesses and wealth through proactive planning.

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An article in the December 5, 2007 edition of NVFC E-Update, the electronic newsletter of the National Volunteer Firefighter Council, announced that Venable is now an Advocate-level corporate member of the Council. Venable will provide legal counsel to the NVFC as it pursues its mission ensuring the continued empowerment of firefighters and EMS personnel.

With more than 600 nonprofit clients nationwide, Venable is home to one of the largest concentrations of attorneys providing counseling and advocacy for trade associations, professional societies, and other nonprofit organizations.

James Dunbar was mentioned in the Maryland Daily Record article, "Loyola can build center," published December 5, 2007. The article discusses the dispute between Loyola College of Maryland and the Citizens Against Loyola Multi-use Center (CALM) over whether Loyola should be allowed to build a center used for religious retreats in northern Baltimore County.

CALM argued that the center will disrupt the environment and the community; Loyola contended that the retreat would be a quiet place for prayer and contemplation. In an unreported opinion on Wednesday, December 5, 2007, a three-judge panel of the Court of Special Appeals held that Loyola is entitled to a special exception to build the center.

Venable attorneys advising Loyola include James Dunbar , Rob Hoffman , Arnold Jablon and Chris Mudd .

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Michael Gollin was quoted in the National Law Journal article, "University Patent Work on Upswing." The article discusses the surge in university patenting activity and consequent increase in legal needs and spending. Law firms around the country are reporting growth in university-related work, from basic patent filing and licensing advice to advising how best to restructure appropriate departments for commercializing intellectual property, and infringement lawsuits. Yet as the need for legal counsel expands, so does the struggle by universities to keep pace with related-costs.

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Mitch Mirviss was mentioned in the Baltimore Sun article, "Being a Lawyer is No Laughing Matter: Freedom, democracy need lawyers' work," published November 18, 2007. In light of the large-scale protests by lawyers in Pakistan, the article challenges unfavorable stereotypes of lawyers by providing examples of how lawyers have played a vital role in the fostering of our democracy and social institutions for more than 200 years. Mirviss was cited as exemplary for his efforts in support of Baltimore's foster children.

Mirviss and another attorney filed a 400-page report in federal court documenting what they say is failure to provide adequate care for foster children in Baltimore and asked the court to declare the Department of Human Resources and Baltimore's Department of Social Services in contempt for failing to fulfill the terms of a 1988 consent decree that called for rapid reform in child care.

Mirviss is one of several Baltimore attorneys who represented foster children when the class-action lawsuit was filed in 1984. He has been involved in child welfare and foster care issues for nearly thirty years.

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Asa Hutchinson was mentioned in the Government Executive article, "Staying on Track," published November 15, 2007. The article discusses the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) program, US VISIT, a system meant to track the entrance of foreign nationals through the nation's 115 international airports and cruise ship terminals at 14 seaports. The program is now scheduled to install the "exit" part of the system at all American airports by a December 2008 deadline, but not without criticism from major airlines and other government agencies.

Principal among concerns is the question of where US VISIT exit procedures should be located within airport terminals, as well as the utility and sophistication of the proposed "exit" technology, though the "entry" portion has largely been considered a success. In spite of their track record implementing and updating the first phase of the program, airlines and outsiders are also skeptical that DHS will be able to stay on budget and on schedule.

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