Pataki spokesman David Catalfamo said the governor is not ruling out a possible later jump into the presidential campaign, although Pataki has lately cut back on campaign-like activities.

"I am thrilled to be joining Chadbourne," said Pataki in a news release issued by the law firm. "This is one of the great New York firms, and I look forward to participating in its growth."

Chadbourne's managing partner, Charles O'Neill, said the addition of Pataki and Cahill to the firm "will build upon Chadbourne's growing renewable energy practice."

Cahill is a former state environmental conservation commissioner. Pataki was praised by environmental groups throughout his 12 years in office, particularly for his efforts to add 1 million acres of preserve land to the state.

Pataki, who ousted Democratic Gov. Mario Cuomo in 1994, did not seek re-election last year to a fourth, four-year term.

Native American plaintiffs in the decade-old Indian Trust case have rejected a new $7 billion settlement proposal from the US government but the chairman of the Senate Indian Affairs Committee nonetheless says he will hold a hearing later this month to provide administration officials, plaintiffs, and representatives from other interested parties an opportunity to testify publicly on the settlement offer. Byron Dorgan (D-ND) says the government is admitting liability, but Department of the Interior officials have disputed that interpretation. Native plaintiffs say that the offer does not go far enough, being "pennies on the dollar" in respect of the value of their claim, and that it goes too far in precluding further claims.

The class-action Indian trust litigation involves the alleged mismanagement by the US Department of the Interior of American Indian money - lease and sales revenues, permit fees and and interest - received and held for Native Americans by the US government over the last 120 years. In July, the Cobell plaintiffs said they might consider an $8 billion settlement, much lower than the $27.5 billion figure that the plaintiffs demanded for settlement in 2005.

The KIPCO Group is one of the biggest diversified holding companies in the Middle East and North Africa, with assets worth more than US$18 billion under management or control. The Group has substantial ownerships interests in a portfolio of 54 companies operating across 17 countries. The company's main business sectors are financial services and media & telecommunications. We were retained by KIPCO on this transaction following our work as issuer's counsel on the proposed IPO of one of its subsidiaries, to whom we were introduced by another client of the firm.

The Weil Gotshal team was led by corporate partners Jeremy Dickens and Ian Hamilton, assisted by Simon Lyell and Simon Burrows. Partner Michael Nicklin provided finance advice.

About Weil, Gotshal & Manges

Weil, Gotshal & Manges is an international law firm of over 1,100 lawyers, including approximately 300 partners. Weil, Gotshal is headquartered in New York, with offices in Austin, Boston, Brussels, Budapest, Dallas, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Miami, Munich, Paris, Prague, Providence, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Warsaw, Washington, DC and Wilmington.

Gov. Rod Blagojevich today called on lawmakers to "seize the moment" and enact new taxes on business, lease the state lottery and borrow money to fund a massive expansion of health care, pump new money into education and relieve the state's growing pension debt.

Delivering a combined budget address and State of the State message to the General Assembly, Blagojevich said he stood with the middle class against business interests who have failed to "simply pay their fair share" of the state's tax burden.

"For decades, it's been the middle class and the working families of Illinois that have shouldered more and more of the tax burden. And while they've paid more, the wealthiest corporations in our state have paid less and less. The impact of this imbalance weakens our economy, burdens our families and holds our state back," Blagojevich said.

"And the saddest irony of all, the very people burdened by an unfair tax system, middle class families and working families were hurt by the underfunding of education, health care and pension funds," he said.

Telling lawmakers the choice was theirs to make, Blagojevich said, "To me, the choice is simple. I stand with the people."

Andrews Kurth LLP has named Elizabeth A. Campbell as its Chief Diversity Officer. Ms. Campbell is a partner at the firm and will devote her efforts full time to overseeing the firm’s diversity strategy. Leaders of the 400-attorney firm say that Ms. Campbell’s hiring is a key component in building an inclusive culture that embraces and leverages a diverse workforce and raises diversity awareness for the firm and its clients.

“Andrews Kurth is committed to being a leader in diversity, both because it’s the right thing to do and it makes business sense,” says Managing Partner Howard Ayers. “It’s important that our firm mirror the composition of the communities we serve, and we want to set an example of how to bring diversity home and make it operate. We undertook a nationwide search and found the right person for the job, someone with broad and high-level experience in the diversity arena, as well as solid legal credentials.”

Ms. Campbell has more than 25 years of experience in administrative and employment litigation both in law firm and in-house counsel settings and has led human resources, employment relations and diversity strategies at large corporations. Most recently Ms. Campbell served as Vice President of Employment Relations and Corporate Diversity Officer for the ARAMARK Corporation in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

She received her J.D. in 1978 from the University of Michigan Law School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, and her B.A. in 1975 from The American University in Washington, DC.

“It is an honor to join a firm that clearly values diversity and inclusion as a way to enhance the delivery of high quality client services,” says Ms. Campbell. “I am excited to make the move to Houston and to continue and expand the work already begun by Andrews Kurth.”

Ms. Campbell will report directly to Mr. Ayers and will work closely with Gene Locke, who chairs the firm’s Diversity Committee. She will also serve as a member of a steering committee overseeing all of the firm’s work in the areas of diversity, recruiting, professional development and marketing.
Mr. Locke says it is critical that Ms. Campbell be a full partner in the firm with her focus solely on the firm’s diversity strategy.

“The firm views these measures with such importance that we want Ms. Campbell to devote her full attention to diversity without the pressures of practicing law, even on a part-time basis,” he says. “To distract her from that mission would diminish our imperative.”

The hiring of Ms. Campbell is a continuation of Andrews Kurth’s leadership in the area of diversity. The firm has a Women’s Initiatives Committee to develop and retain the talents of its female attorneys and was one of the first law firms in the nation to host a retreat exclusively for its female attorneys and clients.

Most recently, International Law Partner Doris Rodriguez was named to the 17-member board of the Texas Diversity Council, an organization that is committed to promoting diversity in the workplace and the community.

For more than a century, Andrews Kurth LLP has built its practice on the belief that “straight talk is good business.” Real answers, clear vision and mutual respect define the firm’s relationships with clients, colleagues, communities and employees. With more than 400 lawyers and offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, The Woodlands and Washington, DC, Andrews Kurth represents a wide array of clients in all areas of business law.

www.andrewskurth.com