Armstrong Teasdale LLP announces the arrival of associates Irina Sandler, Lauren Ashley Smith, and Adam R. Wuller.

“The subtle shift in the economy has brought about additional business and afforded us the opportunity to add talent,” said Michael A. Chivell, Armstrong Teasdale’s managing partner. “As we position Armstrong Teasdale as a premier firm in this region, we’ll continue to place a premium on attracting exceptional attorneys in key practice areas.”

Former legal counsel at the affiliate of Emerson Electric in Moscow, Irina Sandler joins the firm’s International practice group and will focus on international trade, import and export controls, Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) and antitrust compliance. She earned her LL.M. in Intellectual Property and Technology Law from Washington University School of Law, was an Edmund S. Muskie Graduate Program Fellow at the University of Illinois College of Law, and received her Degree in Law from Russian Law Academy of the Russian Ministry of Justice.

Lauren Ashley Smith, a recent law school graduate, is a member of the firm’s Public Finance and Real Estate, and Financial Services practice groups. Drawing on her research and scholarship in land use, and state and local government law, she will focus on public/private real estate development and municipal finance. Additionally, Smith will assist lenders and other creditors seeking to maximize their recovery against debtors in litigation, liquidation, reorganization, and bankruptcy including all aspects of post-judgment collection efforts. She earned her J.D. from Washington University School of Law and her B.A. from Marquette University.

Adam R. Wuller, also a recent graduate, is a registered patent attorney with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and joins the firm’s Intellectual Property practice group. The majority of his work will involve the preparation and prosecution of U.S. and foreign patent applications in a wide range of technical disciplines, including mechanical and medical devices. Wuller received his J.D. from Saint Louis University School of Law and his B.S. in engineering physics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

About Armstrong Teasdale: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 250 lawyers in offices across the U.S. and China, has a demonstrable track record of delivering sophisticated legal advice and exceptional service to a dynamic client base. Whether an issue is local or global, practice area specific or industry related, Armstrong Teasdale provides each client with an invaluable combination of legal resources and practical advice in nearly every area of law. For more information, please visit www.armstrongteasdale.com.

Law firm Shapiro & Fishman has accused Attorney General Bill McCollum of pre-election grandstanding and “abuse of power” in connection with McCollum’s recent announcement that his office is conducting a foreclosure fraud investigation into that firm and two others.

The allegations are in response to a coordinated investigation announced by McCollum during an Aug. 10 press conference. McCollum said his office is looking at whether the three South Florida firms engaged in unfair and deceptive actions in their handling of foreclosure cases.

The other firms were the Law Offices of Marshall C. Watson in Fort Lauderdale and the Law Offices of David J. Stern, P.A. in Plantation.

The firm’s response came Friday in a motion to quash a subpoena in Palm Beach County Circuit Court.

American Civil Liberties Union lawyers filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the FBI, CIA and other federal intelligence agencies, accusing them of detaining and torturing an American citizen later convicted on terrorism charges in the United Arab Emirates.

The lawsuit filed by the ACLU of Southern California seeks information about the treatment of Naji Hamdan, an American of Lebanese origin who was arrested in the United Arab Emirates in August 2008.

The ACLU accuses U.S. agencies of colluding with United Arab Emirates security forces, which kept Hamdan in a secret prison in Abu Dhabi without charging him with a crime until an earlier lawsuit by the rights group prompted his transfer to an official prison.

Hamdan, 44, who now lives in Lebanon with his family, was released in October 2009 after being convicted and sentenced to time served.

The former auto parts dealer and manager of the Hawthorne Islamic Center in Southern California has said he confessed under torture and suspected that U.S. authorities played a role in his detention and prosecution.

The European Union's high court temporarily exempted Inuit hunters in Canada and Greenland on Friday from the bloc's new trade ban on seal products, while asking European Parliament and EU governments to justify the ban.

Indigenous people had argued their livelihoods depend on their ability to hunt seals and export products such as seal meat, pelts, blubber, organs and oil used in producing omega-3 fatty acid supplements.

They said the EU ban on seal products, which went into effect Friday, disproportionately impacted their traditional way of life.

EU governments have argued that Canada's annual seal hunt was inhumane in allowing pups to be clubbed to death so their pelts would not be damaged by bullets or blades.

The Inuit account for only 1 percent of Canadian seal imports into the EU. These amounted to euro4.1 million last year, according to EU data.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare, which lobbied intensely for the ban, said it hoped Friday's exemption was short-lived.

"We expect this to be a brief delay in the full implementation of the EU seal ban," group spokesman Adrian Hiel said.

NASA's former chief of staff has pleaded guilty to conspiracy in a case stemming from a $600,000 contract for Mississippi State University, a client of his consulting firm.

Sheila Wilbanks, a U.S. Attorney's office spokeswoman, said Courtney Stadd pleaded guilty Wednesday in federal court in Gulfport, Miss.

Stadd faces up to five years in prison at sentencing on Nov. 18.

Prosecutors say Stadd conspired with Liam Sarsfield, NASA's former chief deputy engineer, to guide contracts. Sarsfield pleaded guilty in November to one count.

Stadd was NASA's chief of staff and White House liaison from 2001-2003. Stadd was convicted in 2009 and sentenced to probation in a different case for steering a $10 million contract to MSU.

Intel Corp. agreed to buy McAfee Inc. for $7.68 billion, its biggest-ever acquisition, adding security software to its chipmaking arsenal.

McAfee investors will receive $48 a share in cash, Santa Clara, California-based Intel, the world’s largest chipmaker, said in a statement today. That’s 60 percent more than McAfee’s closing price yesterday. Both boards have unanimously approved the deal, Intel said.

The acquisition of McAfee, which trails Symantec Corp. in security software, will give Intel an advantage over other chip companies that must use outside security programs, said Hans Mosesmann, an analyst at Raymond James Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida. The deal also helps Intel expand beyond PCs as Chief Executive Officer Paul Otellini is trying to break into mobile handsets and grow in other portable devices.

“Their ability to be successful in the non-PC market, and even in the PC market, is going to depend more on system solutions, and security is becoming a really big deal,” said Mosesmann. “The security threats that are out there are not going away -- you could argue that they are going to get worse - - and having a tightly coupled hardware and software is a strategic advantage.”

The California Supreme Court says furloughs of state workers can resume while it reviews whether governors have the authority to mandate unpaid days off.

The announcement Wednesday was a victory for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has sought to save the state money by imposing another round of furloughs.

Schwarzenegger spokesman Aaron McLear says furloughs for about 150,000 state workers will begin Friday.

The Republican governor recently ordered workers to be furloughed three days a month, following a previous round that ended in June. McLear says the furloughs are estimated to save the state $150 million a month.