Dave Frohnmayer, retired president of the University of Oregon, has become "of counsel" to the law firm of Harrang Long Gary Rudnick, which has offices in Salem, Eugene and Portland.

In his role "of counsel," the 69-year-old Frohnmayer will take on special assignments but will not be a partner.

A former legislator, Frohnmayer retired June 30 after 15 years as university president, and had also been a professor and dean of the law school.

Frohnmayer is on a sabbatical from the university, but will continue to teach a freshman honors course in leadership.

Law firm Hill Dickinson has launched a new fixed-cost service for SMEs to help them keep employment contracts up-to-date.

The Employment Contracts Diagnostic Toolkit has been created to review companies’ contracts and prepare a clear report, which identifies any areas of legal non-compliance, commercial weaknesses and other legal risks.

“British employment laws are notoriously strict and change on a regular basis,” said Will Clayton, an empployment partner at Hill Dickinson. “As a result, any errors or weaknesses within contracts of employment can not only create misunderstandings and loss of productivity, but can also increase the likelihood of disputes and legal claims.

In recent years, law firms have lost market share advising employers on employment law by a number of firms such as Salford-based Employment Law Advisory Services and Peninsula Business Services – both of which charge companies a subscription fee based on updating firms on employment and health & safety law as well as providing insurance against legal costs if a business does find itself brought before an employment tribunal.

However, Clayton said that it encouraged clients “to do more than merely comply with their minimum legal obligations by using their contracts with employees as a business tool to protect their commercial interests, improve labour relations and encourage employees to perform at their best”.

“We believe this service is unique in its offer and is one of several products that will be developed to support our client base.”

Whiteman Osterman and Hanna LLP, the Capital Region's largest law firm, has announced that John Alsina of Saranac Lake, will be joining the firm.

Alsina's practice will focus on European and Canadian clients with business interests in New York, and on issues involving technology development and application. Mr. Alsina has been Of Counsel to Weissberg, Gaetjens, Zeigenfeuter and Associates, a law firm in Paris, France, where he will continue to act as a consultant on specific matters. Previously, Mr. Alsina held positions at Telecordia and Bellcore, where he was involved with telecommunications technology and software, and at Viacom, where he advised on technology strategies and intellectual property protection.

Alsina graduated with a B.A. degree from Columbia University. He obtained his M.B.A. degree from the University of Chicago and his Juris Doctorate from Cornell University. Mr. Alsina will maintain an office in Whiteman Osterman & Hanna's Albany and Plattsburgh offices.

State police say a secretary has been charged in connection with the theft of more than $700,000 from the Hudson Valley law firm where she worked.

Troopers say 43-year-old Mary Merten of New Paltz was charged Wednesday with grand larceny, forgery, falsifying business records and possession of a forged instrument.

The arrest follows a five-month investigation into an embezzlement scheme at a local attorneys office where Merten worked as a legal secretary and bookkeeper.

Investigators say more than $700,000 was stolen from corporate and personal accounts associated with the firm. The law firm's name wasn't released.

Merten was being held Thursday in Ulster County Jail in lieu of $500,000 bail. It couldn't be immediately determined if she had a lawyer.

Thelen LLP, a U.S. law firm that once had more than 600 lawyers, said it filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation after Citigroup Inc (C.N), a large creditor, cut off needed funding.

The 85-year-old firm said Citigroup "is no longer willing to advance funds for the cost of collection and (to) wind down operations," or to fund the costs of a Chapter 11 proceeding, according to a filing on Thursday with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Manhattan."

Thelen also said its estimated assets "will be insufficient to result in any meaningful payment" to unsecured creditors, in light of Citigroup's $7.2 million secured loan.

A Citigroup spokeswoman declined to comment.

According to its bankruptcy petition, also filed on Thursday, Thelen has between $10 million and $50 million of assets, and between $50 million and $100 million of liabilities.

Thelen shut down in late 2008 after the recession hurt revenue, many partners departed, and efforts to merge with another firm fell apart.

The San Francisco-based firm had reached its maximum size following a 2006 merger with New York's Brown Raysman Millstein Felder & Steiner LLP. Thelen said its largest remaining creditors are in New York.

A debtor can liquidate under either Chapter 7 or Chapter 11 of the U.S. bankruptcy code. A Chapter 11 liquidation can make more economic sense for a debtor and give creditors more of a say in how proceeds are distributed.

A former drug enforcement official employed by accused swindler Allen Stanford has pleaded not guilty to charges that he illegally ordered shredding of documents in the fraud case.

Thomas Raffanello entered the plea Friday in federal court in Fort Lauderdale. The 61-year-old Raffanello rose to became head of global security at Stanford Financial Group after leaving five years ago as chief of Miami's U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration office.

Prosecutors say Raffanello illegally supervised destruction of Stanford records despite a court order that they be preserved. The three charges against Raffanello carry a combined maximum prison sentence of 30 years.

Raffanello's attorney says his client is innocent and that the destroyed documents were only duplicates.

The state Court of Appeals on Thursday struck down an Indiana law requiring government-issued photo identification for voters, overturning on state constitutional grounds a strict law previously upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Considered one of the nation's toughest voter identification laws, it requires that a state or federal photo ID card be presented at the ballot box. Critics have said it disenfranchises some poor, older and minority voters. Supporters contend it is needed to prevent voter fraud at the polls, which critics say is rare.

Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels called Thursday's 3-0 ruling "an act of judicial arrogance."

"It would be one thing if this thing had not already been litigated from the bottom up through the federal system, and multiple court rulings — including the Supreme Court of the United States — hadn't already spoken," Daniels said.

The Indiana Democratic Party previously challenged the law in federal court, saying it violated the U.S. Constitution. But the nation's highest court upheld 6-3 in April 2008.

The League of Women Voters then challenged the law in state courts, arguing it violated the Indiana Constitution by imposing a requirement on some, but not all, voters.

A Marion County judge dismissed the suit in December, but the League appealed, and this time a panel of judges ruled in its favor. In a 29-page ruling, Judge Patricia A. Riley wrote that the trial court must declare the law void because it regulates voters in a way that is not "uniform and impartial."

The judges held that it was irrational to require those who vote in person to verify their identities when those who vote by mail are not required to do so even though absentee voting is more susceptible to fraud. The panel also said the law arbitrarily gives preferential treatment to people who vote in nursing homes where they live because they aren't required to show a photo ID even though other elderly people who vote elsewhere must.

While the nursing home discrepancy could be remedied easily by requiring those residents to present ID, the treatment favoring absentee voters might require legislation to fix, the judges said.