UK Business + Law News - HFW's Senior Partner, Roderic O'Sullivan, will retire on 30 April 2007, after 36 years as a partner in the firm. Richard Crump will join HFW's Managing Partner, Greg Gray, and Deputy/International Partner, Marcus Bowman, who have both been re-elected, unopposed, for further terms in office.

Roderic has been a Partner at HFW since 1973 and he became Senior Partner in 2003 - his practice having centred on advising international transport and energy companies. His appointment as Senior Partner coincided with the restructuring of HFW into industry focussed practice groups. Apart from London, HFW has offices in Paris/Rouen, Piraeus, Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai and in 2006 opened offices in Dubai and Melbourne.

Richard is recognised by the independent legal directories as a shipping lawyer who is a market leader in his field. He joined HFW as a trainee in 1979, becoming a partner in 1987. Chambers UK 2007 directory says "Richard Crump is the 'perfect all rounder" and is recommended for traditional dry work and major casualty cases. His reputation is built on a 'straightforward practical and intelligent' approach".

In December 2006 HFW was awarded the Chambers Global Shipping Law Firm of the Year Award.

Roderic said 'It will be with very great pleasure that I hand over to Richard Crump whom I have known since 1978 when interviewing him to join our firm whilst he was an undergraduate at Oriel College Oxford. His formidable contribution and commitment to HFW has been justly rewarded with his election to the Senior Partner role".

Richard comments "When I joined HFW in 1979 there were 16 Partners and offices in Paris and Hong Kong in addition to London. There are now 97 Partners and the firm has nine global offices. It is a great privilege to be associated with this dynamic firm which I believe is well placed for the future. I look forward to continuing to develop and expand the business, with my Partners, in our chosen fields. Globalisation and the expansion of international trade have favoured our core areas of Shipping & Transport, Trade & Energy and Insurance & Reinsurance together with our Corporate & Commercial capability and we will seek to capitalise on this further".

Greg Gray added "I have great respect for Richard, having been in practice with him for over 20 years. I have no doubt that together we will be able to further the interests of our worldwide clientele, as HFW approaches its 125th year".

www.hfw.com

The Michigan-based law firm of Clark Hill PLC has opened an office in downtown Chicago, firm CEO John Hern announced today. Attorneys Tina M. Bird, W. Kent Carter, Richard H. Chapman, James M. Drake, Edward L. Filer, Gary E. Green, and Fuad R. Sulayman have joined as members in the Chicago office. Clark Hill Chicago offers a full line of legal services with a concentration in the construction, real estate, manufacturing and financial services industries, and is located at 150 North Michigan Avenue.

"We are very excited to announce the addition of these talented individuals to our team, and equally pleased to be able to offer our clients the enhanced benefits of service across the Midwest," John Hern said.

In addition to the seven attorneys presently practicing in the Chicago office, the firm plans to significantly increase the number of attorneys during the coming year.

Edward L. Filer will serve as the managing member of the firm's Chicago office. Filer has more than 15 years of experience as a business counselor and trial lawyer for businesses of all types, including the construction and real estate industries. Filer maintains a national practice and in 2006 his peers recognized him as an Illinois Leading Lawyer® in Construction Law and Privately Held Companies.

"We are looking forward to our role within such a highly regarded firm and carrying on in the Clark Hill tradition of dedication to client service and providing superior legal expertise," Filer said. "Each of the attorneys in our office offers substantial client experience in his or her respective area, and we look forward to providing enhanced resources to our current and future clients in the Chicago market."

Tina M. Bird joins Clark Hill with more than 10 years of experience in construction and commercial litigation matters, in which she represents contractors, owners, developers, subcontractors and design/builders in contract drafting and negotiation, payment disputes, delay damage claims, defective work claims and other construction disputes. She also represents clients in insurance related disputes.

W. Kent Carter focuses his practice on commercial litigation, with a concentration on the Uniform Commercial Code, including secured transactions, commercial sales, equipment leasing and negotiable instruments. He has more than 9 years of experience representing clients in complex contract disputes and business torts in state, federal, bankruptcy and appellate courts. Carter has defended numerous class actions in both state and federal courts, including actions for violation of the consumer fraud statutes, the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, the Credit Repair Organization Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

Richard H. Chapman has more than 23 years as a business counselor and trial lawyer representing businesses of all types, including financial institutions, professional service providers, manufacturers and distributors in litigation in state and federal trial and appeals courts and bankruptcy courts, as well as in arbitration, throughout the United States. Clients have consistently recognized both his strategic guidance and depth of business and legal experience resulting in favorable outcomes. His peers have recognized him as a 2006 Illinois Leading Lawyer® and an Illinois Super Lawyer.®

James M. Drake has more than 23 years of experience as a corporate counselor to both privately and publicly held companies. Drake focuses his practice on business and corporate transactions and commercial finance and secured transactions. He represents start-up businesses and established entities in all types of corporate and business representation, including: mergers, acquisitions and divestitures; corporate, limited liability and partnership organization; structuring and dissolution; and drafting and negotiating all types of corporate agreements and documentation. Drake has been recognized by his peers in as an Illinois Leading Lawyer® in the area of Closely and Privately Held Business Law.

Gary E. Green has more than 18 years of experience representing financial institutions, equipment lessors, in foreclosures, receiverships, lender liability, bankruptcy and restructuring in both state and federal courts throughout the United States. His experience also includes loan documentation, portfolio sales and purchases, and U.S. Small Business Administration loan programs.

Fuad R. Sulayman concentrates his practice on healthcare law, complex commercial litigation, and medical malpractice. Sulayman has represented physicians and has significant trial experience in both state and federal courts throughout the United States.

Clark Hill PLC is headquartered in Detroit, and has offices located throughout Michigan. The firm is a full service law firm, and is ranked among the Top 10 Largest Law Firms in the state of Michigan.(a)

(a)According to Crain's Detroit Business (03.06.06)

Firm Profile

Since 1890, Clark Hill PLC has been serving the business, government, non-profit and personal needs of clients. Clark Hill has offices in Detroit, Birmingham, Grand Rapids, and Lansing, Michigan, and Chicago, Illinois. Clark Hill is a full service law firm with more than 170 attorneys. For more information,

visit www.clarkhill.com.

Curtis partner Antonio M. Prida was featured in the January edition of Entorno, a news magazine of the Confederation of Employers of the Mexican Republic (COPARMEX), as the co-author of "A Proposed Agenda for an Electoral Reform." Mr. Prida's article indicates that past presidential elections in Mexico showed the strength of the electoral institutions which withstood pressure from populist parties and non-governmental groups. However, Mr. Prida also proposes reforms to the election laws in order to avoid the post-electoral drama witnessed by the world.

www.cm-p.com

Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP, a 500+ attorney nationally recognized, full service law firm announced today that fourteen attorneys have been elevated to partner status within six of their twelve firmwide U.S. locations, including Los Angeles, Las
Vegas, Phoenix, New York, Sacramento and San Francisco.

The following Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP attorneys are skilled advocates who have demonstrated superior litigation skills across a wide variety of case types:

Las Vegas, NV

Jeff Olster (Insurance Coverage & Bad Faith)

Los Angeles, CA

Rand Carstens (Employment & Labor), Jason Chermela(Medical Malpractice), Judd Gilefsky (Environmental Law & Toxic Tort), Sheila Starvish (Elder Law/Medical Malpractice), Ivan Tjoe (Commercial Litigation)

New York, New York
Stephanie Nashban (Directors & Officers)

Phoenix, Arizona
Mike Obert (Professional Liability)

Sacramento, CA
Scott Cote (Elder Law) and Karen Tang (Professional Liability)

San Francisco, CA
Sasha Cummings (General Liability), Paul Desrochers (Environmental Law & Toxic Tort), Danielle O'Bannon (Commercial Litigation, General Liability, Products Liability), Melynnie Rizvi (Employment & Labor)

Founded in 1979, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP has grown from a small firm with a core practice focusing on litigation into a full service firm with a highly diversified practice. While remaining exceptionally strong in the litigation arena, the Firm is actively involved in the representation of its clients in over 20 different practice areas. Lewis Brisbois offices are located in Chicago, Lafayette, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, New York, Orange County, Phoenix, Sacramento, San Bernardino, San Diego, San Francisco and Tucson.

http://www.lbbslaw.com

The Gibbons Del Deo Dolan Griffinger & Vecchione law firm said Monday it will now simply be known as Gibbons.

The move will take place next month and include the launch of a new logo. The 210-lawyer firm has been moving outside its base of Newark, N.J. It entered the Philadelphia market in May 2005 when it brought in former U.S Attorney David Marston as a partner. Seven months later, it acquired 25-lawyer litigation boutique Hecker Brown Sherry & Johnson in Philadelphia.

Firm officials said analyzing the name and brand began with research by a marketing specialist who interviewed clients, peers, alumni and lawyers.

"In these interviews, we found one resounding theme -- our clients, our peers and our own attorneys call us by the name Gibbons," Managing Partner Patrick C. Dunican Jr. said. "When the most important people to your business call you by one name, it is the logical next step to use that name in all communications to leverage the equity in that name to create a consistent message and increased brand awareness."

Shortening the name follows the trend for law firms and corporate America to brand the name most often referred to in both external and internal communications. It also pays tribute to standard bearer, John J. Gibbons, who returned to the firm in 1990 after serving as chief judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which includes Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware.

http://www.gibbonslaw.com/

SAN FRANCISCO--The Honorable Richard A. Kramer of the San Francisco Superior Court granted final approval today to a class action settlement resolving claims regarding pricing and collection practices for over 780,000 uninsured patients at all of Catholic Healthcare West's affiliate hospitals.

As part of the settlement, Class members will be entitled to make a claim for refunds or bill reductions of 35% from their prior hospital bills. For the next four years, Catholic Healthcare West ("CHW") hospitals have also agreed to maintain discounted pricing policies for uninsured patients that will make CHW's pricing for uninsured patients comparable to the pricing for patients with private insurance. In addition, CHW has agreed to maintain more compassionate collections policies that will protect uninsureds who fall behind in their payments. The settlement benefits have been valued at approximately $423 million.

The claims process under the settlement is ongoing. Claim forms are available online at the settlement website, www.chwsettlement.com, and the deadline to submit claims is March 8, 2007.

The Settlement Class includes all persons who:

• Received hospital services from a CHW-affiliated hospital between July 1, 2001 and September 25, 2006;
• At the time of treatment, were uninsured and had annual household income at or below $250,000.

"This settlement provides much-needed relief to hundreds of thousands of uninsured patients by substantially reducing their past medical bills and ensuring that in the future CHW maintains reasonable prices for all uninsured patients," said Plaintiffs' attorney Kelly M. Dermody, of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, in San Francisco, California. Co-counsel Sidney A. Backstrom of the Scruggs Law Firm added, "We are pleased that the Court granted final approval to this settlement, which not only secures fair pricing for uninsured patients, but also protects them from unfair and overly aggressive collections practices."

The lawsuit was filed by two uninsured patients on behalf of themselves and all uninsured patients at CHW-affiliated hospitals in California, Nevada and Arizona. The original complaint, filed in October 2005, alleged that CHW charged uninsured patients excessive and unfair prices for medical treatment and engaged in aggressive and unfair collections practices. CHW denied wrongdoing and liability in the case.

Lead Counsel for named plaintiffs and class members are Kelly M. Dermody of Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP and Sidney A. Backstrom of the Scruggs Law Firm. More information about the settlement can be found at www.chwsettlement.com, or by calling the contacts listed below.

About Lieff Cabraser

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, is a sixty attorney, AV-rated law firm founded in 1972 with offices in San Francisco, New York, and Nashville. Lieff Cabraser has served as court-appointed Plaintiffs' Lead or Class Counsel in state and federal coordinated, multi-district, and complex litigation throughout the United States. Lieff Cabraser has litigated and resolved thousands of individual lawsuits and hundreds of class and group actions, including some of the most important civil cases in the United States over the last decade.

Lieff Cabraser enjoys a national reputation for professional integrity and the successful prosecution of our clients' claims. In every year since 2003, the National Law Journal has selected Lieff Cabraser as one of the top plaintiffs' law firms in the nation. In compiling the list, the National Law Journal examined recent verdicts and settlements in addition to overall track records. Lieff Cabraser is one of only three plaintiffs' law firms in the United States to receive this honor for the last four consecutive years.

About the Scruggs Firm

One of our nation's foremost class-action attorneys, Richard Scruggs received international acclaim for his landmark suit against the tobacco industry. The suit culminated in the industry's payment of $246 billion to help states defray Medicaid costs for smoking-related illnesses. Scruggs has been lead counsel in numerous other class actions and causes of national significance as well, including the national class actions against Lehman Brothers and The Money Store for aiding and abetting predatory lending; the $1.1 billion settlement in the Sulzer Orthopedics, Inc. Hip Prosthesis and Knee Prosthesis Liability Litigation; and seven suits against America's health maintenance organizations, charging them with interfering with patient treatment.