“State of the Firm” Post
on Nov 10, 2005 at 11:54 am
We thought that we would take a moment to update our readers on what the firm is working on right now.
First, we got an opinion yesterday in one of our cases with the Stanford Clinic, No. 04-66, Tum v. Barber Foods, consolidated with IBP v. Alvarez, in which the Court held unanimously that workers must be compensated for the time spent walking to work stations from the place where they must obtain and put on mandatory safety equipment. We represented the workers in Tum.
On Tuesday, Tom argued another Clinic case, No. 04-1067, Georgia v. Randolph, in which the Court considered whether a person’s Fourth Amendment rights are violated when police search a home over his express objection, but with his wife’s consent. We represent the respondent, Scott Fitz Randolph.
Within the firm, we have one other argument scheduled so far this Term: No. 03-1559, Bank of China v. NBM L.L.C., which is a Clinic case as well. In that case, which Tom will argue on January 9 (and in which we represent the respondents), the Court will consider whether civil RICO plaintiffs who allege mail and wire fraud as predicate acts must prove “reasonable reliance” under 18 U.S.C. 1964(c).
Thus far, we are co-counsel in four other cases that will be argued this Term. No. 04-1131, Whitman v. Department of Transportation, deals with whether the Civil Service Reform Act precludes a federal employee from bringing constitutional or statutory claims against his employer. Pam Karlan, our co-instructor in the Stanford Law School Supreme Court Litigation Clinic, will argue the case (in which we represent the petitioner) on December 5. No. 04-593, Domino’s Pizza v. McDonald, another case that we have worked on with the Clinic, deals with whether — in the absence of a contractual relationship with the defendant — allegations of personal injuries suffice to confer standing for purposes of 42 U.S.C. 1981. That case, in which we represent the respondent, will be argued on December 6 by Allen Lichtenstein, who has handled the case throughout. In the third case, No. 04-1544, Marshall v. Marshall, we are co-counsel for the respondent with Eric Brunstad of Bingham McCutchen. The Marshall case — which is perhaps most famous because the petitioner, Vickie Lynn Marshall, is better known as Anna Nicole Smith – deals with the scope of the probate exception to federal jurisdiction. And in Vermont Republican State Committee v. Sorrell, in which the Court will consider the constitutionality of Vermont’s campaign finance laws, we are co-counsel to respondent-intervenor the National Voting Rights Institute.
The firm is also working on a variety of other cert. petitions. We have primary responsibility for four petitions: No. 05-354, City of Columbus v. Golden (dealing with whether the city’s termination of water services to innocent tenants violates their equal protection rights); No. 05-454, Cox v. United States (whether a federal district court can order that its sentence be served consecutively to an as-yet-unimposed state sentence); No. 05-353, Peabody Western Coal Co. v. EEOC (whether a plaintiff can use Fed. R. Civ. P. 19 to join as a defendant a party that the plaintiff cannot sue directly); No. 05-244, Pelullo v. United States (dealing with a defendant’s obligation to exercise due diligence to discover Brady violations); and No. 05-541, Empagran, S.A. v. F. Hoffmann-LaRoche (dealing with the kind of injury required for an overseas purchaser from an international cartel to state a claim under U.S. antitrust laws). City of Columbus and Cox are both cases that we’re doing in conjunction with the Stanford Clinic. We’re also working as co-counsel to the petitioners in No. 05-411, London v. Fieldale Farms (dealing with whether the Packers and Stockyards Act prohibits all unfair or deceptive trade practices, or instead only those with an anti-competitive effect) and as co-counsel to the respondent in KSR v. Teleflex (a patent case in which the Court recently called for the views of the Solicitor General).
Finally (for the two people who are still reading), we have finished our hiring for next summer. We will have two rising 3Ls who will be with us for the whole summer: Cody Harris (Stanford 2007) and Warren Postman (Harvard 2007). And we will have three summers who will be with us before starting their clerkships: Brian Fletcher (Harvard 2006 and clerking for Judge Garland), Rachel Kovner (Stanford 2006 and clerking for Judge Wilkinson), and Rob Yablon (Yale 2006 and clerking for Judge William Fletcher). Congratulations to them, and we look forward to seeing them this summer.
