ADVISORY TO PRODUCERS, COLUMNISTS AND ASSIGNMENT, LEGAL, PLANNING, FINANCIAL, POLITICAL, BUSINESS, CITY DESK, FEATURES AND DAYBOOK EDITORS
CHICAGO–July 10, 2007–Chicago-Kent College of Law and Stuart School of Business have experts available to discuss current issues. To reach any of our experts, call Gwen Osborne, director of public affairs, at (312) 906-5251. Press releases and earlier advisories are available on our Web site: www.kentlaw.edu/news/advisory.
Invoking executive privilege, President Bush will not allow former White House staffers Harriet Miers and Sara Taylor to testify before a Senate panel looking into the 2006 firings of nine federal prosecutors. House Judiciary Committee chairman Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-Mich.) will hold hearings related to the president’s commutation last week of I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby’s prison sentence and has asked President Bush to waive executive privilege for any staff members called to testify. Chicago-Kent Dean Harold J. Krent, an expert on executive privilege and the author of Presidential Powers, is available for interviews.
Preliminary results of Monday’s vote on the proposed merger of the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) indicate that a majority of shareholders and members have approved the deal which faced opposition and a counteroffer from InterContinental Exchange Inc. The $11.3 billion merger, which will create the world’s largest derivatives exchange, is expected to proceed after the election has been officially certified by an independent inspector. The merged company will be called CME Group, a CME/Chicago Board of Trade Company. Professor Michael Gorham of the Stuart School of Business’ Center for Financial Markets is available for interviews. Professor Gorham worked for CME for 18 years and has served on the board of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange’s Futures Exchange. He also served as the first director of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Market Oversight, a division of 100 economists, lawyers, futures trading specialists and others dedicated to the oversight of the nation’s 12 futures exchanges. Professor Gorham is available to discuss the election and impact of the merger on the derivatives market.
Federal trials. Jurors in the trial of media mogul Conrad Black and three former Hollinger executives have informed Judge Amy St. Eve that they were unable to reach a verdict after nine days of deliberation. The defendants, accused of defrauding shareholders out of more than $60 million, face nine counts of wire and mail fraud, two counts of tax fraud, one count of racketeering and one count of obstruction of justice. “Operation Family Secrets,” the trial of Joseph “Joey the Clown” Lombardo, James Marcello, Frank Calabrese Sr. and two others continues. The men face a number of charges, including racketeering, conspiracy, murder and obstruction of justice. Professor Nancy S. Marder, who teaches a course on juries, judges and trials and writes extensively on the American jury system, is available for interviews. Professors Douglas W. Godfrey and Richard S. Kling are also available for interviews. Professor Godfrey is a former prosecutor in the Kings County (New York) District Attorney's Office, where he served in the sex crimes and homicide bureaus. Professor Kling is a criminal defense attorney who teaches evidence and forensic sciences.
Chicago-Kent’s Small Business Program is a new clinical program that will offer a comprehensive range of services to small business owners and emerging entrepreneurs in metropolitan Chicago. Law students, working under the direction of business attorney and professor Jeff Thomas, will represent small and emerging businesses and entrepreneurs in transactional matters. The program will provide advice regarding choice of entity; entity creation by drafting articles of incorporation and organization; bylaws; partnership agreements; contract review and drafting (real estate and leases, noncompetition and employment contracts); advice and assistance concerning employment issues; review of lending contracts and advice about loans; management education and accounting assistance; advice concerning compliance with consumer, licensing, and regulatory rules; and copyright and trademark creation. Information about the Small Business Program is also available at www.jdeas.com.
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