More than 100 lawyers are battling for the biggest chunks of what is likely to be a multibillion-dollar settlement for Gulf of Mexico oil spill victims, jockeying for spots on the elite team that will control the plaintiffs' cases.

A judge will pick 12 to 15 lawyers to take the lead in lawsuits against BP PLC and other companies filed by thousands of fishermen, restaurateurs, hotel operators, property owners and many others over the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history.

Competition is fierce: The candidates include a former Cabinet secretary and the lawyer who represented Al Gore in the 2000 presidential recount case. The team could get up to 15 percent of a multibillion-dollar settlement from more than 300 lawsuits that have been consolidated in New Orleans federal court. And that's on top of the typical 30 percent fee that lawyers charge their individual clients.

"This is a very lucrative position," said Brian Fitzpatrick, a Vanderbilt University law professor who has studied how attorney fees work. "You not only control the case but you get a big percentage off the top. This will attract all the big fish."

Applications from 112 attorneys have been filed with U.S. District Judge Carl Barbier, who will announce his choices in the coming weeks. Top trial lawyers from around the nation are represented, many of them veterans of similar high-profile cases such as Toyota's sudden acceleration problems and the troubled painkiller Vioxx.

Biotech firm Genzyme Corp. on Thursday said its board of directors has rejected Sanofi-Aventis SA's $69 per share offer and has recommended that Genzyme shareholders do not sell their shares to the French drugmaker.

Genzyme, based in Cambridge, Mass., said its board voted unanimously to reject the unsolicited offer.

The move comes three days after Sanofi-Aventis, the world's fourth-biggest drugmaker, initiated a hostile takeover attempt for Genzyme, escalating a three-month battle to acquire the maker of lucrative drugs for rare genetic disorders.

Sanofi, based in Paris, initially made the $69 offer privately in July, then repeated it publicly in late August, but was rebuffed by Sanofi's board twice.

As before, Genzyme said Thursday that the $69 price was too low.

Sanofi-Aventis spokesman Jack Cox said he could not immediately comment on the Genzyme announcement.

Genzyme shares jumped late in the day, rising 61 cents to $72.36 a share in regular trading, as traders apparently expected that Sanofi would be forced to raise its offer. In after-hours trading, shares jumped another 64 cents, to $73.

In a press release, Genzyme said the price "is inadequate and opportunistic, substantially undervalues the company, fails to recognize the company's plan to increase shareholder value, and is not in the best interests of Genzyme or its shareholders."

Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith, which has 150 lawyers in Philadelphia, is in early merger discussions with Dallas-based law firm Thompson & Knight, both firms confirmed Friday to the Pittsburgh Business Times.

"We are in preliminary merger discussions with Texas-based Thompson & Knight," said Reed Smith Managing Partner Greg Jordan in an e-mail. “The discussions are preliminary and no final agreement or partner vote has been reached or taken.”

Reed Smith has more than 1,500 lawyers, while Thompson & Knight has about 350 lawyers with a focus on the energy industry, including oil and gas, Jordan said.

Becky Jackson, chief client services officer at Thompson & Knight, offered the following statement in an e-mail:

“In today’s legal environment, Thompson & Knight’s historical presence in Texas and our outstanding energy expertise are sought after by firms. For several years, we have regularly received inquiries regarding possible mergers. We have had preliminary conversations with Reed Smith, and they are obviously a great firm, but it is premature to characterize these discussions in any detail.”

Under Jordan’s decade-long tenure, Reed Smith has grown from a Pittsburgh-centric 500-lawyer firm to an international firm three times the size through a series of major mergers and acquisitions. In 2001, the firm acquired 60-lawyer Warner Cranston of London. In January 2003, it acquired California’s 220-lawyer Crosby Heafey Roach & May. In 2007, the firm merged London’s 250-lawyer Richards Butler and 140-lawyer Sachnoff & Weaver of Chicago. And in January 2008, Reed Smith acquired 110-lawyer Richards Butler Hong Kong and 55 lawyers from New York’s Anderson Kill & Olick.

Armstrong Teasdale LLP announces the addition of attorney Angie Fletcher as an associate in the St. Louis office. Fletcher is a member of the Corporate Services practice group and focuses primarily on securities, corporate governance, and commercial and general business law.

Supporting growing and mature businesses, Fletcher guides clients in securities law compliance, Exchange Act reporting, mergers and acquisitions, internal restructuring and general commercial contracting. She also develops social responsibility programs for businesses and their employees to be better involved in the community.

“Angie shares the firm’s vision of delivering value and innovative service,” says David Braswell, leader of the firm’s Corporate Services practice group. “Her past corporate experience and client relationships will be invaluable as we continue to grow and diversify the practice.”

Previously serving as corporate counsel for a Fortune 500 company in the energy sector and for a leading producer of plastic sheet, compounds and packaging products, Fletcher has the experience and ability to provide practical, cost-effective and business-oriented approaches to her clients when solving routine and complex issues.

Fletcher earned her J.D. with a concentration in Business Transactional Law from Saint Louis University School of Law in 2008. She received her B.A. in history and political science, cum laude, in 2003. Fletcher is licensed in Missouri and a member of The Missouri Bar, The Bar Association of Metropolitan St. Louis and the Society of Corporate Secretaries and Governance Professionals.

About Armstrong Teasdale: Armstrong Teasdale LLP, with nearly 235 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.

The Supreme Court is starting its new term with a new justice, Elena Kagan, and bad news for hundreds of parties trying to get their cases heard at the nation's highest court.

The justices are expected to start work Monday by denying many of the nearly 2,000 appeals that piled up in recent months. The court also is hearing argument in a bankruptcy dispute and an appeal by criminal defendants seeking shorter prison terms.

During the new term, the court will look at provocative anti-gay protests at military funerals and a California law banning the sale of violent video games to children. These cases worry free speech advocates, who fear the court could limit First Amendment freedoms.

The funeral protest lawsuit, over signs praising American war deaths, "is one of those cases that tests our commitment to the First Amendment," said Steven Shapiro, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Another case involves a different aspect of the First Amendment, the government's relationship to religion. The justices will decide whether Arizona's income tax credit scholarship program, in essence, directs state money to religious schools in violation of the constitutional separation of church and state.

Under Chief Justice John Roberts, marking his fifth anniversary on the court, and with the replacement of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor by Justice Samuel Alito, the court has been more sympathetic to arguments that blur the line between government and religion, as long as one religion is not favored over another.