David Boies challenged America’s lawyers to “bring the rule of law to its full fruition here in this country … to fulfill the goals and lofty rhetoric of our founding fathers,” as the keynote speaker at the Opening Assembly of the 2010 ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

The rule of law was the assembly theme, as ABA members gathered in the Herbst Theater of the War Memorial Veterans Building, site of the signing of the charter of the United Nations in 1945.  

President Carolyn B. Lamm pointed to ABA efforts from activities of the Section of International Law to such projects as the Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, the Rule of Law Initiative and the World Justice Project as advancing United Nations goals to spread democracy based on law around the world.

Boies, co-counsel with Ted Olson in winning a federal district court ruling Wednesday that overturned California’s Proposition 8, cited “numerous challenges to the rule of law in our own country,” in applying that theme at home.

When our nation was born, it consisted of “wes” and “theys,” Boies said, with the “wes” being white male property owners and the “theys” comprising everyone else.  As the national history unfolded, the circle of “wes” expanded to encompass more and more segments of society.  

“We have an opportunity to expand the circle of ‘wes’ until there are no more ‘theys,’” said Boies, urging lawyers to work toward ensuring that “liberty and equality and protection of individual rights is something that every citizen equally enjoys.”

To achieve that goal, Boies identified four challenges confronting his audience.

First, he suggested the rule of law works best when adversaries have equivalent resources, whether those resources are plentiful or sparse.   But the “time when our system tends to break down is when one party has tremendous resources and the other party does not.”  Those are the times that “threatened to undermine the protections of the rule of law… [and lawyers] need to find ways to reduce the imbalance,” he said.  He urged reducing procedural advantages that favor the “better resourced party,” and urged lawyers to not “use discovery as a war of attrition,” for example. 
   
Second, he called for “better tools to help juries” decide important but complex cases, such as allowing jurors to ask questions and take notes on testimony.

His third challenge was to “improve judges and the judicial machinery,” citing a “crisis in terms of financing the justice system in the United States.”  First year associates in his law firm are paid higher salaries than federal district court judges, and state court judges earn even less, he said.  “If we can’t afford to spend a fraction of what we are spending to expand that system to Iraq, something is wrong with our sense of priorities,” he maintained.  

All lawyers must stand up for the independence of judges, resisting threats to their safety when they make unpopular decisions, said Boies, noting that there already have been threats to harm the judge who  ruled in the Proposition 8 litigation.

Boies’ cited predictably equal application of the law without regard to the identity of the parties as the final challenge to the rule of law, saying that when rights depend on who is asserting them, “the rule of law is undermined.”

Answers to this question and more will be provided during an upcoming program sponsored by the American Bar Association.  The program will be held as part of the association’s Annual Meeting, which begins Thursday.

Who:        Stewart A. Baker

                Former assistant secretary for Policy, Department of Homeland Security

What:       “Cyber Security, Law and Liability — Thieves, Spies and Hostile Armies”

                Sponsored by the ABA Standing Committee on Law & National Security

When:       Friday, 3:45 p.m. — 5:15 p.m.

Where:       Moscone West Convention Center

     Room 2022, Second Floor

     747 Howard St.

     San Francisco

Joining Baker in the discussion will be Elizabeth Rindskopf Parker, dean and professor of law, University of the Pacific McGeorge School of Law, and former general counsel, CIA; Robert Knake, International Affairs Fellow, Council on Foreign Relations, and co-author of Cyber War; and

Harvey Rishikof, professor of law and national security studies at the National War College, and former legal counsel to the deputy director of the FBI.

What will happen if the government makes it easier for federal agencies to demand that companies release personal electronic communications of persons who are part of a terrorism investigation?  Baker answered that question in The Washington Post (7/29). 

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership organization in the world.  As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law.

Ryan & Maniskas, LLP is investigating potential claims against the board of directors of Health Grades, Inc.concerning possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to the Company's entry into an agreement to be acquired by Vestar Capital Partners V, L.P. in a transaction valued at approximately $294 million.

Our investigation concerns possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law related to approval of the transaction by Company's board of directors; in particular, whether the Company undertook a fair process to obtain fair consideration for all shareholders of Health Grades. For more information regarding our investigation, please contact Ryan & Maniskas, LLP (Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire) toll-free at (877) 316-3218 or by email at rmaniskas@rmclasslaw.com or visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/hgrd.

Under the proposed agreement, Health Grades shareholders will receive $8.20 in cash for each Health Grades share of common stock they own.

If you own shares of Health Grades and would like to learn more about these claims or if you wish to discuss these matters and have any questions concerning this announcement or your rights, contact Richard A. Maniskas, Esquire toll-free at (877) 316-3218 or to sign up online, visit: www.rmclasslaw.com/cases/hgrd. You may also email Mr. Maniskas at rmaniskas@rmclasslaw.com. For more information about class action cases in general, please visit our website: www.rmclasslaw.com.

Robbins Umeda LLP has commenced an investigation into possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of the law by certain officers and directors at XenoPort, Inc. XenoPort is a biopharmaceutical company that focuses on developing internally discovered product candidates that utilize the body's natural nutrient transport mechanisms to enhance the therapeutic benefits of drugs. The Company was founded in 1999 and is based in Santa Clara, California.

Robbins Umeda LLP's investigation concerns whether the Company's directors and officers caused the Company to make materially false and misleading representations regarding XenoPort's Phase 3 clinical program for an extended-release tablet and development stage drug called Horizant, also known as XP13512 ("512"). Specifically, Robbins Umeda LLP is investigating whether the Company's fiduciaries caused XenoPort to mislead investors about 512, a potential treatment for moderate-to-severe primary Restless Legs Syndrome, including misleading the public about 512's safety.

On February 17, 2010, the Company publicly disclosed that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration had declined to approve 512, with concerns about laboratory results showing pancreatic cell tumors in rats as a result of the use of the drug. Upon this news, XenoPort's stock fell $12.93 per share to close at $6.67 per share on February 18, 2010 -- a one-day decline of 66%.

If you are a shareholder of XenoPort, plan to continue to hold your shares, and would like more information about your rights as a shareholder, please contact attorney Gregory E. Del Gaizo at 800-350-6003 or by e-mail at info@robbinsumeda.com.

Goldfarb Branham LLP is still pursuing potential shareholder claims against the Board of Directors of Texas-based AmeriCredit due to an allegedly unfair buyout by General Motors for $24.40 per share. The Dallas-Fort Worth firm plans to file a stockholder class action lawsuit against the Board of Directors that seeks to make the deal fair for AmeriCredit shareholders. Any AmeriCredit stockholders interested in joining the lawsuit as a plaintiff are encouraged to contact shareholder lawyer Hamilton Lindley at 877-583-2855 or hlindley@goldfarbbranham.com.

"Because at least one analyst has a target price for AmeriCredit of $26.00 per share, and the stock has traded as high as $26.49 per share within the last year, this deal appears unfair for ACF shareholders," said Hamilton Lindley, a shareholder lawyer at Goldfarb Branham. "It is estimated that GM will increase its sales by 10-20 percent with this takeover, but AmeriCredit shareholders will be completely cashed out for a mere $24.40 per share."

Goldfarb Branham LLP firm has significant experience in Texas merger cases and provides nimble, creative, and effective counsel at all stages of litigation. If you own AmeriCredit stock or have information and wish to discuss this matter, contact attorney Hamilton Lindley at 877-583-2855 or hlindley@goldfarbbranham.com. All litigation related expenses are paid for by the firm. The firm only gets paid when it is successful in obtaining a benefit for the shareholders.