Smith, Welch & Brittain LLP, Attorneys at Law is proud to announce that Tina G. Stanford, a Carrollton native, has joined our firm as an associate. Stanford graduated from Mercer University’s Walter F. George School of Law.

Following law school, Ms. Stanford served as Law Clerk for the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit and then opened her own law firm as a general practitioner.

Ms. Stanford has been a member of Phi Kappa Phi honor society since attending college and has been a member of numerous community service and professional organizations. She was the first President of the Columbus Association of Women Lawyers and served as President of the Board of the Association on Battered Women of Clayton County, Georgia. She is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Henry County Bar Association, Clayton County Bar Association, Atlanta Bar Association and the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers.

Smith, Welch & Brittain, LLP was established in McDonough in 1873. The firm currently operates offices in McDonough, Stockbridge, Jackson and Barnesville. SWB includes 20 attorneys and more than 50 support staff.

The Supreme Court has rejected a plea by former Army scientist Steven J. Hatfill to revive his libel lawsuit against The New York Times over columns falsely implicating him in the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks.

The justices did not comment Monday in turning down Hatfill's appeal of a unanimous ruling by the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Richmond, Va. A three-judge panel affirmed a lower court's dismissal of the libel claims on the grounds that Hatfill is a public figure and failed to prove that columns written by Nicholas Kristof were malicious.

Circumstantial evidence led the FBI to suspect Hatfill was involved in the anthrax attacks that killed five people and sickened 17 just weeks after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Then-Attorney General John Ashcroft publicly identified Hatfill, who worked at the Army's infectious diseases laboratory at Ft. Detrick, Md., from 1997 to 1999, as a "person of interest" in the investigation.

In June, the Justice Department agreed to pay Hatfill $5.8 million to settle a lawsuit claiming officials violated his privacy rights by speaking with reporters about the case.

No one has been charged in the attacks, although the government now believes another Army scientist, Bruce Ivins, was responsible. Ivins killed himself in July.

Investors who put their fortunes in the hands of arrested New York money manager Bernard Madoff are waiting to hear how much of their stake is left.

The roster of potential victims in what prosecutors said was a $50 billion Ponzi scheme has grown exponentially longer in the past few days.

Madoff, 70, said in regulatory filings that he only had around 25 clients, but it has become apparent that the list of people who lost money may number in the hundreds or even thousands.

Among those who have acknowledged potential losses so far: Former Philadelphia Eagles owner Norman Braman, New York Mets owner Fred Wilpon and J. Ezra Merkin, the chairman of GMAC Financial Services.

A charity in Massachusetts that supports Jewish programs, the Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation, said it had invested its entire $8 million endowment with Madoff. The organization's executive director said she doesn't expect it to survive.

Other institutions that believed they had lost millions included The North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and the Texas-based Julian J. Levitt Foundation.

Hedge funds and other investment groups looked like big losers too. The Fairfield Greenwich Group said it had some $7.5 billion in investments linked to Madoff. A private Swiss bank, Banque Benedict Hentsch Fairfield Partners SA, said it had $47.5 million worth of client assets at risk.

Knobbe Martens, one of the leading intellectual property law firms in the nation, is pleased to announce the addition of two partners, Veronica Colby Devitt and Marlene J. Williams, to its San Francisco office.

“Knobbe Martens is pleased to welcome lawyers with such outstanding talent and reputation. Their history of success and expertise expands the capabilities of our San Francisco office,” said Steven Nataupsky, Managing Partner of the firm.

Both Devitt and Williams join Knobbe from Thelen LLP’s San Francisco office.

Devitt focuses her practice on trademark counseling, global trademark portfolio management, prosecution and litigation. She brings her expertise on trademark law, has practiced before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, and written and spoken on trademark law before numerous bar associations including the American Bar Association, the International Trademark Association, and the American Intellectual Property Law Association. Devitt is a graduate of Marquette University (M.A. and B.A.) and received her J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Williams focuses her practice on trademark portfolio management, worldwide prosecution and policing of trademarks, dispute resolution, UDPR proceedings, litigation, copyright law, licensing, Internet law and rights of publicity. She brings over ten years of experience in assisting clients in the selection, creation and protection of brands. Williams advises clients in a variety of industries ranging from medical devices and software to apparel and consumer goods and services. Williams received her B.A. from the University of California, Berkeley and her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. 

The Supreme Court agreed Friday to consider reinstating a roughly $500 million settlement of asbestos-related lawsuits against the Travelers Companies Inc.

The settlement would also block any new lawsuits against Travelers arising out of the insurance company's long relationship with Johns Manville Corp., once the world's largest producer of asbestos.

Travelers has been named in dozens of lawsuits claiming that it tried to hide the dangerous health effects of asbestos. Asbestos is a mineral that was commonly used until the mid-1970s in insulation and fireproofing material. Exposure can increase the risk of lung cancer, mesothelioma and other ailments, according to federal health agencies.

The company has argued that asbestos-related claims should be paid out of a trust created by Johns Manville in the 1980s and approved by a federal bankruptcy judge. Money for the fund came largely from insurers.

Travelers agreed to settle with several groups of plaintiffs provided that federal courts make clear that it would not have to face any new similar lawsuits.

The 2nd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals in New York overturned lower-court approval of the settlement, saying a bankruptcy judge lacks the authority to act so broadly. The justices, at arguments in March, will consider the question of the bankruptcy court's power.

The consolidated cases are The Travelers Indemnity Co. v. Bailey, 08-295, and Common Law Settlement Counsel v. Bailey, 08-307.

Bodman LLP has honored its late chairman Richard D. Rohr by establishing an endowed scholarship at the University of Michigan Law School in his honor. The Richard D. Rohr Scholarship fund was initially endowed with $100,000 from Bodman LLP, which was matched with $50,000 by the university.

The Richard D. Rohr Scholarship will be awarded for the first time in the fall of 2009. The recipient is expected to be a second or third-year law student who plans to practice law in Southeast Michigan.

“Under Richard Rohr’s leadership, Bodman grew into one of the largest and most successful law firms in Southeast Michigan,” said Larry R. Shulman, Bodman LLP Chairman. “ He had close ties with the University of Michigan Law School as an alumnus, donor and adjunct faculty member. It is fitting that we help foster the future leaders of Detroit’s legal community at his alma mater.”

Rohr, a prominent member of Detroit legal community and chairman of Bodman LLP for 25 years, died on Wednesday, August 27 at 81 years of age. He graduated from the University of Michigan Law School at the top of his class in 1953 and served as editor-in-chief of The University of Michigan Law Review.

“We are deeply honored and appreciative that Bodman has established a scholarship at Michigan Law honoring the memory of Richard Rohr,” said University of Michigan Law School Dean Evan Caminker. “Dick’s association with the Law School began when he was a 1L and endured throughout his lifetime, including his service on our adjunct faculty. Moreover, he was a generous donor to scholarships. In a time when student assistance is more important than ever, there simply could be no more appropriate memorial.”