Insights

Washington, D.C. – July 12, 2016: Crowell & Moring partner Troy A. Barsky testified today before the U.S. Senate Finance Committee as lawmakers heard options for how to improve and reform the Stark Law, which currently limits some types of physician referrals for Medicare and Medicaid patients.

Washington, D.C. – July 5, 2016: Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce that BTI Consulting Group’s Power Rankings 2016 report has ranked the firm 20th in the nation in its list of top law firms recommended by in-house counsel. In addition, BTI ranked the firm among the top 17 firms that corporate counsel go to for energy work.

Washington, D.C. – June 29, 2016: On June 28, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court denied certiorari in Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. v. SEIU, upholding the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in favor of SEIU, Crowell & Moring client Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, and related organizations. In the matter, Prime Healthcare Services, Inc. alleged an antitrust conspiracy between a health care workers' union and Kaiser to eliminate a competing hospital services provider from the market and asserted related monopolization claims against Kaiser.

Washington, D.C. – June 15, 2016: GigPeak, Inc., a leading innovator of semiconductor ICs and software solutions for high-speed connectivity and high-quality video compression over the Network and the Cloud, today announced the closing of its underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 13,194,643 newly issued shares of common stock at a price to the public of $2.00 per share. GigPeak received net proceeds to the Company of approximately $24.8 million after underwriting discounts and commissions. In addition, certain officers and directors of the Company as well as certain stockholders of the Company, as selling stockholders, sold 1,180,357 shares of previously issued shares of common stock in the underwritten public offering at a price of $2.00 per share. GigPeak received no proceeds from the sale of shares by the selling stockholders.

Washington, D.C. – June 2, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that two partners, Thomas A. Lorenzen and Michael J. Songer, have been named to the 2016 list of National Law Journal "Trailblazers & Pioneers." Washington, D.C.-based Lorenzen was featured in the “Energy & Environmental Trailblazers” and Songer, also based in the Washington, D.C. office, was named among the “Intellectual Property Trailblazers.” Published in May, both lists feature attorneys who have made significant impacts in various aspects of legal work, have demonstrated a deep passion and perseverance in pursuit of their mission, and have achieved remarkable successes.

Washington, D.C. – May 27, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that it has secured 66 attorney rankings for 56 individual attorneys in the 2016 Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business guide. The prestigious rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and members of the legal community at peer firms.

Washington, D.C. – May 27, 2016: Uni-Pixel, Inc., a company that develops and markets performance engineered films for the touch screen and flexible electronics markets, today announced the pricing of its underwritten public offering of an aggregate of 5,350,000 newly issued shares of common stock at a price of $1.50 per share. UniPixel expects to receive gross proceeds of $8.03 million, before deducting underwriting discounts and other estimated offering expenses. The underwriters have also been granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 802,500 shares of common stock to cover over-allotments, if any. The net proceeds to the UniPixel from the offering of its shares are expected to be approximately $7.46 million after deduction of underwriting discounts and assuming no exercise of the underwriters' over-allotment option. Subject to customary conditions, the offering is expected to close on June 2, 2016.

Washington, D.C., May 19, 2016: Crowell & Moring represented REAN Cloud, an Amazon Web Services Premier Consulting Partner, in a strategic joint investment from BV Investment Partners, a Boston-based private equity firm focused on the information and business services and communications sectors, along with TriCore Solutions, LLC, a Norwell, MA-based provider of application management hosting and consulting. Herndon, VA-based REAN Cloud is a cutting edge provider of secure, managed applications in the cloud.

Washington, D.C. – May 16, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that two partners have been selected as “Rising Stars” by Law360: Gerald F. Murphy in the transportation category and Brian Tully McLaughlin in the government contracts category. The highly competitive list recognizes attorneys under 40 who have demonstrated outstanding career accomplishments.

Washington, D.C. – May 5, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is proud to announce that Chahira Solh, a partner in Crowell & Moring’s Antitrust Group, has been selected as a member of the 2016 Fellows Program of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD), a national organization comprised of the legal profession’s top general counsels and law firm managing partners. Additionally, associates Diana T. Huang and Agustin D. Orozco have been selected to the LCLD’s inaugural Pathfinders class, a program designed to train early-career attorneys in critical career development strategies including programming on leadership and network development.

Washington, D.C., May 5, 2016: Crowell & Moring represented OpenText, the largest software company in Canada and a global leader in Enterprise Information Management, in its acquisition of ANXe Business Corp. (ANX). ANX is a leading provider of cloud-based information exchange services to the US Automotive and Healthcare industries.

Washington, D.C. – May 5, 2016: Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce that 11 practice areas and eight attorneys in its Brussels office were recognized by the Legal 500 Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) 2016 edition. The firm recognized as “top tier” in six categories. Among the lawyers recognized, three were listed in the elite "Leading Lawyers" category for the fourth consecutive year.

Washington, D.C. – May 1, 2016: Crowell & Moring is pleased to announce that it has secured nine attorney rankings for six individual attorneys in the 2016 Chambers Europe guide. Four practice areas were also ranked in the guide. The prestigious rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and members of the legal community at peer firms.

Washington, D.C., April 5, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP represented GigOptix, Inc. in its acquisition of Magnum Semiconductor, Inc., a privately-held California-based provider of silicon ICs, SoCs, software, and IP for the professional video broadcast and IoT camera markets. GigOptix is a leading supplier of advanced semiconductor communications components for use in Cloud connectivity, data centers, and high-speed optical and wireless networks. Upon closing on April 5, 2016, GigOptix, Inc. will be renamed GigPeak, Inc. The cash and stock transaction is valued at approximately $54 million net.

Washington, D.C. – April 4, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce the addition of partner Rob Burton to the firm's internationally recognized Government Contracts Group in Washington, D.C. A 30-year veteran of procurement law and policy development, Burton is the former Acting and Deputy Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy (OFPP), the nation's top career federal procurement official. Burton joins Crowell & Moring most recently from Venable LLP, where he was a partner in the firm's Government Contracts Group. His arrival comes on the heels of the addition of partner David Robbins, a former government Suspending and Debarring Official and Procurement Fraud Remedies Coordination Official, who joined the group in February 2016.

Washington, D.C. – March 24, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that it has secured 12 attorney rankings for nine individual attorneys in the Chambers Global 2016 guide. Four practice areas were also ranked in the guide. The prestigious rankings are driven by independent interviews of clients and members of the legal community at peer firms.

Washington, D.C. – March 22, 2016: Global Arbitration Review (GAR) has named Crowell & Moring LLP to its 9th edition of the “GAR 100,” a list of the top 100 law firms with international arbitration practices. The firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group ranked prominently in the 31-40 section. GAR is the leading international journal of commercial and treaty arbitration.

Washington, D.C. – March 18, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that Khan Resources Inc. and the Government of Mongolia announced on March 7, 2016 that they have agreed on the payment to Khan of US$70 million on or before May 15, 2016 and settlement of all outstanding matters pursuant to the international arbitration Award received by Khan. The Award, rendered on March 2, 2015, compensated Khan for the expropriation of its mining licenses by the Government of Mongolia in 2009. The highly esteemed arbitral tribunal was composed of New Zealander Mr. David Williams, QC (President); Canadian Maitre Yves Fortier, QC; and Belgian Dr. Bernard Hanotiau. The settlement and payment of the Award is a culmination of five and a half years of work by a dedicated and talented Crowell & Moring team of international law and arbitration attorneys. A more detailed discussion of the case can be found here.

Washington, D.C. – March 9, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that George Ruttinger, a Washington, D.C.-based senior counsel and co-chair of the firm’s International Dispute Resolution Group, has been named to the National Law Journal's inaugural “ADR Champions” list. The list features 48 attorneys who continue to make their mark in various aspects of alternative dispute resolution. According to the publication, the honorees demonstrate "a deep passion and perseverance in pursuit of their mission, having achieved remarkable successes along the way.”

Washington, D.C. – March 8, 2016: Crowell & Moring LLP is pleased to announce that client Owens & Minor Distribution, Inc. (O&M), the nation’s largest distributor of medical-surgical supplies, prevailed in an antitrust tying and exclusive dealing lawsuit alleging over $200 million in damages brought by a competitor, specialty distributor, Suture Express, Inc. (Suture Express). Suture Express challenged contracting practices that offer differential pricing to customers depending on whether they procure distribution of suture and endo products, which tend to be the most profitable, from O&M or Cardinal Health, a co-defendant to O&M in the case. Suture Express's theory was that the pricing differential was so large that it could not effectively compete for distribution of suture and endo products, and that customers have no choice but to agree because they need the other medical-surgical products that O&M and Cardinal Health, but not Suture Express, distribute. After extensive fact and expert discovery, O&M, along with its co-defendant Cardinal Health, filed a motion for summary judgment and Suture Express filed a cross motion for partial summary judgment on liability. On March 3, 2016, Judge Daniel D. Crabtree of the U.S. District Court for the District of Kansas granted O&M and Cardinal Health's motion for summary judgment and denied Suture Express's motion, dismissing all claims and awarding defendants costs. Judge Crabtree found that Suture Express failed to provide sufficient evidence that either O&M or Cardinal Health possessed the market power necessary to support Suture Express’s claims, or that competition had been harmed. Judge Crabtree acknowledged that the undisputed facts revealed a competitive market in which distribution prices and margins have been declining. Judge Crabtree also found that O&M and Cardinal Health successfully established procompetitive benefits from the challenged contracting practices, which further negated Suture Express’s claims.