Three CPW Attorneys Contribute to California Insurance Treatise
Three members of our Insurance Practice Group, Bill Campbell, Duncan MacDonald and Carol Quackenbos, contributed to the 2010 edition of California Liability Insurance Practice: Claims and Litigation. Bill was the original author of one chapter and contributed to a second when the treatise was first published in 1991. He has authored annual updates since then. Carol and Duncan have been annual update authors since 2006. The treatise is published by Continuing Education of the Bar–California.

Bill Campbell Appointed to ABA Position
Bill Campbell has been appointed Co-Director of the Publications Division of the American Bar Association Section of Litigation. His responsibilities include the Section’s books, periodicals and website. Bill has held numerous previous leadership positions in the ABA, including co-chairing the Section's Insurance Coverage Litigation Committee, serving as a director of two divisions and co-chairing the ABA Annual Meeting.

Sue Popik Elected FDCC Vice-President
CPW partner Susan M. Popik has been elected the Vice-President of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel Foundation at its 2010 annual meeting in Munich, Germany.

CPW Trial Victory in Borikas et al. v. Alameda Unified School District
Alameda Superior Court Judge Kenneth Mark Burr has issued a statement of decision validating a special parcel tax adopted by the Alameda Unified School District, CPW’s client. The parcel tax, known as Measure H, was approved by two-thirds of the voters in Alameda to offset severe state budget cuts, minimize school closures, and protect the quality of education in the District. CPW partner David Nied defended Measure H from constitutional and statutory attacks brought by local businesses and other taxpayers affected by the measure. Click here for a copy of the decision.

Judge in Qualcomm Case Declines to Impose Sanctions
CPW partners Merri A. Baldwin and John Heller successfully defended client Adam Bier in sanctions proceedings arising from alleged discovery abuses in Qualcomm v. Broadcom, United Stated District Court, Southern District of California.  Mr. Bier was one of six attorneys, formerly outside counsel for Qualcomm, who were ordered to show cause why they should not be sanctioned for Qualcomm's failure to produce documents during discovery of the patent infringement case.  After extensive discovery, and a three-day evidentiary hearing, Magistrate Judge Barbara Major declined to sanction any of the responding attorneys.  Click here for CPW's press release and a copy of the decision.

CPW Files Amicus Brief in the Proposition 8 Trial
CPW partners Susan M. Popik and Merri A. Baldwin, along with Suzanne Goldberg, a law professor at Columbia University, filed an amicus brief on behalf of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation in Perry v. Schwarzenegger, the federal district court action challenging California's Proposition 8, banning same-sex marriage.
A copy of the brief may be found here.

CPW Trial Victory in Lira v. California Department of Corrections
Judge Susan Illston, a federal district court judge in San Francisco, has found that the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) violated CPW client Mr. Lira's constitutional rights when it improperly validated him as an associate of a prison gang, resulting in eight years of solitary confinement in the Security Housing Unit (SHU) at Pelican Bay penitentiary. This judgment represents the culmination of over nine years of litigation by Mr. Lira to challenge the improper validation. CPW attorneys Bill Chapman and Mark White represented Mr. Lira at trial.
Read the press release
Review the judgment
Hear about the case on KQED

CPW Welcomes Romanski as Latest Team Member
CPW is happy to announce that David J. Romanski  has  joined  the firm as Senior Counsel.  Romanski will continue his practice representing clients in securities litigation and regulatory matters, as well as business litigation matters.  Romanski previously was a partner in DLA Piper US LLP and Steinhart & Falconer LLP.  He began his legal career with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
For additional information

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