Bernhard Schmid, the head of UBS AG’s legal department, left Switzerland’s biggest bank by assets to become a partner at a Zurich law firm founded by a former banker.
Schmid joined Kuoni Attorneys at Law on Feb. 1 to help the company increase its work advising banks, founding partner Wolfram Kuoni said by telephone yesterday. Schmid, who is Swiss, was one of three lawyers to share former General Counsel Peter Kurer’s workload when Kurer became chairman of the bank in 2008.
UBS paid a $780 million fine and disclosed the names of 255 account holders in February 2009 to avoid criminal prosecution in the U.S. on a charge that it helped thousands of wealthy Americans evade taxes. The bank hired Markus Diethelm from Swiss Reinsurance Co. to replace Kurer as general counsel in 2008.
Schmid is “wonderful for a firm like mine to tap into the banking market. He has an outstanding track-record,” Kuoni said in a telephone interview yesterday, adding that he wants to expand the practice’s work advising banks “one tier below” UBS and Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank by market value.
A former Federal Trade Commission chairwoman will become the chief legal officer at Procter & Gamble Co.
The consumer products maker says Deborah Platt Majoras, who joined P&G two years ago, will succeed Steven Jemison on Feb. 1.
P&G says the 58-year-old Jemison will retire Sept. 30 after 29 years at the company.
The 46-year-old Majoras has been with the Cincinnati company for two years and moves up from senior vice president and general counsel.
During Majoras' 2004-2008 tenure at the FTC, the agency approved P&G's $57 billion 2005 acquisition of Gillette provided the companies sold some overlapping products.
P&G's chief legal officer handles litigation including patent and trade issues, regulatory compliance, and labor law.
David Perecman, leading attorney for the personal injury accident group The Perecman Firm PLLC, is on the forefront fighting for construction worksite safety. He is pleading for engineers to review their construction site safety plans and complete their construction inspections for maximum safety. This comes after several years of worksite accidents at the former Deutsche Bank tower, with the latest being when a construction worker fractured his leg in an accident in the basement.
New York City's Buildings Department cited the contractor for not providing enough shoring or netting for fall protection.
The tower's sloppy deconstruction is a tragic reminder of the importance of construction safety inspections and regulations. When governments and contractors don't hew to these rules, people get hurt, said David Perecman, founder of The Perecman Firm, PLLC.
According to Newsday.com, "New York City's Buildings Department cited the contractor for not providing enough shoring or netting for fall protection." This same building is where two firefighters lost their lives in a blaze in 2007. Since then, John Galt Corp. and three construction officials have been charged with manslaughter for that incident.
"The tower's sloppy deconstruction is a tragic reminder of the importance of construction safety inspections and regulations. When governments and contractors don't hew to these rules, people get hurt, said David Perecman, founder of The Perecman Firm, PLLC. "Thankfully, the building's deconstruction is nearly complete. For the sake of those who work there, let it finish quickly and, most of all, safely. Moving forward people need to review their construction site safety plans to prevent as many accidents as have happened at this one building."
About David Perecman and The Perecman Firm, PLLC:
For the past 25 years, the New York personal injury, auto accident and medical malpractice attorneys at The Perecman Firm, PLLC have championed all types of cases for personal injury arising from a host of circumstances including construction accidents in New York State. The founder of The Perecman Firm, David Perecman, is also the current Secretary of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association (NYSTLA) and a chair of its Labor Law (Construction Accident Law) Committee. Mr. Perecman's achievements have brought him recognition as an Honoree in the National Law Journal's 2008 Hall of Fame, in New York Magazine's 2007 and 2008 publication of "The Best Lawyers in America" and has earned him the votes by his peers as among the top lawyers in New York and its surrounding region as published in both of the past two issues of The New York Times Magazine "New York Super Lawyers, Metro Edition."
He has recovered millions of dollars for his clients over the course of his career. Among his more recent victories, Mr. Perecman won a $15 million verdict* for an injured NYC construction worker who fractured his arm and injured his knee, a $5.35 million dollar verdict** for a woman who seriously injured her heel in an automobile accident, and a $40 million dollar structured settlement for a baby born with brain damage as a result of medical malpractice. Mr. Perecman has spent much of his career advocating for injured victims' rights and addressing safety issues in the workplace. He has also spoken out on the need to update wrongful death laws to create fairness for the unfortunate death of infants, housewives and other low earners in a family. The New York City personal injury, vehicle accident lawyers and medical malpractice lawyers at The Perecman Firm, PLLC have a depth of expertise and breadth of knowledge well recognized in NYC, while their record and reputation speaks for itself.
*later settled while on appeal for $7.940 million
** later settled for $3.5 million
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"Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome."
