« May 2007 | Main | July 2007 »
June 20, 2007
UM Alum helps defend Military Contractors
Private Military Contractors Count On Crowell Partner
David Hammond represents companies when they get in trouble for their work in Iraq
Daphne Eviatar
The American Lawyer
June 20, 2007
When the House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on what it calls "War Profiteering and Other Contractor Crimes Committed Overseas" Tuesday, David Hammond, the lead partner handling Iraq liability issues at Crowell & Moring, was there.
As a lawyer for some of the top private security companies operating alongside U.S. troops in Iraq -- Blackwater USA, Triple Canopy Inc., DynCorp International Inc. and Erinys Llc -- a big part of his job is monitoring the growing outrage over those companies' alleged abuses.
Hammond was there in February, too, when the House Oversight Committee held its own hearing on the role of military contractors and Blackwater, the North Carolina-based private military company, was on the hot seat for the gruesome deaths of four men it had sent to Iraq. The men were independent contractors hired by Blackwater, on a security mission near Fallujah, when they were ambushed by insurgents and shot, dismembered and hung from a bridge that spans the Euphrates River.
The grisly incident raised several critical questions: What were these men doing in Iraq? Why weren't soldiers doing the job? Who was responsible for their deaths?
For years, Hammond has been offering answers. His clients include some of the top private security companies now operating in Iraq. These companies take on roles once played exclusively by soldiers in the U.S. military. Some call them mercenaries.
As the war in Iraq drags on, these companies face a growing list of legal troubles. At least 15 personal injury, wrongful death and product liability cases have been filed. And federal investigators have estimated that some $10 billion of U.S. taxpayer money has been squandered or gone unaccounted for by private companies providing military services and supplies.
Hammond not only does much of the contracting and contract-related litigation for these companies, but he also provides the political and legal justification for the growing reliance on their services. He is chair of the general counsel committee of the Orwellian-named International Peace Operations Association, or IPOA, the leading industry group for private military contractors. He has published papers with organizations such as the conservative Washington Legal Foundation, given speeches at defense industry conferences and offered seminars to private military companies. His major theme: how to avoid liability despite the risks of battlefield operations.
Hammond's practice has grown, along with the number of private contractors serving in Iraq. There are almost as many men and women in Iraq working for private military contractors as official American troops. In the Gulf War, by contrast, the ratio was about 1-to-6.
The outsourcing of military operations is just one piece of a larger federal outsourcing effort, an effort that Crowell lawyers have helped to create and now profit from. The firm's prominence in the field dates back to 1979, when 53 Washington lawyers left Jones, Day, Reavis & Pogue to start their own firm. Though it's since expanded to a full-service 350-lawyer firm, one of Crowell's calling cards is its roster of some of the most experienced and well-connected federal contracts attorneys in the country.
Partner Angela Styles is one. A Texan who worked on President George W. Bush's first presidential campaign, she was administrator for procurement policy in the White House Office of Management and Budget from 2001 to 2003. Her job was to develop procedures for outsourcing as much of the government's work as possible.
"If a federal employee was performing a job that you could find in the yellow pages, we would look at whether the private sector could be doing it more effectively and cheaply," says Styles.
Richard Bednar, a former brigadier general, is another key player in the practice at Crowell. In the Army he decided whether companies found guilty of defrauding the military would remain eligible for government contracts. Now he defends those companies before the Army official who has his old job. He also touts the industry as coordinator of the Defense Industry Initiative on Business Ethics and Conduct, a group of defense and security contractors formed in the 1980s to boost the industry's image. Most of its 80 members are traditional defense contractors, such as Lockheed Martin Corp. and United Technologies Corp. Contractors of the new breed -- the providers of private armies, such as Blackwater and DynCorp -- have not signed on to its code of conduct. All four companies are Crowell clients.
The traditional practice of defending defense contractors' cost overruns is one thing; claiming immunity for wrongdoing by private security forces in Iraq is quite another. Recent congressional hearings have called attention to the fact that no one in the government seems to be holding these companies -- whether for failure to protect their own hires or for inflated charges to the federal government.
Although agencies such as the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction and the Government Accountability Office have conducted audits and issued reports that highlight vast overcharges and unauthorized spending by private military companies, the government frequently doesn't penalize the companies for it.
"There's a war going on," explains Crowell partner Terry Albertson, who represents private military contractors in cost accounting disputes. "You get these stories that come out of Iraq that sound in some ways like terrible problems, but if you were really on the ground there, doing what these contractors are doing, you'd see it differently." By and large, says Albertson, the U.S. Department of Defense understands the difficulties that private military companies face and rejects the auditors' recommendations.
Hammond also tries to insulate his clients from judgment. One way is to thwart the extension of rules that burden the regular Army to private companies. He has opposed a proposal to make military contractors subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice, among other rules. The proposal "could have an unintended negative impact on the mission of our armed forces and the government and contractor personnel serving overseas, including possibly compromising their physical safety," he wrote in a letter to a Defense Department official.
But at other times, Hammond has argued that his clients are essentially indistinguishable from the U.S. military. When they are sued, for instance, Hammond argues that private military companies are part of the "U.S. total force," and that they should enjoy the same immunity from suit as U.S. soldiers. To help make that happen, Hammond advises his clients to make the company's close connection to the military explicit. "All those things should be put into the contract, so the court can see the scope of government control," he says.
Several companies have failed to spell out that connection and are in legal trouble as a result. For example, Blackwater has been sued by the families of the dead men, who claim that the company failed to provide essential safety equipment and that the failure led to their deaths. Blackwater is represented by Michael Socarras of McDermott Will & Emery. Socarras and Hammond both declined to comment on the case.
Almost every aspect of the case has been blanketed with secrecy. Who wrote the employment contracts? Hammond won't say. What about the contract between Blackwater and the U.S. government? Turns out, there wasn't any. Only after the lawsuit and congressional hearings was it revealed that Blackwater was a subcontractor of a Kuwaiti hotel services company, which in turn was a subcontractor of a Cyprus-based food service company, which itself was a subcontractor of Kellogg Brown & Root, which at the time was a subsidiary of Halliburton Co.
In May a federal district court sent the case to confidential arbitration. So the proceedings will remain a secret. In the end, the U.S. taxpayer, who can be considered the ultimate client of Blackwater, may never know the outcome. And that would be just fine with David Hammond.
Posted by hafeezt at 12:04 PM | Comments (0)
June 08, 2007
Cost of Living Can Make A Major Difference In Quality of Life
Students often fail to consider cost of living when comparing starting salaries at firms in various different markets. With the recent spike of starting salaries to $160,000 in New York and other cities, students may falsely conclude that they are comparing apples to apples when considering firms paying $160k in different markets. However a new article in the National Law Journal cites research which shows that a $160,000 salary in NY is equivalent to a whopping $278,373 in Chicago and $205,631 in Los Angeles. The research is conducted by the Council for Community and Economic Research, an organization that tracks and studies cost of living disparities nationwide. The article can be found at www.nlj.com. A portion of the article is reprinted below.
FROM THE UPCOMING ISSUE
Does it pay to make NY pay?
Leigh Jones/Staff reporter
June 11, 2007
It may be a stretch to argue that beginning lawyers at big law firms need more money, but those practicing in New York could make a strong case for a raise.
With more law firms now paying first-year associates in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and Boston the same amount they are doling out to their starting lawyers in New York, it seems that attorneys in the Big Apple are getting shortchanged in the deal.
Several big law firms in the last few weeks have boosted salaries for first-year associates in large cities in the West to match the $160,000 that their New York beginners receive.
A "nationalization" of their practices is the reason many firms give for paying the same amounts in different locations. But a look at the cost-of-living differentials shows that the copycat compensation is creating some significant pay disparities among associate ranks.
Law firms in California say recent raises are based on what individual markets demand and not on how far a dollar goes in a particular area.
"The marketplace was less regional than we thought," said Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Chairman Ralph Baxter, referring to his firm's decision in May to raise associate pay in California to match its New York offices. Orrick had upped its New York pay in January to $160,000 along with several other law firms at the time.
Orrick's West Coast raises last month set off a rash of salary increases in California that is still spreading. Several firms in Chicago have raised pay to $160,000, including McDermott, Will & Emery; Kirkland & Ellis; and Sidley Austin. Firms in Boston, including Foley Hoag, Goodwin Procter and Ropes & Gray also have followed suit.
On one hand, firms say that their decisions to boost salaries in Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago are necessary to stay competitive in recruiting. Firms want to avoid the embarrassment of becoming pegged as a holdout for upping salaries. On the other hand, they say that as their specific practice areas have broadened to include attorneys from both coasts and cities in between, it is inequitable to pay an attorney in Los Angeles one amount and an attorney in New York another.
"If it were cost-of-living driven, we'd pay less in Walnut Creek," said Morrison & Foerster Chairman Keith Wetmore, referring to one of its California offices.
But maybe it should. Cost-of-living differences are huge among major U.S. cities. According to the Council for Community and Economic Research (CCER), the equivalent of a $160,000 annual salary in New York is $205,631 in Los Angeles. The CCER, a 46-year-old nonprofit organization, comprising economic development organizations, government agencies, universities and others, produces the Cost of Living Index.
In Chicago, $160,000 balloons to the equivalent of $278,573, according to the CCER. In the pricey San Francisco market, the equivalent of $160,000 in New York is $190,789. In Boston, it equates to $241,397.
Housing provides some of the sharpest contrasts. An apartment costing about $2,000 per month in San Francisco runs more than $3,400 in New York. The same apartment goes for about $1,600 in Chicago.
Posted by hafeezt at 11:45 AM | Comments (0)
June 04, 2007
'04 UMLS Alum Survives Humvee Explosion
U-M grad survives Humvee explosion
Army captain credits her survival to fellow soldier who died in Iraq
Friday, June 01, 2007
BY JO COLLINS MATHIS
News Staff Reporter
At the end of another long, busy, 115-degree day in Iraq, Capt. Sarah Rykowski is grateful that sleep comes quickly. And is free of nightmares.
Two weeks ago, the Ann Arbor resident was riding in a Humvee in Iraq when a roadside bombed exploded, killing three fellow soldiers, including the good friend riding beside her.
"He put me in that seat,'' Rykowski recalled during a phone conversation from Iraq, referring to Cpl. Coty Phelps, the 20-year-old paralegal who worked for her. "He said, 'Ma'am, you sit here. And I'll sit here.' He cared very deeply about taking care of me, and protecting me, his officer. And I have replayed that in my head a million times.''
Rykowski, a 1999 graduate of Pioneer High School and 2004 graduate of the University of Michigan Law School, is back at work in her law office south of Baghdad, where she helps Iraqis who have filed claims against the U.S. military.
Rykowski received the Purple Heart for being wounded in battle. She will fully recover from her relatively minor injuries and says she's doing well emotionally.
"Some people said, 'If I'd been through that, I'd be hiding under a table, and you're back out doing your job,''' said Rykowski, 26, the claims attorney and trial counsel (prosecutor) for the 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division. "The truth is that there is no one way to grieve, there is no one way to restart your life. In the Army, we say, continue mission. No matter what, continue mission, until it is done.''
Rick and Jenny Rykowski of Ann Arbor were surprised but proud when their daughter said she wanted to join the Army. The military, after all, is not the typical path for a law school graduate.
Now they say they're praying harder than ever for their daughter, as well as for the families of those killed May 17.
"Sarah believes they're doing a good thing over there, helping the Iraqi people,'' said Jenny Rykowski. "We miss her terribly, but we know she's in God's hands, and she's doing what she's been called to do.''
"She wanted to be a prosecutor, but it's not a good time to get a county job in Michigan,'' said her father. "Her natural gift is to be a lawyer, not a soldier, so we're proud that she stepped up and embraced it.''
CONTINUED 1 | 2 Next
Deployed to Iraq in December for a one-year tour, she'll be reassigned when she returns to the U.S. at the end of the year. She'd been in Iraq only a month when her Humvee was bombed.
"I was nervous as all get-out, going there,'' Rykowski said, referring to the convoy that was to travel the few miles to another town to handle claims from Iraqis there.
She and Phelps were passing a water bottle back and forth. And then there was an explosion.
In an e-mail, she wrote:
"I had ear and eye protection on, which is probably why I can still hear - I heard a very loud bang and a bunch of stuff sprayed up. Right off the bat I was pretty sure I was going to be fine - I felt no pain. Then I tasted blood, and realized it was dripping out of my mouth. I ran my tongue across my teeth and reached up with my right hand to see if my lips were still there. Everything was still there, so I figured something I couldn't see was hurt. I suddenly felt pain in my arm and burning on my face and legs - but I could only see blood on my arm, nowhere else. I got out of the vehicle - I'm not sure how. I was pretty awake the whole time, but particular things are fuzzy and other things are not.''
Rykowski said Phelps looked as if he were simply unconscious, or even asleep. Meanwhile, she thought her arm might be broken, and everything else stung. But all she could think about was Phelps, and how she had let him come on the convoy because he wanted to visit his buddy.
When she finally learned that Phelps and two others had been killed in that Humvee, she was filled with survivor's guilt. "Why them and not me?'' she asked.
She said so many of the soldiers in Iraq seem so young to her.
"They put on a uniform and pick up a weapon and come over here and serve their country,'' she said. "Whether you like the war or not, you have to support the people. Whether it's the right thing, or the wrong thing, we're there right now and we have a job to do.''
Once, she had to tell two Iraqi women that she found no evidence the U.S. military was responsible for their husbands' deaths, and could offer no compensation. "What do we do?'' they asked. "We're widows.''
She said everyone was near tears when Phelps took out his wallet and gave them each a $50 bill.
"I didn't expect that of him, and it warmed my heart,'' she said. "He was an amazing kid.''
She said her office is sending Phelps' family in Arizona a packet of letters, including a long one from her praising his generosity, wit and dedication.
Asked what she would tell her future children about her experience in Iraq 20 years from now, she wrote in an e-mail:
"I'd tell them what I think they ought to know - that we came here for a purpose, a good purpose, and when we leave, it will be for a good reason. I read a great Iraqi fairy tale as a child, where one character says that - 'I came for a purpose and I left for a reason.' I will tell them that, but for a wonderful soldier and his suggestion I sit in a particular place, I might not be here. And they might not. To consider how lucky they are to live in a place like the U.S. - where people die every day from car accidents, shootings, and other injuries - but where people can believe what they want and go about their lives without wearing body armor. To be thankful for a system of government, that, for the most part, allows them to live the way they want to live. To be grateful for that opportunity.''
Jo Mathis can be reached at 734-994-6849 or jmathis@annarbornews.com.
Posted by hafeezt at 10:21 AM | Comments (0)