Rambus (RMBS)

[Threejack]

Virginia


Last night NicdaGreek made light of a Yahoo poster's speculation Judge Payne was assigned the Rambus case purposefully (presumably as part of an effort to squash Rambus by a money-motivated and politically-assisted unseen hand).

Here's a post Sandy made less than a year ago after doing some very interesting research into the workings of Virginia lobbyists. You can draw your own conclusion.

Given the public-record connections between the FTC, former Representative Butch Otter, the Simplot family empire, and Micron Technology, it isn't much of a leap to imagine lobbying between Micron and federal officials as well. There must be records.

Perhaps the WSJ reporter would like to pull on both of these threads.

Just my opinion, of course.

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Posted by: silrw
In reply to: None
Date:7/24/2005 11:44:39 AM
Post #5022 of 8420

Good old boys club?

Hello, everyone,

Good old boys club in VA? Tangled web? Well, it's all very interesting, but these FACTS caught my eye. I apologize in advance for the length of the post, but it took me many hours of research to compile.


Speaking of lobbyists, I did a little research. By way of information, the most common definition of a lobbyist is one who attempts, on behalf of a special interest group, to influence the way legislators vote. However, according to Wikipedia, "They may also represent their clients' or organizations' interests in dealings with federal, state, or local executive branch agencies or the courts. A separate form of lobbying, called outside lobbying or grassroots lobbying, seeks to affect the legislature or other bodies indirectly, through changing public opinion (or purporting to - fake grassroots campaigns are known as astroturfing). A modification of the same, aimed to leaders and influential persons in the community, is known as grasstops."

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lobbyist


At this website in Virginia where lobbyists are publicly registered, (select the arrow to make the company names appear) you will find the following FACTS:

http://secure01.virginiainteractive.org/lobbyist/cgi-bin/search_principal.cgi


Infineon had the following registered lobbyists in VA for the time periods indicated:

1999 - 2000 = 0
2000 - 2001 = 0
2001 - 2002 = 1 as follows (note the date of his registration was after Rambus sued IFX):

(Note: I have deleted all phone numbers.)
Name Address Phone Registered
Mr. Charles M. Guthridge 6212 Three Chopt Road
Richmond, VA 23226 (804)XXX-XXXX 05/16/01

2002 - 2003 = 0
2003 - 2004 = 0
2004 - 2005 = 1 (same as above)
2005 - 2006 = 0


Stated purpose for lobbying: "All matters dealing with the semiconductor industry in Virginia, specifically incentive grant programs"

My note: A lobbyist is required to state a purpose when he registers. However, the stated purpose rarely, if ever, encompasses "everything" a lobbyist does for the company which hires him.



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However, when you look at the lobbyists working on behalf of SIEMENS (Infineon's parent company), it gets a little more interesting. Siemens has four company entries in the list at the above link: 1 - Siemens Building Technologies; 2 - Siemens One; 3 - Siemens USA; and 4 - Siemens ICN.

The registered lobbyists in VA for Siemens Building Technology during the time frames indicated are as follows:

Siemens Building Technology
2005 - 2006 = 0
2004 - 2005 = 0
2003 - 2004 = 0
2002 - 2003 = 0
2001 - 2002 = 0
2000 - 2001 = 4 as follows - Please note the dates -- all dates AFTER Rambus sued IFX in VA, and two of them are with McGuire Woods Consulting:

Name Address Phone Registered
Mr. John Greenwell Siemens Building Technologies
5106 Glen Alden Drive
Richmond, VA 23231 (804)XXX-XXXX 02/01/01

Ms. Susan R. Swecker 3327 W. Franklin St.
Richmond, VA 23221 (804)XXX-XXXX 11/17/00

Ms. Rose Marie Owen McGuire Woods Consulting
One James Center
901 E. Cary St.
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 11/17/00

Mr. Stephen A. Horton McGuireWoods Consulting
One James Center
901 East Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 11/17/00


Stated purpose for lobbying: "Matters concerning Siemens Building Technologies". Interesting that they only hired lobbyists for the 2000-2001 time frame.


1999 - 2000 = 0



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However, the SIEMENS ONE entries are where it really gets interesting. Who or what is Siemens One? Well, the Siemens One website at the following link states:

"Founded in 2001, Siemens One, Inc. is a sales and marketing organization that enables customers to realize the true potential of integrating Siemens' products, services and solutions. The organization identifies selling opportunities that involve solutions from multiple Siemens companies and their partners, and then develops, manages, and directs a single coordinated approach to the customer."

http://usa.siemens.com/index.jsp?sdc_p=c194flmn1070267o1188515ps2u&sdc_sid=16128349749&

FOUNDED in 2001! A Sales and Marketing organization. Well, that is very interesting. Let's take a look at the lobbying efforts in Virginia on behalf of Siemens One:


1999 - 2000 = 0
2000 - 2001 = 0
2001 - 2002 = 6!
Wow, what happened here? Six registered lobbyists in 2001-2002! And they even called in the lawyers for this effort....lol. Three of them are lawyers with the McGuire, Woods law firm (two of them are partners with the firm [Atkinson and Bowles] as can be verified by a search of the McGuire Woods website; and they all are affiliated with McGuire, Woods Consulting, where they serve together on the State Government Relations Team (link: http://www.mwcllc.com/people/searchteam.asp):

They obviously needed some heavy lifting done in the lobbying department in 2001-2002.

Name Address Phone Registered
Mr. Eric J. Finkbeiner McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
One James Center
901 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 03/01/02

Mr. Frank B. Atkinson McGuire Woods LLP
One James Center
901 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 02/26/02

Ms. Tracy M. Baynard McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
1750 Tysons Boulevard
Suite 1800
McLean, VA 22102 (703)XXX-XXXX 02/26/02

Mr. Mark T. Bowles McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
One James Center
901 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 02/26/02

Mr. Stephen A. Horton McGuireWoods Consulting
One James Center
901 East Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 02/20/02

Ms. Rose Marie Owen McGuire Woods Consulting
One James Center
901 E. Cary St.
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 02/20/02


Must have really been concerned about something. Let's see what the stated purpose says: "Public-Private Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act of 2002". So, we have a newly formed German "sales and marketing company" Siemens One, REALLY really interested in the Education Facilities and Infrastructure Act in VIRGINIA ... (occurring at the same time as the IFX litigation with Rambus and involving lawyers from the lawfirm representing Infineon).

2002 - 2003 = 3 (Well, they cut down the number by half....got rid of the two partners at McGuire Woods and kept the associate which is interesting, and, of course, all three are affiliated with McGuire Woods Consulting:

Name Address Phone Registered

Mr. Christopher Lloyd McGuireWoods Consulting, LLC
One James Center
901 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 01/09/03

Mr. Stephen A. Horton McGuireWoods Consulting
One James Center
901 East Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (804)XXX-XXXX 01/09/03

Mr. Eric J. Finkbeiner McGuireWoods Consulting LLC
One James Center
901 E. Cary Street
Richmond, VA 23219


Guess they accomplished their mission, because no lobbyists registered for the following years:

2003 - 2004 = 0
2004 - 2005 = 0
2005 - 2006 = 0

If you are curious about the lawyers from McGuire Woods who registered as lobbyists for Siemens One, here are the links with photos:


http://www.mcguirewoods.com/lawyers/index/Frank_B_Atkinson.asp - Partner

http://www.mcguirewoods.com/lawyers/index/Mark_T_Bowles.asp - Partner

http://www.mcguirewoods.com/lawyers/index/Eric_J_Finkbeiner.asp - Associate


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Also, of passing interest is the FACT that Micron has a McGuire Woods lobbyist listed for the years 2003 through 2005, which you can also see at the above link, although the stated purpose is "Matters concerning AES Corp."

===========================

McGuire Woods is apparently a very prestigious law firm with offices in this country and abroad. We all know that McGuire Woods represented Infineon in the VA case. They are also now representing Samsung in their VA case against Rambus (see Amended Complaint). McGuire, Woods law firm's website is here:

http://www.mcguirewoods.com/

The first thing you see at the top of their website is this quote: "McGuire Woods is more than a trusted law firm. It's a respected business partner. McGuireWoods LLP is redefining the traditional role of law firms by providing innovative legal and consulting solutions. We are entrepreneurial, creative thinkers – creating a dynamic new definition of a law firm by expanding services to keep pace with our clients' varied needs." Well, I have no doubt about that.

Also, you will note on the front page of the McGuire Woods lawfirm's website in the right column, they invite you to visit McGuire Woods Consulting -- so I did.

Link: http://www.mwcllc.com/

The first words I see on this website are: "So your company is facing a challenge. Maybe you've been expecting it. Or maybe it caught you by surprise. Either way, it's not something you have the time or the resources to deal with properly. You just want it handled. Taken care of. You want help from the people with a reputation of solving the challenges that other cannot."

Interesting.

Might also want to check this link about who they are:

http://www.mwcllc.com/ourfirm/default.asp

The last paragraph on this page states: "Many other examples could be cited, but here's the bottom line: McGuireWoods consultants and lawyers have the depth and range to develop flexible, dynamic, integrated strategies that meet our clients' business and legal needs, whatever the issue or venue." I have no doubt about that either. There are many other links on their website which explain this interesting "consulting" firm.


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Enough about that. Let's look at a couple of other interesting FACTS. It would appear that Governor Mark Warner of Virginia was very involved with Infineon during the pertinent time frame. From the link which StkHawk posted today it states:

"Virginia's persistent pursuit of the project also likely affected Infineon's decision. "We were all disappointed when the original project announced in 2000 did not go forward," Gov. Mark Warner (D) said in Richmond. "But we didn't give up. We stayed in close touch with Infineon and worked hard to 're-recruit' this expansion." That effort included Warner's personal lobbying.
"I met with their top executives when I was in Germany one year ago," the governor recounted. "Soon after I returned from that meeting, I toured the Henrico County plant and discussed the potential expansion with Henry Becker, their terrific Virginia manager. And the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (www.yesvirginia.org) has worked closely with the company to help bring this deal to fruition.""

http://www.conway.com/ssinsider/bbdeal/bd040510.htm

So, Governor Warner spent some time personally lobbying for Infineon -- even took a trip to Germany! Wonder who paid for that?

Anyway, it gets even more curiouser. Apparently L.F. Payne (any relation to Robert, I wonder?) served as Chairman of the Mark Warner for Governor campaign in 2001, and is presently President of -- guess what company -- McGuire Woods Consulting! Another interesting FACT, but just a coincidence, I guess. See his photo and bio here:
http://www.mwcllc.com/people/individuals/payne_lf.asp

What my research also revealed is the FACT that Governor Warner of VA received $20 million dollars to finance his 2001 campaign in VA (nearly twice that of his nearest opponent) -- see this link:

http://www.vpap.org/cands/cand_detail.cfm?ToKey=COM00494&CycleID=2001

Of course, McGuire Woods made modest contributions (may have been limited by law) to his election efforts in 2000, 2001, and 2002, but after that they started backing other candidates -- job done? Who knows? You can select whatever year you want to look at here, but these are the links for the contributions made by McGuire Woods to Warner's campaign:

http://www.vpap.org/donors/results_level2.cfm?key=ORH000200727&Year=2002&CandFilter=A
2002 - $25,000 to Warner Inaugural Committee 2002

http://www.vpap.org/donors/results_level2.cfm?key=ORH000200727&Year=2001&CandFilter=A
2001 - $17,500 to Warner for Governor

http://www.vpap.org/donors/results_level2.cfm?key=ORH000200727&Year=2000&CandFilter=A
2000 - $5,000 to Warner for Governor


=========================

Perhaps the most interesting and pertinent FACT about McGuire Woods is that Judge Robert Payne was a former associate and partner of the lawfirm for many years.

See the list of Washington and Lee University Law School Adjunct Faculty 2002-2003 here, where it states:

http://lawlibrary.wlu.edu/faculty/adjuncts/adjuncts2002-3.htm


ROBERT E. PAYNE
B.A., LL.B.
Adjunct Professor of Law
B.A.1963, LL.B., magna cum laude, 1967, Washington and Lee University; Order of the Coif; admitted to practice in Virginia; Captain, JAGC, U.S. Army, 1967-71; associate, McGuire, Woods, Battle & Boothe, Richmond, Va., 1971-74; partner, 1975-92; Judge, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, 1992-; Adjunct Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University, 1999-2001; 2002-.

So Judge Payne was an associate at McGuire Woods for 4 years, and partner for 17 long years (21 years TOTAL) before he was appointed as a federal judge. No doubt, he has many friends there. I wonder who nominated and supported him for the federal bench. Does anyone have any information about that?

Also of interest is the entry right below Judge Payne's name, same link:

SEAN ROYALL
B.S. J.D.
Adjunct Professor of Law
B.S. 1986, Texas A&M University, magna cum laude; J.D. 1990, University of Chicago, with honors; Managing Editor, University of Chicago Law Review, admitted to practice in Texas and District of Columbia; law clerk to Judge Patrick E. Higginbotham, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, 1990-91; associate, Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, Washington, D.C., 1991-97; partner, 1998-2001; Deputy Director, Bureau of Competition, Federal Trade Commission, 2002-; Adjunct Professor of Law, Washington and Lee University, 1999-.

Maybe someone else can research the law firm of Gibson, Dunn. I'm too tired to look.


====================================

The above links demonstrate that there was BIG money, BIG politics and BIG influence at work in VA during the time that Rambus was in Judge Payne's court with Infineon. Talk about long arm of the law, how about the long arm of the lawfirm McGuire Woods and its subsidiary, McGuire Woods Consulting?

At any rate, is or was there a good old boys club in VA and is or was there a tangled web? Well, you can decide for yourself. The above FACTS speak pretty loudly to me.

Have a great weekend.

Sandy

http://www.investorshub.com/boards/read_msg.asp?message_id=7087336

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We could use the iBox to store valuable posts (Post# with descriptor) like Sandy's for easy reference, if it would add value.

Threejack