FC: MS judge's husband represented Corel; Cheney's son-in-law at DOJ

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

Also see:

http://washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A715-2001Aug26.html
Family Ties and Antitrust Whys
2001-08-27 03:15:55

*********

From: "Bridis, Ted" <Ted.Bridis () dowjones com>
To: "'declan () well com'" <declan () well com>
Subject: Msft judge's husband represented Corel; tells WSJ she won't step
        down
Date: Mon, 27 Aug 2001 09:06:32 -0400

http://interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB998669025558223218.htm

August 27, 2001

Kollar-Kotelly Is Picked as Judge
In Next Phase of Microsoft Case

By TED BRIDIS and GLENN R. SIMPSON
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

WASHINGTON -- The federal judge picked to decide whether to break up
Microsoft Corp. or restrict its business activities has limited experience
handling complex antitrust cases and is known among lawyers for aggressively
pressing for out-of-court settlements.

A computerized courthouse lottery among as many as 17 U.S. district judges
selected Colleen Kollar-Kotelly -- appointed by President Clinton in May
1997 -- to oversee the trial's pivotal next phase. A federal appeals court
unanimously ruled in June that Microsoft violated U.S. antitrust laws, but
removed the trial judge, Thomas Penfield Jackson, because of critical
remarks about the company he made to reporters during the trial. The task of
weighing sanctions and reviewing whether Microsoft broke the law by bundling
its Internet Explorer software with its Windows operating systems falls to
Judge Kollar-Kotelly, as Microsoft ships the latest version of its Windows
software to personal-computer makers.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly's courtroom record gives little insight into how she
might approach the landmark antitrust case.

One issue to quickly emerge is that her husband, John T. Kotelly, an
attorney with the Washington firm of Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky
LLP, has represented Corel Corp., a Canadian software company that has long
competed against Microsoft. In Senate confirmation testimony, the judge
described Mr. Kotelly as "my friend and confidante."

Last year, Microsoft invested $135 million in Corel, whose WordPerfect
Office software applications compete with Microsoft's. Corel also has been a
prominent supporter of the Linux operating system, which competes with
Windows, and of Java, a programming language that the federal appeals court
ruled was the target of an illegal campaign by Microsoft to undermine its
use.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly, 58 years old, indicated Friday that her husband's work
for a Microsoft rival won't require her to recuse herself. She declined to
speak directly with The Wall Street Journal, but in an explanation relayed
through the clerk's office at the U.S. District Court here, she said Mr.
Kotelly had limited involvement with Corel and was replaced in June 2000 by
another lawyer, so "there is no ethical conflict," Clerk Joe Alexander said.

Some legal experts questioned the situation, but noted that judicial ethics
rules -- which require judges to give up cases where their spouse "has a
financial interest in the subject matter in controversy" -- likely wouldn't
require her to step down. "While we can spin out theories by which the law
firm's interests could be affected depending on how this case goes, it's too
uncertain, not sufficiently direct, to require disqualification," said
Stephen Gillers, the vice dean of the New York University law school.

Still, Andrew Gavil of Howard University said questions about the Corel tie
were "not insignificant," since Corel needed the $135 million investment
last year partly "because Microsoft hit them so hard in the first place."
Judicial ethics rules probably will require Judge Kollar-Kotelly to notify
lawyers for Microsoft and the Justice Department about her husband's past
work.


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----

Judge: Colleen Kollar-Kotelly

Date of Birth: April 17, 1943

History: Nominated by President Clinton and appointed in May 1997

Professional Career:

Law clerk, Hon. Catherine Kelly, District of Columbia Court of Appeals,
1968-1969
Attorney, U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Division, Appellate Section,
1969-1972
Chief legal counsel, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, St.
Elizabeth's Hospital, 1972-1984
Associate judge, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, 1984-1997
Others:

Adjunct professor at Georgetown University School of Medicine in a joint
teaching program on mental health and law
Chair of the Board of the Art Trust for Superior Court

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
----

In the courtroom, Judge Kollar-Kotelly runs a tight ship, several lawyers
said. Microsoft's lawyers, who have tested the patience of three previous
courts, could find it hard to maneuver. "You don't cross her," said Gordon
Forester, former president of the D.C. Bar Association and a private
attorney here who tried cases before her when she served on the D.C.
Superior Court.

She has often advocated settlements, according to lawyers who have worked
with her or appeared before her. Once, when an elderly woman couldn't decide
whether to accept a financial offer in a personal-injury lawsuit, Judge
Kollar-Kotelly invited the woman into her private office, where they talked
for nearly 90 minutes. When they emerged, the woman agreed to the
settlement, according to Washington lawyer Chris Hoge, who represented the
woman.

Judge Kollar-Kotelly has overseen two Justice Department-drafted antitrust
settlements, including most recently the acquisition of Chris-Craft
Industries Inc. by News Corp. But in rulings, she shows no clear leanings
toward either government or corporate parties. In an important
intellectual-property case, she rebuffed Bristol Myers Squibb Co.'s effort
to assert a patent against generic-drug maker Ivax Corp.

Write to Ted Bridis at ted.bridis () wsj com and Glenn R. Simpson at
glenn.simpson () wsj com




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