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.Bridisat_private> To: "'declanat_private'" <declanat_private> 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. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ---- 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.bridisat_private and Glenn R. Simpson at glenn.simpsonat_private ------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLITECH -- Declan McCullagh's politics and technology mailing list You may redistribute this message freely if you include this notice. Declan McCullagh's photographs are at http://www.mccullagh.org/ To subscribe to Politech: http://www.politechbot.com/info/subscribe.html This message is archived at http://www.politechbot.com/ -------------------------------------------------------------------------
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