Home / Firm News
IMPORTANT NEWS FROM THE CAMPBELL FIRM PLLC
Headlines for December 10, 2009:
Emily Campbell’s Work
With Columbia University’s Lang Center For Entrepreneurship Leads To The Firm’s
Representation Of Por Ti Familia, A Health Care Company Operating In Peru, In
Connection With Its First Round Of Private Equity FinancinG
The Campbell Firm PLLC served as counsel to
Por Ti Familia, a
Cayman Islands company with an operating subsidiary based in Lima, Peru, in
connection with its first round of private equity investment. The
Company closed the financing round in April 2009 with U.S. and international
investors. The lead investor was Rose Tech Ventures.
Por Ti Familia is a for-profit health care company, providing medical and
pharmaceutical services to its customers. Doctors are provided at an
affordable cost and treat many common ailments. The business model has
been successfully implemented in other countries, and from all accounts Por
Ti Familia is meeting its benchmarks in Peru.
The transaction was quite complex. It involved multiple law firms,
including Appleby in the Cayman Islands and Estudio Echecopar, Peruvian
counsel; the investors' counsel was Goodwin Proctor. “I especially
enjoyed the international aspects of the transaction,” Ms. Campbell said,
“as I work with a number of foreign companies as part of my practice,
including Japanese and Indian clients.”
Enrique Coronado, the CEO, sought Ms. Campbell’s advice when presented
with the term sheet after he graduated from Columbia University with his
MBA. Ms. Campbell has been part of the Sounding Board at Columbia
University’s Business School’s Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, which
provides advice to students and alumni, as well as judging business plans
there. Ms. Campbell was familiar with Mr. Coronado’s business plan
from a presentation he made at Columbia. Ms. Campbell said, “I was so
pleased that Enrique was taking his business to the execution phase and
following his entrepreneurial dream. And I am excited to be part of a
venture with a 'social angle' – to bring affordable health care to a
population that really needs it.”
Emily Campbell
Receives Award For 5 Years Of Service As An Adjunct Professor of Law At New
York Law School
At the end of the Spring 2009 semester,
New York Law School
presented
Emily Campbell with an award for five years of dedicated service as an
Adjunct Professor of Law. Ms. Campbell has been teaching Drafting
Contracts, an upper level legal writing course, since the Fall of 2004.
New York Law School is a leader in the trend to offer practical drafting
courses for law students. “These hands-on drafting courses provide
students the opportunity to hit the ground running when they begin
practicing,” Ms. Campbell said. The Drafting Contracts course is
currently limited to 17 students, so they are able to learn drafting
techniques in a small classroom setting. The students do four
commercial contract assignments each semester – a revision exercise, a short
drafting exercise , a negotiation exercise and a final, lengthier drafting
exercise.
In the Fall of 2009, New York Law School opened its new building, and Ms.
Campbell was granted one of the seminar rooms that is fully equipped with
all the latest technology. She regularly uses that technology to
enhance the classroom experience.
Ms. Campbell’s creative hypotheticals are all based on real world
situations, and she has her students keep abreast of contract issues that
appear in the news. She draws on sports and entertainment headlines
and current events to keep her students engaged, including discussing the
contract issues arising out of the Writer’s Strike; an agreement between
Democratic and Republican political campaigns concerning the Presidential
Debate that was released following the question of whether George Bush had
“help” answering his questions since that “bulge” behind his back arguably
could have been some sort of wireless feed device; failure of deliveries of
oil and other products after Hurricane Katrina; employment, endorsement and
sponsorship contract issues of celebrities such as Don Imus, Dan Rather,
Michael Vick, Michael Phelps, Whoopi Goldberg, Britney Spears, Rhianna and
Tiger Woods; reality television contract issues arising out of shows such as
“The Bachelor” and “The Amazing Race”; the settlement of one of the
child-centered cases against Michael Jackson; and many more newsworthy
contract matters.
Ms. Campbell has seen her students over the last five years progress to
interesting professional opportunities. She often serves as a
reference for her students writing letters of recommendation for clerkships
and for positions in private practice, as well as for those who want to
obtain a LLM.
“I know that my students can compete with other professionals in the
marketplace, in part, because of the skills they learn in my class that can be
applied across many areas of practice,” Ms. Campbell said.
Ms. Campbell began her sixth year of teaching in the Fall of 2009 and has
committed to at least continue teaching through the Spring of 2010.
“I’ll do it as long as I continue to enjoy it and there is a need for me at
New York Law School,” she said. “It’s a great way to give something
back to the legal community, and I am proud to be an Adjunct Professor of
Law at New York Law School.”
Emily Campbell
Becomes A Mentor For The Merrill Lynch Invitational Entrepreneurship
Competition At Baruch College
In the Fall of 2009, Emily Campbell began her second year as a
Baruch College Mentor for the
Merrill Lynch Invitational
Entrepreneurship Competition at Baruch
College. Students seeking MBA’s from Baruch, as well as business school
students from other institutions, including NYU, Columbia, Fordham and Pace,
participate in the competition.
Ms. Campbell was invited to participate in the
Executives on Campus
program after meeting Edward Rogoff, Academic Director of the Lawrence N.
Field Center for Entrepreneurship and Small Business at Baruch College’s
Zicklin School of Business; he and Ms. Campbell were both judging business
plans at Columbia University’s Eugene Lang Entrepreneurship Center. “We were both on a
panel, and after hearing my comments, Ed said, ‘You should get involved with
Baruch.’”
As an Executive on Campus, Ms. Campbell has also been able to attend
interesting events, including a lecture by Hans-Kristian Hoejsgaard, CEO of
Timex Group, B.V., in the Spring of 2009.
Each team that is selected to participate in the business plan competition
is assigned an outside mentor drawn from the Executives on Campus, in
addition to an internal mentor. Outside mentors are drawn from many
areas, including business, law and finance. The first year Ms.
Campbell was a mentor to a group of students who were proposing to launch an
internet business involving food shopping and downloadable coupons.
That team did not complete all of its milestones, but Ms. Campbell’s current
team has so far completed all of its milestones; that team is planning to
launch a law-related finance business. “This team has a leader with
specific industry experience. If they can execute on the plan, even if
they don’t win the competition, they will likely have a viable business.”
Baruch College has a well-funded and very successful Entrepreneurship
Program. The Merrill Lynch Competition awards significant monetary
prizes and start-up funding – currently up to $100,000. This year
marks the 10th anniversary of this business plan competition at Baruch.
Emily Campbell Dedicates
Significant Pro Bono Time To Criminal Matters To Enhance Her Trial Skills &
Expand The Firm’s General Practice
When it comes to being a Jane-of-All-Law-Trades, Emily Campbell is the
first one to raise her hand to volunteer to learn new areas of practice.
Ms. Campbell began her career as a commercial litigator in 1992, and six
years into her practice she transitioned into a corporate transactional
practice. When she founded The Campbell Firm PLLC in 2002 as a general
practice firm, she included intellectual property law as part of the Firm’s
practice because she had experience in the field – both on the litigation
side and on the transactional side. Now approximately 17 years into
her practice, she is pleased to be adding another area of practice to her
repertoire – criminal law.
“I am an inter-disciplinarian,” Ms. Campbell declares. With a J.D., as
well as a Ph.D. in Social Psychology, that is certainly true.
In the last two years, Emily Campbell has been expanding her legal skills by
second-seating several very experienced criminal lawyers primarily on a pro
bono basis on both misdemeanor and felony cases, principally in Manhattan
and Brooklyn. Ms. Campbell has been able to apply many of her civil
litigation skills to criminal work, including interviewing and preparing
witnesses, performing legal research for motion practice and assisting with
jury selection. Her corporate practice skills and honed negotiation
techniques have also proven helpful in criminal plea negotiations and in
dealing with prosecutors on behalf of clients generally.
During the Summer of 2009, Ms. Campbell was second-seating a serious felony
case in New York Supreme Court in Kings County, where the defendant was
charged with assaulting three police officers. After a week-long
trial, the jury, which deliberated for more than 8 hours, rendered a
not-guilty verdict on two of the counts involving one of the officers, and
on the charges involving the other two officers and all other remaining
counts they were hung. “The ‘victory’ was a good result for a man who
had witnesses, who had never met him until that day, come forward to testify
on his behalf, including one person who had the presence of mind to
photograph the incident using the camera on his cell phone,” Ms. Campbell
said.
“I don’t yet know if I will want to 'make a career out' of these types of
matters, but I really am enjoying the work I am doing so far. Unlike
most civil litigation, I actually get to try cases,” Ms. Campbell excitedly
said. “And the results are relatively immediate, as the cases don’t
involve discovery that goes on for protracted periods.”
As of the end of 2009, Ms. Campbell has been serving as co-counsel on four
active felony cases including a juvenile rape case, a robbery and two murder
cases. These cases may go to trial in 2010, if they are not plead out
or are otherwise dismissed.
Emily Campbell Attends
Awards Ceremony & Reception In Honor Of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg At The
Supreme Court Of The United States
On November 16, 2009, Emily Campbell journeyed to Washington, D.C. to
attend an awards ceremony and reception in honor of
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who was being indoctrinated as an Honorary
Life Fellow of the
Foundation
of the Federal Bar Association. The event took place in the
beautifully adorned and historical West Conference Room at the U.S. Supreme
Court.
Justice Ginsburg took questions from the attendees after the presentation.
Most of her remarks were very personal, including commenting on missing her
colleague Sandra Day O’Connor and noting her more than 50-year marriage, as
well as expressing love for, and pride in, the achievements of her family.
Justice Ginsburg has had an illustrious professional career. She has
worked as a pioneer in the field of women’s rights and has served
courageously on the bench. While for Justice Ginsburg the award will
simply be added to a long list of many interesting and impressive
achievements she has made, for the attendees, including Ms. Campbell, the
honor was all theirs. “She was so gracious in greeting each one of us
who her shook her hand,” Ms. Campbell said. “She is an inspiration to
all lawyers – especially to female attorneys.”
Ms. Campbell was invited to attend this important awards presentation
because of her role in the
Federal Bar Association, as Chair of its Committee on National Security
and Counter-Terrorism for the Southern District of New York Chapter.
Headlines for December 17, 2007:
Emily Campbell Interviewed for
Article by Fortune Small Business Magazine
Emily Campbell was recently interviewed by Malika Worrall, journalist for
Fortune Small Business, a magazine devoted to issues facing entrepreneurs
and small and growing businesses, for an article on how to establish a
charitable not-for-profit company. The article may be found at
http://money.cnn.com/2007/12/13/smbusiness/501c3.fsb/index.htm?postversion=2007121709.
Headlines for December 14, 2006:
THE CAMPBELL FIRM PLLC APPROACHES ITS 5TH ANNIVERSARY
In March 2007, The Campbell Firm PLLC will celebrate its fifth
Anniversary. The Firm has a diversified, general practice; the Firm's four core
practice areas are
Corporate, Intellectual Property, Individual Client Services and
Litigation.
The Firm owes its success to its client-centered, practical approach to legal
challenges. The quality of the work-product compares to large firms similar to
those with which the Firm's attorneys were previously affiliated.
However, because the Firm keeps its administrative costs low and has developed
important relationships with its Project Attorneys who serve the Firm's
clients on an as needed, project basis, it is able to provide top level
legal services at reasonable rates.
Among the types of legal matters the Firm has handled since its founding in
March 2002:
-
Representation of a serial entrepreneur in connection
with his departure from a venture-backed company that he founded, including
his resignation as the Chief Executive Officer and as a Board Member.
-
Representation of an apparel company in connection with
its trademark application with the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office.
-
Representation of a travel company in connection with its opposition of
another's trademark before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board.
-
Representation of a Chief Financial Officer of a venture-backed company in
connection with an Audit Committee Investigation.
-
Representation of a New York company in connection with the purchase of all of
the assets of a Montana fishing ranch.
-
Representation of a telecommunications company in connection with the
preparation of its Confidentiality and Inventions Agreements for employees
and independent contractors.
-
Representation of an e-tailer in a lawsuit brought in state court against
its website developer for failure to complete development of the company's
website.
-
Representation of a finder in connection with a finder's fee agreement to
provide introductions to commercial building owners for a security services
company.
-
Representation of a software developer in connection with the preparation of
a software development and maintenance agreement for a customized software
solution, including related licenses.
-
Representation of an apparel company in connection with its licensing of
University logos for placement on clothing and accessories.
-
Representation of a consulting company in connection with the preparation of
its contracts to provide consulting services to international textile and
apparel manufacturers.
-
Representation of the owner of a large development site in Upstate New York
in connection with the sale of the property.
-
Representation of a financial print consulting services company in
connection with the preparation of its contracts for consulting services.
-
Representation of a borrower in a private loan transaction, including
preparation of a promissory note.
-
Representation of a financial services company in connection with the
preparation of its contracts for financial planning services.
-
Representation of a high-level marketing employee at a major, publicly
traded Internet company in connection with a severance agreement, including
issues concerning her bonus and stock options.
-
Representation of a physician in an out-of-court settlement with a patient.
-
Representation of a telecommunications company in connection with the
preparation of its commission policy for commissioned salespersons.
-
Representation of the purchaser of a multi-family property in Brooklyn, New
York.
-
Representation of a group of persons in a breach of contract action
involving a private sweepstakes sponsored by a major newspaper and
sweepstakes promoter.
-
Representation of a cosmetic surgeon in connection with the opportunity to
become the director of a medical spa.
-
Representation of an individual in connection with the discharge of her
personal guarantees for her employer's merchant accounts with all major
credit card issuers.
-
Representation of a high-level financial services professional at a major
financial institution in connection with a severance agreement, including
issues concerning his bonus and stock.
-
Representation of a commercial real estate broker in connection with the
preparation of its salesperson agreements and exclusive broker agreements.
-
Representation of a financial services company in connection with its
employee matters, including a State of New York Department of Human Rights
Complaint for alleged sexual harassment.
-
Representation of a physician in connection with a publishing agreement for
the publishing of a medical textbook by a U.K. publisher.
-
Representation of a telecommunications company in connection with its
recapitalization.
-
Representation of a commercial real estate broker in a breach of contract
action brought in federal court seeking payment of a commission on the sale
of a major commercial property in Manhattan to a U.K. company.
-
Representation of an electrical contractor in an out-of-court settlement
with a subcontractor and discharge of a lien against a major museum.
-
Representation of
an architecture firm in a litigation matter brought in state court seeking
contribution and indemnification relating to a major condominium building
located in Soho.
-
Representation of an individual in connection with her estate planning,
including preparation of her Will, her Health Care Proxy and her Durable
Power of Attorney.
-
Representation of a not-for-profit organization in connection with its
rights to receive royalties from the publication of a well-known
psychological test.
-
Representation of the minority interest holders in a limited liability
company in connection with the buy-out of their membership interests.
For more information on the capabilities of this Firm's
attorneys, we invite you to view the individual professional biographies of our
attorneys.
EMILY CAMPBELL APPOINTED ADJUNCT PROFESSOR OF LAW
Emily Campbell was honored with an appointment as an
Adjunct Professor of Law at New York Law School, beginning in the Fall of 2004.
Each semester she teaches one course; that course is Drafting Contracts,
a practical class that gives second- and third-year law students the
opportunity to prepare and negotiate four contracts based on real-world
situations. She's now in her third year of teaching.
Ms. Campbell's experience and skills as a draftsman were
recognized by New York Law School with this appointment. With a focus on
commercial contracts, Ms. Campbell has exposed students to employment and
severance agreements, real estate brokerage agreements and publishing agreements
- to name just a few.
"Teaching is very rewarding," said Ms. Campbell. "The
students are bright, and I've had students attribute getting jobs to the
information they learned in my class. One student, in particular, told New York
Law School that he had to do a short drafting exercise to obtain an
entertainment position with a major studio in Los Angeles, and that without my
course, he doesn't think he would have gotten the job."
Ms. Campbell likes having an impact on students' lives.
"Teaching is an extension of what I do through my practice, and it gives me a
great deal of personal satisfaction."
EMILY CAMPBELL PARTICIPATES IN COLUMBIA'S LANG CENTER
FOR ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Columbia University's M.B.A. program has welcomed Emily
Campbell as a periodic guest lecturer on The Law For Entrepreneurs. In
addition to lecturing, Ms. Campbell participates in several programs with
Columbia's Lang Center for Entrepreneurship, where students and alumni are
offered mentoring by professionals, including Ms. Campbell, through the
"Sounding Board" and where students' business plans are evaluated through its "Greenhouse".
"Columbia is really an amazing institution. Exposing students to
professionals in venture capital, law and business at the highest levels is
invaluable so that these students can hit the ground running with their
entrepreneurial ventures after they have completed their education," Ms.
Campbell said. "Some of the students' businesses are even funded by
Columbia University itself."
Asked how she finds the time to participate in this
activity, Ms. Campbell said: "Professors Murray Low and Clifford Schorer have
welcomed me with open arms into the fold. They recognize my commitment to
sharing my knowledge with others and giving something back to New York, where
most of the students at least initially start their business, and they allow me
to volunteer my time with the program. Occasionally, some students or alums
become clients of the Firm, but my involvement is much more about the impact
that I can have at the formative stages of these future entrepreneurs' careers.
Anything else is just a plus."
THE FEDERAL BAR ASSOCIATION'S NATIONAL SECURITY AND COUNTER-TERRORISM COMMITTEE GROWS UNDER EMILY CAMPBELL'S LEADERSHIP
Emily Campbell serves as Chair of the Committee on National
Security and Counter-Terrorism for the Federal Bar Association, Southern
District of New York Chapter (previously known as Empire State Chapter) - or as
she likes to call it NSCT (pronounced "insect"). Since its founding after 9/11
by Ms. Campbell, NSCT has grown in popularity and is now attended regularly by a
core group, which include Homeland Security professionals, law enforcement
personnel and government and private sector attorneys.
"I am not an expert in security," Ms. Campbell explained. "My goal is
to be a facilitator in this important public discussion of the legal issues that
arise from our security challenges."
The events are typically held at the federal courthouse in
Lower Manhattan, although NSCT has co-sponsored some programs with the New York
City Bar Association and has held those at the House of the Association in
mid-town.
Programs have been diverse - ranging from practical issues,
such as port security with high-level personnel from Homeland Security
presenting - to more esoteric issues, such as the psychology of terrorism with a
forensic psychologist presenting. Recent speakers have included Wilfredo Lopez,
General Counsel for the New York City Department of Health, who spoke on
Bioterrorism; David Gold, Professor of Economics at the New School, who
spoke on The Economics of Terrorism; and Bernard Trainor,
Retired General, U.S.M.C., who spoke on the Iraq War: History & Prognosis.
Upcoming programs are often listed on the Firm's website
under Events. For information on NSCT's upcoming programs, contact Emily
Campbell at
ecampbell@campbellfirm.com or (212) 267-3600.
NEW YORK CITY BAR ASSOCIATION CONTINUES ITS PRESTIGIOUS
PUBLIC AFFAIRS LUNCHEON PROGRAM WITH EMILY CAMPBELL AS VICE-CHAIR
Emily Campbell is the
Vice-Chair of the Public Affairs Luncheon Program, one of the most prestigious
and successful programs at the New York City Bar Association. She proudly
serves with Jerome Rosenberg, who is Chair of the Public Affairs Luncheon
Program.
Ms. Campbell has been principally responsible for the
publicity for the luncheons and introducing the speakers at the luncheons -
quite an honor for the junior member of the Senior Lawyers Committee, which
sponsors these luncheons. "Being on the Senior Lawyers Committee at an
early age is a wonderful opportunity. It exposes me to lawyers who love
practicing law as much as I do; most of them are practicing well into their
seventies and, even in some cases, eighties. Working to put together the
luncheons is very rewarding, as I have had the good fortune to sit side by side
with important politicians, journalists, authors, judges and academics."
Recent speakers have included Eliot Spitzer, New York State
Attorney General; William Thompson, Controller of New York; Gifford Miller, New
York City Council Speaker; and Richard Haas, President of the Council on Foreign
Relations.
There are four programs annually, generally in September,
December, February and April. Upcoming programs are often listed on the Firm's
website under Events. For information on upcoming Public Affairs
Luncheon programs, contact Emily Campbell at
ecampbell@campbellfirm.com or (212) 267-3600.
PARSONS SCHOOL FOR DESIGN WELCOMES EMILY CAMPBELL AS A CONTRIBUTOR
Emily Campbell has been a panelist on several panels geared
toward alumni from Parsons School of Design who want to start their own design
businesses. Ms. Campbell has contributed on issues of copyright and trademark,
as well as general corporate matters, during the panel discussions. Other
panelists include successful fashion designers - sometimes even Alumni from
Parsons (The New School) for Design who have their own successful design companies - as well as, business
consultants who discuss business plans and strategies for starting a business.
Ms. Campbell's legal work with entrepreneurs, including
those in the apparel industry, makes her an ideal speaker. She has represented
several fashion companies; currently she represents an up-and-coming fashion
company whose founder and lead designer was previously affiliated with Zach
Posen and Perry Ellis.
THE FIRM'S ENTREPRENEURIAL PRACTICE BENEFITS FROM ITS
MANAGING MEMBER'S PERSONAL ENTREPRENEURIAL EXPERIENCE
The Firm continues to work with entrepreneurs in a variety
of different industries and is well-suited for such engagements in part because
of its Managing Member's personal entrepreneurial experience. Ms. Campbell has
been investing in real estate since 1994, when she started purchasing property
in Maryland. Since that time she has acquired property in a number of different
states, most recently venturing back to the South to purchase a rental property
in Alabama.
In 2003, Ms. Campbell purchased a mixed-use property in
Brooklyn, New York, to add to her Brooklyn real estate portfolio. "I am usually
the GC (general contractor) on my projects, and this was no exception. I hired
all the trades - from plumbing and electrical, to asbestos removal, to heating
and air conditioning, to carpentry, painting and plaster. The process took
almost a year from the time the plans were prepared and filed to the time the
building was ready for occupancy. It's rewarding to see a building go from
‘nothing' to something really wonderful."
Ms. Campbell maintains that the process is a marked
contrast to the intangible nature of the practice of law. "With renovations,
you can see, feel and touch the results," she said.
Ms. Campbell also started investing in the Catskill Region
of New York State in 2004. "Like any good investor, I go where the opportunities
are," she noted. "And the scenery is beautiful to boot!"
Ms. Campbell's entrepreneurial experience doesn't end with
real estate investment. Founding the Firm has certainly proven her
entrepreneurial strength. And among her other ventures, she had a theatrical
production company in the 1990's, and she now operates an on-line dating
business available on the Web at
www.FishInTheSea.com and a real estate brokerage business, which principally
concentrates on the Brooklyn real estate market, whose listings can be viewed at
www.BeginTheAdventure.com.
When asked how she manages to handle a full-time law practice and these other
businesses, Ms. Campbell offered, "Sleep is not that important to me. Or
perhaps I should say, I just don't sleep as much as I should." Ms.
Campbell is a self-proclaimed master of time management, still making time for friends, family
(including her dog, Alabama, now three years old) and the religious and
charitable organizations to which she devotes time throughout the year,
including, among others, United Hospital Fund, American
Friends of Hebrew University and her synagogue, B'Nai Jeshurun.
"I believe being involved in the community and being
culturally well-rounded makes me a better lawyer," Ms. Campbell, an avid
theater, movie and museum goer, said. "And being an entrepreneur myself, I can
certainly relate to my clients' business issues. They want practical solutions
to their legal challenges, and that's what my Firm works to deliver."
