Denver media attorneys Tom Kelley, Steve Zansberg and Chris Beall are leaving Faegre & Benson to launch the Denver office of an East Coast firm specializing in First Amendment law.
The three will join Levine Sullivan Koch & Schulz, which has offices in Washington, New York and Philadelphia. Also working in the new Denver office will be Levine Sullivan partner Ashley Kissinger.
“We had this opportunity to join … some of the nation’s leading attorneys in the area of law we practice,” Zansberg said. “It was an opportunity we didn’t think we could pass up.”
Among the clients represented by the Faegre & Benson trio are The Denver Post and the Colorado Springs Gazette. Denver Post Editor Greg Moore said Thursday that the paper will stay with Kelley and Zansberg as they move to the new firm.
Levine Sullivan has represented CBS, The New York Times and others in libel, privacy cases and other First Amendment litigation. The Faegre & Benson lawyers had worked with Levine Sullivan on several cases dating back to the late 1990s, including a U.S. Supreme Court challenge relating to the Kobe Bryant sexual-assault case.
NEW YORK
Immigrant advocates target Western Union
Several immigrant organizations plan to rally outside The Western Union Co.’s shareholders meeting next week in New York to protest fees the company charges to deliver money to foreign countries.
Organizers also want Western Union to become a “good corporate citizen” by reinvesting revenue into immigrant communities in the United States and abroad, said Francis Calpotura, executive director of the Trans national Institute for Grassroots Research and Action, a rally co-sponsor.
The rally was planned after Western Union turned down a request from TIGRA to put a resolution before shareholders requiring the company to report on its pricing structure and community reinvestment programs.
DENVER
Frontier unit signs maintenance deal
Frontier Airlines Holdings Inc. subsidiary Lynx Aviation has signed a 10-year support contract with Lufthansa Technik AERO Alzey for engine maintenance. The agreement covers up to 20 Q400 aircraft.
Lynx Aviation president Tom Nunn said Lynx “will be flying to destinations previously unserved by Frontier or any low-cost carrier.”
BOULDER
Ball keeps contract to run Air Force lab
Ball Aerospace won a $6.4 million five-year contract to continue operating the Infrared Radiation Effects Laboratory at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate. Ball first won the contract in 1987.
FORT WORTH, Texas
Pilots seek 30% raise, bonus from American
American Airlines pilots asked the company Thursday for a 30.5 percent pay raise, plus signing bonuses, which union leaders said would make up for pay cuts that the employees accepted in 2003.
The pilots union put the cost of the raises at $450 million a year and said signing bonuses would be a one-time expense of $400 million.
LOS ANGELES
Jury in “Sahara” suit begins deliberations
Jurors began their first full day of deliberation Thursday in the case pitting author Clive Cussler against a Phil Anschutz-controlled production company over the 2005 film “Sahara.”
The nine-woman, three-man jury must decide if Crusader Entertainment breached a contract with Cussler or the novelist committed fraud by inflating the number of books he sold, which led to the deal to make “Sahara.”
OTTAWA
Canadian Mint offers 220-pound gold coin
The Royal Canadian Mint unveiled a gold coin Thursday that’s as big as a car wheel and as thick as a hardcover novel, in a bid to help win business lost to global competitors.
The 220-pound coin, which is 99.999 percent pure gold, the largest and purest piece ever made, was shown to reporters for the first time Thursday at the mint in Ottawa. While each coin has a face value of $900,000, the purity and quantity of the bullion gold they’re made of makes them worth more than twice as much, based on current prices.
CHICAGO
United reports gain in passenger traffic
United Airlines’ planes were 84.1 percent full on average in April, up from 82.8 percent a year ago, setting a record for United’s performance in April.
United’s capacity measured by available seat miles fell by 0.8 percent, while its passenger traffic measured by revenue passenger miles grew 0.8 percent.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.
AMC decides to pull its $789 million IPO
AMC Entertainment Inc., owner of the AMC and Loews cinema chains, withdrew a $789 million initial public offering, four people with knowledge of the decision said.
AMC’s owners, including JPMorgan Partners LLC and Apollo Management LP, planned to sell almost 39.5 million shares for $18 to $20 apiece, valuing the company at about $2.9 billion.
ATLANTA
Delta shares slip on NYSE debut
Delta Air Lines Inc.’s new shares began their first trading day on the New York Stock Exchange on Thursday.
Delta shares fell from the opening trade of $21.75 to finish the day at $20.72.
AMSTERDAM, The Netherlands
ABN Amro’s sale of Chicago bank blocked
A Dutch court blocked ABN Amro’s planned sale of a Chicago bank on Thursday, a ruling that makes it more likely a group led by Royal Bank of Scotland will capture ABN Amro in the industry’s largest takeover battle.
The court said ABN Amro must seek shareholder approval before it can sell LaSalle to Bank of America Corp. for $21 billion.
