Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

According to one of Eliot Spitzer’s major contributors, the success of the Governor’s re  read more »

Eliot Spitzer's plan to flip control of the Republican-led state Senate to the Democrats, who would then help push though his reform agenda, is part of a much wider goal than reforming Albany, according to one of his contributors, and major Democratic fund-raiser, Doug Dunham,

"I can certainly see him being a really viable contender for president if he's able to get all these reforms through," said Dunham,, counsel at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

"Certainly reforming Albany was significant for prior presidents from New York; for Franklin Roosevelt, Theodore Roosevelt, before that, Grover Cleveland. They were all reform-minded governors who occasionally had to be a little tough but did get reform packages through the state legislature. Wasn't always the easiest thing to do but they succeeded eventually and that laid the ground work for giving them national reputations as reformers, setting them up for a presidential run."

In 2004, Dunham co-chaired the Committee of New York Lawyers for Kerry-Edwards which reportedly raised at least $7.5 million.

By 2005, when Spitzer's campaign was kicking into high gear, so was Dunham's local contributions. According to state Board of Elections records, Dunham gave thousands of dollars for both Eliot Spitzer and his running mate, David Paterson. After the landslide victory in November, Spitzer's campaign continued, focusing on the state Senate. As did Dunham's contributing.

"I'm going to be working towards a fund-raising event in late spring," Dunham told me in a telephone interview Monday. The purpose is to "raise money for winning back a senate Democratic majority in 08."

-- Azi Paybarah

A lively meeting over at Empire State Development headquarters this morning: the board was also expected to appoint a new lawyer to represent the agency on the Atlantic Yards project, until a dispute over the former lawyer, David Paget, is resolved. An appeals court hearing on that dispute, which the state economic development agency lost at a lower level court, is to begin at 2 p.m. today. Atlantic Yards opponents contend that Paget had a conflict of interest, since he earlier represented the developer, Forest City Ratner.

Daniel Goldstein, spokesman for Develop—Don’t Destroy Brooklyn writes in an e-mail: “Their main argument for their appeal was that they couldn't find a new lawyer. Apparently that is specious.”

A letter from the law firm representing the state agency in the appeal, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, states: “E.S.D.C. determined to take this step solely for the purpose of insuring that the environmental review of the project would not be delayed during this appeal and any possible subsequent review by the Court of Appeals.”

According to the March 20 letter, which Goldstein received as a party to the case, the agency was to approve the new appointment today. We’re waiting on confirmation of the vote from E.S.D.C.

-Matthew Schuerman

UPDATE: The new law firm is Bryan Cave LLP. (We erroneously said in an earlier version of this post that it was Skadden Arps, they are representing the agency in the appeal.)

Lost in the hum of daily routine deep in the Eighth Avenue beehive of white-shoe law firm Cravath, S  read more »

Ever since October 1996, when Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, the highest-grossing law firm in  read more »