Former DRI Board Member and Chair of the White Collar Crime and Corporate Integrity Committee, William A. Coates of
Greenville,
South Carolina’s Roe Cassidy Coates &Price, P.A., along with Elizabeth Gray of Sowell Gray Stepp & Lafitte recently obtained an acquittal for an individual defendant in the criminal case of
United States of America v. W.R. Grace, et al. The
United States charged Grace and five of its former executives with conspiring to defraud the
United States and to endanger the citizens of
Libby,
Montana arising out of Grace’s operation of a vermiculite mine near Libby. Additional charges involved substantive counts of endangerment and obstruction of justice.
The Environmental Protection Agency characterized this case as the most significant environmental prosecution ever brought. The case was tried in federal court in
Montana from February through early May 2009. The case involved many “cutting-edge” issues in environmental and criminal law. The case was originally indicted in 2005, and underwent two interlocutory appeals to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. After presentation of the government’s case, and one day into the defense case, the government moved to dismiss the case against Coates’ client with prejudice. One other defendant was also dismissed by the government. The jury acquitted Grace and the remaining three individual defendants after 1 and ½ days of deliberation.
ROE CASSIDY ATTORNEYS SELECTED FOR
BEST LAWYERS IN
AMERICA
Two Roe Cassidy shareholders were selected by their peers for inclusion in Best Lawyers in
America. Inclusion in Best Lawyers has been based entirely upon peer review for the past 25 years.
James Cassidy has been named in the specialties of bankruptcy and creditor‑debtor rights law, and commercial litigation.
D. Randle Moody, II has been selected in the specialty of labor and employment law.
THREE ROE CASSIDY ATTORNEYS SELECTED FOR
INCLUSION IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA SUPER LAWYERS 2009
Carroll H. (Pete) Roe, James Cassidy, and William Coates, all founding members of Roe Cassidy Coates & Price, were selected for inclusion in the 2009 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers. No more than five percent of the attorneys in
South Carolina are selected. Selection is based on a rigorous multi-step process, with each candidate evaluated on twelve indicators of peer recognition and personal achievement. Roe was named in the categories of general litigation and real estate. Cassidy was named in the general litigation category, and Coates was named in the business litigation category. All three were previously selected in the inaugural 2008 edition of South Carolina Super Lawyers.
FRED W. "TREY" SUGGS, III BEGINS HIS TERM AS PRESIDENT
OF THE YOUNG LAWYER'S DIVISION OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA BAR