20111024-NEWS--1-NAT-CCI-CL_--
10/21/2011
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$2.00/OCTOBER 24 - 30, 2011
VOL. 32, NO. 43
Law firms, too, ready for action in fracking
Clinic aims to head off concussions
Guidance likely needed for shale stakeholders
Mouthguard, iPad app, blood test are latest research into cognitive injuries
By MICHELLE PARK mpark@crain.com
By CHUCK SODER csoder@crain.com
They don’t wear hard hats, but they are members of Team Shale. The exploration for natural gas and oil in the shale beds of eastern Ohio has created a surge in activity for steelmakers and those who supply them, but nonmanufacturing companies, particularly law firms, are mobilizing, too. Anticipating that an increasing number of clients will need legal guidance in navigating the energy boom unfolding in this region, Thompson Hine LLP in Cleveland recently put together a multidisciplinary task force of nearly 20 attorneys — or Team Shale — to focus on shale-related issues, primarily in Ohio. In another example, the energy practice at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, which includes attorneys in the Columbus firm’s Akron office, has risen to 16 as five lawyers shifted their focus over the past year. And partner Jeremy Sharp of Walter & Haverfield LLP in Cleveland said the firm seriously is considering forming a group or practice to handle work related to fracking, the technique of drilling down and fracturing
One day, a 10-year-old boy could be pulled out of a football game because his mouthguard just told a computer that he’s taken a big hit to the head. Then he could use an iPad to test himself for signs of a concussion. If there’s still doubt, he could provide a blood sample that could be tested on the sidelines to see if he’s OK. See CLINIC Page 20
RUGGERO FATICA
The Clinic’s Adam Bartsch (left) and Ed Benzel stand with a robot that is being used to test a new mouthguard that would offer more information when an athlete suffers a head injury.
See FRACKING Page 21
Geauga prosecutor sues electronic mortgage registry Argues system transferred deeds illegally, shortchanging county coffers By JAY MILLER jmiller@crain.com
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The Geauga County prosecutor has started the ball rolling on a lawsuit targeting an area of confusion in the nationwide mortgage foreclosure crisis that, the lawsuit says, has damaged the integrity of county
land records across Ohio and has cost counties thousands — and perhaps millions — of dollars in lost fees. David Joyce filed a lawsuit Oct. 13 in Geauga County Common Pleas Court against MERSCORP, the nationwide electronic mortgage registry, and many of the banks and
mortgage lenders that operate in the county. The lawsuit seeks class action status. Mortgage lenders created MERSCORP — commonly referred to simply as MERS, for Mortgage Electronic Registration System — in the mid-1990s to speed the recording and transfer of home mortgages
that were sold, often several times, by lenders and mortgage packagers on their way to being part of mortgage-backed securities. In addition to keeping track of mortgage records, MERS was designated as mortgage holder of record, retaining that role even as mortgages were sold and resold. As the housing market collapsed, it began to initiate mortgage foreclosure actions.
INSIDE Parma hospital plays surgical catch-up Parma Community General has brought on a surgical robot — the da Vinci — which the hospital says will allow it to offer more minimally invasive surgical procedures and better compete with University Hospitals, the Cleveland Clinic and MetroHealth. Read more about the robot and how it works during surgery in Tim Magaw’s story on Page 6.
See GEAUGA Page 20
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