Two months after partners made the choice to set up a new managing partner position and hand over the title of chairman to another, Spehr succeeded restructuring partner Brian Trust. Spehr, who co-heads the New York litigation group, will be in charge of an administrative center of over 200 attorneys. Brian Trust will continue to carry out his practice from the office in New York.

Spehr hopes to pick Mayer Brown up from the 11% drop that it suffered last year. He says his focus will be on the growth of the New York office in order to keep in line with the one in Mayer Brown Chicago office—which gained some impressive litigation victories, including the December products liability win for Medtronic—as well as the offices in Hong Kong and London. He also aims to continue to build the firm’s litigation practice.

The company has since had to hold out against its own share of bad weather that has resulted in the recent restructuring. In the short time since then, James Holzhauer, the firm’s former Chicago-based chairman, stepped down and allowed Herbert “Bert” Krueger to move up in his place. Vice-chair of the London office Paul Maher followed suit soon after with news of his departure, topping off a two-year string of more than 100 partner defections, to get Greenberg Traurig’s new London office underway. Maher was overlooked for Washington vice-chair as Kenneth Geller took the new managing partner position.

Spehr has a more optimistic view on the new management line. He believes that the new leadership will help make future hiring easier. “I’m very optimistic about both the management restructuring, as well as the firm’s commitment to grow New York,” he says.

As Spehr explores his ideals for more effective decision-making, Mayer Brown continues to make significant changes in their lineup.

Morningstar’s goal was to recognize these executives and their contributions. Three categories group the executives based on their specialties, namely: fixed-income managers, domestic stock managers and international stock managers. Final results will be released on January 5.

Some of the nominees for Fund Managers of the Year include:

• Hakan Castegren of Harbor International. He has already won the award twice and is also nominated for the Fund Manager of the Decade award.
• David Herro of Oakmark International and Oakmark International Small Cap.
• The managers of American Funds EuroPacific Growth: Lee, Grace, Bepler, Denning, Lovelace, Kawaja. They are also in the running for Fund Manager of the Decade award.
• Brent Lynn of Janus Overseas, who implemented an aggressive style that has generated big returns for his investments. This year, he is up an astounding 75%, and his five-year return is annualized at 17.1%.
• Manning & Napier World Opportunities’ Magiera, Tommasi, Coons, Andreach, Donlon, Gambill, Herrmann, Lester, Trotter.
• Longleaf Partners’ Staley Cates and Mason Hawkins are also nominated for Fund Managers of the Decade.
• Bill Nygren of Oakmark is another Fund Manager of the Decade nominee.

These executives have proven their worth and competence in stirring their companies towards success despite the very bad economic climate of the past year. Having generated profits not only for their companies, but more importantly, for their customers, they have set their companies on a great path towards 2010.

However, with the New Year coming and with the continuously growing popularity of the brand, iPhone application pioneers should buckle up as they face greater competition come 2010. As the number of iPhone Apps and their manufacturers multiply over the next year, companies will find it twice as hard to gain profit even for the most successful ones that are now currently in the market.

Though these are just speculations and projections for the coming year, research firm IDC predicts that the number of Apple iPhone apps available to consumers will triple over the next year to more than 300,000. In a report released last September entitled “Forecasting the U.S. Mobile App Gold Rush,” Yankee Group Research estimated that the mobile app industry will expand more than tenfold to $4.2 billion by 2013.

Being a very lucrative industry, major brands and more established players will most certainly take advantage of this relatively new market and slowly begin moving in. This will leave pioneering developers who ultimately grossed millions for individual applications to fight in order to maintain attention and market share.

Tapulous remains the leading developer of iPhone apps for 2009. The company, funded by several high profile investors from the Silicon Valley, is the developer behind the hit Tap Tap Revenge series and other highly popular tap applications that have combined to sell millions of dollars from more than 15,000,000 consumers. Immediately after its release, Tap Tap Revenge 3 was atop the app bestsellers’ list on the iTunes Store for 20 days.

Judd peppered her performance with praises for alli, a weight loss drug for which she serves as spokeswoman. The singer, who has endorsed the product since January, looked noticeably thinner during the gig.

“In the past few months, I’ve learned to look at weight loss with a fresh approach that includes better nutrition, exercise, and emotional support,” Judd said, in reference to alli.

Her spectators consisted mostly of fellow alli consumers, who snapped the tickets via a sweepstakes raffle. Judd expressed her excitement in performing for an audience who embraced the healthier way of life.

Judd has appeared in the nationwide ad campaign for the over-the-counter supplement, reportedly the only one approved by the FDA. The product claims to reduce weight by as much as 50%, mainly by impeding the intake of fat and calories into the body. It comes in capsules, which are available in starter packs.

According to GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare, the makers of alli, Judd pairs the product with a low-fat diet. The company also equipped the star with exercise equipment for her use in between gigs.

Ideally, alli should be integrated in a personalized action program, which includes regular physical activity and a balanced diet. “The alli Method is about succeeding through healthy, gradual weight loss,” said Rachel Ferdinando, a senior executive at GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare.

Formerly a member of The Judds, Wynonna has posted multiple platinum records in a career spanning 25 years. The chart-topping country artist is now signed to Curb Records.

GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Healthcare ranks among the world’s premier makers of non-prescription products. It produces such products as Sensodyne, Aquafresh, Nicorette, Abreva, and Breathe Right.

Axiotron has made its business disassembling in official MacBooks, turning them into one-piece touchscreen tablets that are capable of pen input. The “ModBook,” which is what is called now, is available for $699 but requires the buyer to bring with them their MacBook. Ready-to-go ModBook units are sold at $1,199. This device is targeted for designers.

Originally, Axiotron began marketing ModBooks under the label TabletMac. The company even referred to its product as “TabletMac” in at least one legitimate document. Axiotron even moved to trademark the name. An excerpt from the press release is provided below.

“Solution hardware manufacturer Axiotron, Inc. today appointed veteran Apple sales partner Carbon Computing as the exclusive Canadian distributor for the Axiotron ModBook…”

However, MacRumors reports that in the previous year, the label was handed over from Axiotron to Apple. Apple is currently named as the holder of the trademark, be it protecting “Mac” or intending to make its own tablet. Apple fanatics need not be dismayed with the term TabletMac since Apple is just simply protecting what it owns. In the near future, its version of the tablet is more than likely to have a likable and more unique name.

As a global company, Nokia fulfills its responsibility to promote sustainable development in whichever way possible. Thus, it works with several international nonprofit organizations to pursue its social responsibility programs toward youth and children development, disaster relief, and community building.

The company targets providing youth with life skills to help them achieve personal and professional success. It collaborated with the International Youth Foundation (IYF) in 2000 to launch an international initiative to improve literacy, scholastic performance, active citizenship, and employment skills among young people. Nokia has contributed over $26 million and benefited 330,000 young people.

The company also donated an initial amount of €1,000,000 to Plan, a humanitarian international children’s organization in order to launch e-learning activities to educate African children of their rights and opportunities.

Nokia also regards community building as its social responsibility because its mobile technology has the capacity to influence and bridge communication for millions of people around the world.

In Africa, it implemented a project called The Village Phone program, which made communication easier for villagers in the outskirts of Africa through village phones.

In the Philippines, Nokia launched BridgeIt under the program title “text2teach” in May 2003 to provide technology-based instructional materials to 5th and 6th grade teachers in order to boost academic performance of students. Its two years of implementation has benefited more than 122,000 students and 920 schoolteachers.

Nokia has rendered charitable contributions to several international nonprofit institutions such as the United Way and UNICEF. It also developed an employee philanthropy program which has raised over $500,000 for charity.

The company has also contributed to disaster relief efforts, working hand in hand with the Red Cross. It donated $1 million to aid the victims of Hurricane Katrina. In response to the Southeast Asian tsunami, Nokia initiated a long-term recovery program through a contribution of €2,500,000 Reconstruction Fund. It also provided 1000 mobiles phones to rescue teams and operators to support relief work. It also funded rebuilding programs in Pakistan and instituted a Nokia Education Fund for children who lost their parents to the September 11 attacks.