6/21/04

Clifford Chance pulling out of two California cities
Less than two years after Clifford Chance opened a West Coast practice in California, the international firm is closing offices in the state's two most prominent legal markets. The San Francisco and Los Angeles offices, which housed 27 attorneys between them, will be officially closed next month, reducing the firm's California presence to small, two-partner offices in San Diego and Palo Alto. Eleven partners will leave the firm in the move, including a team of eight to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe (see below), bringing the total number of partners to leave Clifford Chance's U.S. operations in the last 18 months to almost 40. The firm, which made the decision in part because the partners wished to "streamline" their U.S. operations, is now left with 103 U.S. partners. Legal Week, 6/21/04

Orrick takes large partner haul from closing CC offices
Of the eleven partners that are affected by the closing of the Clifford Chance offices in San Francisco and Los Angeles, eight are joining the offices of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Six partners, including West Coast managing partner Jim Burns, will join the firm's San Francisco office and two will be resident in the Los Angeles office. Mike Torpey, formerly co-head of securities litigation at Clifford Chance, will serve as the head of the same department at Orrick. The six partners in San Francisco and one of the partners in Los Angeles come from the litigation and dispute resolution practice at Clifford Chance, while the other Los Angeles partner comes from the real estate practice. Legal Week, 6/21/04

Gardner Carton & Douglas adds three partners, one associate in Chicago
A team of three attorneys from UK-based Lovells will join the financial markets litigation group at Gardner Carton & Douglas, the firm announced last week. Partner Timothy Carey will lead the group, which includes one other partner and one other associate, into a growing financial market practice at Gardner. The firm as a whole is in expansion mode, with former Piper Rudnick intellectual property partner Kenneth Hartmann joining the three Lovells attorneys in moving to Gardner last week. In all, the firm has added 31 attorneys and consultants since May 1st, including major additions from Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld and boutique firm Stickler & Nelson. Firm Press Release, 6/16/04

Alston & Bird gains two from Salans
Continuing the trend of American firms poaching partners from international law firms last week, Atlanta-based Alston & Bird hired two litigation attorneys from Salans last week. The two partners are Michael Cooper and John Cambria, both of whom will practice general business litigation in the firm's New York City office. Before joining Alston & Bird, Cambria served as the co-chairman of the litigation department at his former firm. New York Lawyer, 6/18/04

Duane Morris continues to expand in New York
Two partners from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart have been brought on by Duane Morris in New York to fill a major role. The two attorneys, Loren Schechter and James Tricarico will co-chair the firm's national broker-dealer practice, which is just getting on its feet. Tricarico has also served as general counsel and executive vice president of Prudential Securities. The firm now has 75 attorneys in the New York office and has been one of the most active firms on the hiring front as of late. Firm Press Release 6/17/04

Six-attorney group switches firms in Florida
Akerman Senterfitt lost six attorneys from its Fort Lauderdale office last week as those lawyers defected to rival firm Stearns Weaver Miller Weissler Alhadeff & Sitterson. Five shareholders and one associate will join Stearns Weaver, bolstering its labor & employment department with two shareholders and its litigation department with the other three shareholders and the associate. With the additions, Stearns Weaver now has more than 100 attorneys working in its three Florida offices. South Florida Business Times, 6/21/04

McDermott hires four tax attorneys in Germany
Four tax specialists from Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorff Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, the German legal branch of Deloitte & Touche, joined McDermott Will & Emery earlier this month in Munich. Dr. Dirk Pohl, who helped name partner Dr. Arndt Raupach establish the tax practice at Raupach & Wollert-Elmendorff as one of the highest-regarded in Germany, will enter the firm as a partner and as the leader of his team. Raupach will also be joining the firm. Firm Press Release, 6/11/04

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart hires prominent bankruptcy attorney
As two broker-dealer partners left the New York office to head to Duane Morris last week, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart was growing its bankruptcy and restructuring practice. Edward Fox comes to the firm from his position as the head of the bankruptcy practice at Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn. Having worked on some notable bankruptcy cases, the firm believes that his presence means a more prominent role for their bankruptcy department, both locally and nationally. Firm Press Release, 6/16/04

Weil Gotshal grabs Akin Gump department chair
As a host of firms shuffle partners in New York last week, Weil Gotshal & Manges announced that it has hired Andrew Gaines, formerly of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Gaines served as the chair of the Executive Compensation and Employee Benefits practice at Akin Gump and will join Weil Gotshal as a partner in the tax practice. His experience includes transactional tax and private equity matters as well as employee benefits, which will remain his focus. Firm Press Release, 6/16/04

Baker & McKenzie team joins Lovells in Amsterdam
Lovells strengthened its international employment practice last week through the hiring of three attorneys in Amsterdam. One partner - Anita de Jong - and two associates from Baker & McKenzie will join Lovells on July 1st. Anita de Jong will head the employment practice in Amsterdam, which benefits from being part of one of the largest employment practices in Europe with over 50 lawyers. Legal Week, 6/17/04

6/14/04

Jenner & Block grows IP practice with boutique acquisition
Roper & Quigg, an intellectual property trial boutique, has joined Jenner & Block in Chicago, according to a firm announcement this week. Eighteen attorneys will join the firm, which makes for a large boon to the intellectual property group. Name partner Harry Roper leads his former firm into Jenner & Block, which will bring seven other partners, two of counsel (including Donald Quigg, the other name partner) and nine associates. Roper will also serve as chair of Jenner & Block's intellectual property and technology group. Firm Press Release, 6/13/04

Morgan Lewis loses securitization team to Dechert
Partner Steven Molitor and a team of seven other attorneys left Morgan, Lewis & Bockius last week to join Dechert. Molitor served as the chair of Morgan Lewis' securitization practice, and will bring two counsel and five associates from his former group to Dechert's finance and real estate practice group. The new attorneys will practice in the Philadelphia, Washington, D.C. and New York offices, with Molitor being resident in both the New York and Philadelphia offices. Four associates will work in Philadelphia; one counsel will work in New York; and one counsel and one associate will work in Washington, D.C. Dechert has taken great strides to grow its finance and real estate practice in recent years, which has included making a number of high-profile lateral partner hires from top firms. Firm Press Release, 6/8/04

New office in New Haven for Day Berry & Howard
Citing New Haven as a city "in the midst of a significant economic revitalization," Hartford-based Day Berry & Howard has announced that it will open an office there. Three current Day Berry partners from other offices in the region -- Rob Siegel (Business Law and Tax), Rick Harris (Technology Law and IP) and Glenn Dowd (Employment Law) -- will transfer their practices to New Haven, and three hires from the New Haven office of Cummings & Lockwood have been brought on as partners to join them. Mark Sklarz, Keith Bradoc Galant and Michael Delgass will bring trusts & estates and business law practices with them in the move. The New Haven office will be Day Berry's sixth, including four Connecticut offices, as well as Boston and New York satellites. Firm Press Release, 6/10/04

Lerach Coughlin merges with boutique
Two firms that specialize in class action litigation on behalf of investors and consumers announced a merger last week, as Geller Rudman PLLC will join forces with the larger Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins LLP. Lerach Coughlin, which formed recently as the result of a split between Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach LLP's East and West Coast partnerships, did not wait long before it sought other opportunities to re-grow its East Coast practice. Geller Rudman brings offices in Melville, N.Y. and Boca Raton, FL as well as fifteen attorneys, some of which formerly worked with Lerach Coughlin attorneys in their previous firm. Beginning on August 1st, the merged firm of approximately 140 attorneys will be known as Lerach Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP. Firm Press Release, 6/10/04

Baker Botts adds two litigation partners in NY
Earlier this month, Seth Taube was installed as the head of the securities and business litigation department at Baker Botts in New York. The Houston-based firm also added another partner in New York, Richard B. Harper, who will practice litigation. Both attorneys came from the Newark office of McCarter & English. Taube formerly served as the head of McCarter's securities litigation and business crimes practice and as the head of enforcement of the SEC's New York office. Harper focuses his litigation practice on securities issues, among other specialties. Firm Press Release, 6/1/04

Partners leave White & Case in Italy
Three partners, including Italian managing partner Alessandro Varrenti, have left White & Case's Rome office to establish their own practice. Varrenti, two other partners, and one counsel will leave the firm at the end of the month after a three year tenure that began with White & Case's acquisition of his five-attorney practice, Varrenti e Associati. Legal Week reports that the decision came as a result of the firm's desire to broaden the office's practice to include more international work, which Varrenti was against. The firm will look to replace the lost personnel. Legal Week, 6/10/04

Clifford Chance eases major D.C. defection with government hire
The managing partner of Clifford Chance's Washington, D.C. office has left the firm, adding to the major losses the firm has had to deal with in the last year. Ira Hammerman, who joined Clifford Chance in 2000 as a result of the firm's merger with Rogers & Wells, is leaving to join the Securities Industry Association. Though facing a major defection, the firm's Washington, D.C. office will not be suffering a drop in numbers, as the firm picked up James Hart Holden, a former deputy assistant director for the competition bureau of the Federal Trade Commission last week. Holden joined the firm's anti-trust practice as a partner. The Lawyer, 6/10/04, 6/7/04

Pepper Hamilton creates pro bono director position
Following a recent trend that has seen many top firms creating special attorney positions devoted entirely to the pro bono program, Pepper Hamilton has installed Joseph Sullivan in such a role. Sullivan comes to the firm from a counsel position in the Philadelphia office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. While there, he served as administrator of the litigation services department and headed the pro bono program. Sullivan will be considered Special Counsel at Pepper Hamilton and will be tasked with expanding and enhancing Pepper Hamilton's pro bono program. Firm Press Release, 6/7/04

McDermott adds a major piece of the puzzle in D.C.
The Washington, D.C. office of McDermott, Will & Emery has gained a new trial lawyer with appellate experience, a practice head for the complex litigation group and a co-partner-in-charge for the office -- all in the form of Bobby Burchfield. Burchfield will be joining the firm from Covington & Burling, where he was co-chair of the litigation practice group. Generally considered among the best trial lawyers in the D.C. area, Burchfield has been involved in several high-profile cases, including the Republican National Committee's case against the McCain-Feingold campaign finance laws, which he took all the way to the Supreme Court. Firm Press Release, 6/8/04

Boston firm adds two in New York
Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels, an international, 200-attorney law firm based in Boston, announced two partner additions to its New York office today. David Blea will transition his corporate and securities practice from Morgan Lewis & Bockius and Ada Clapp, formerly special counsel at Schulte Roth & Zabel, will join the trusts & estates group as a partner. The firm said that these additions help move along a key part of the firm's overall growth strategy by increasing its New York presence. Firm Press Release, 6/10/04

6/7/04

Fulbright & Jaworski grows corporate group in Dallas
Four attorneys were added to the roster of the corporate, banking and business practice group at Fulbright & Jaworski in Dallas last week. The group includes three partners, Thomas Hughes, D. Forrest Brumbaugh and James Griffin, and one associate, all from the Dallas office of Winstead Sechrest & Minick. Hughes has also been named as the head of the corporate practice group in Dallas. The four specialize in mergers and acquisitions, public and private financings, corporate recapitalizations and corporate governance. Firm Press Release, 6/1/04

Saul Ewing gains L&E group, adds a new practice co-chair
Saul Ewing LLP , a 250-attorney Philadelphia-based firm gained a leading labor relations attorney this week when Stephen Cabot joined, along with four of his associates. Cabot, who will join as co-chair of Saul Ewing's labor, employment and employee benefits practice group, comes to the firm from Harvey, Pennington, Cabot, Griffith & Renneisen, Ltd. , where he was a name partner. In addition to having built up a successful labor and employment practice, Cabot has also written several notable books on the subject. Firm Press Release, 5/28/04

Practice head at Orrick leaves for MoFo
The head of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe's antitrust group left his firm to join Morrison & Foerster last week as a partner. Jesse Markham will join MoFo's litigation practice, bringing a client roster that includes primarily technology companies with him. Markham formerly served as Deputy Attorney General in the antitrust division in both Massachusetts and California. MoFo's litigation chair heralded the hire as one that would boost the firm's antitrust practice, which is a key aspect of its litigation department. Firm Press Release, 6/2/04

Skadden grabs three high profile IP attorneys from Cooley
It was reported last week that the chair of Cooley Godward's intellectual property practice, along with two other partners, defected to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. The switch provides Skadden with a boost in two offices, as Chuck Ebertin and Jeffrey Randall, the IP chair, will move to the firm's Palo Alto office and Allan Soobert will join the Washington, D.C. office. A date has not been set as to when the transition will take place. The Recorder, 6/2/04

Greenberg Traurig expands Fort Lauderdale office
Four attorneys from the Fort Lauderdale office of Fowler White Burnett defected to Greenberg Traurig, adding to the latter firm's litigation practice. Two attorneys, William Clayton and Alaine Greenberg will join the firm as Shareholders, and two will join as associates. All four practice commercial litigation. The Fort Lauderdale office counts 40 attorneys, 18 of which are litigators. Firm-wide, the litigation practice includes more than 200 attorneys when the latest hires are factored in. Firm Press Release, 6/1/04

Merger talks between DLA and Piper slow down
British legal publication Legal Week reported last week that discussions between US-based Piper Rudnick and UK firm DLA have slowed down, erasing hopes for a quick merger. The high-profile firms are still very interested in merging, but the process is being slowed by due diligence issues that arise with firms as large as the ones in question. The firms, which once hoped to have secured a deal by the New Year, may not vote until then. Legal Week, 6/3/04

Wilmer Cutler and Hale and Dorr complete merger
Two major firms, Hale and Dorr LLP and Wilmer Cutler Pickering LLP, became one last Monday after they finalized the merger process by combining practices. The decision to merge the two firms' more than 1,000 attorneys was made last month and garnered much press in the legal industry. Twelve offices, at home and abroad, make up the firm's expanded network, with the Boston and Washington, D.C. offices, Hale and Dorr's and Wilmer Cutler's former headquarters, respectively, serving as duel head offices. The firm is also awaiting approval to open a representative office in Beijing. The new firm is called Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr. Firm Press Release, 6/1/04

Four attorney group joins Jenkens & Gilchrist in NJ
Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin in New Jersey has added four attorneys, including one partner, from the New York firm of Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn. The partner, Suk Young Kim, and one of counsel and two associates will join the firm's Hackensack office. Jenkens & Gilchrist is a Dallas-based firm whose Northeast offices practice under the name Jenkens & Gilchrist Parker Chapin. New York Lawyer, 6/3/04

One in, one out for Morgan Lewis
Though Jones Day may have taken a litigation partner from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius' ranks, the latter firm's net loss is zero after adding a partner of its own. Roderick McLeod, a former partner at Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison who joined Morgan Lewis after that firm went under, has left Morgan Lewis to practice commercial litigation, IP litigation and international arbitration at Jones Day. The hire is another step in building a prominent West Coast practice for Jones Day, which now has 30 attorneys in its San Francisco office and 216 attorneys in California. Morgan Lewis picked up an attorney after Mark Haskell agreed to join the firm's Washington D.C. energy practice. Haskell formerly worked at Brunenkant & Haskell, and energy boutique where he served as co-managing partner. This is the second prominent addition Morgan Lewis has made to its energy practice recently, having hired Edward Zaelke away from Arnold & Porter last month. Jones Day Press Release, 6/2/04, Morgan Lewis & Bockius Press Release, 6/4/04

5/31/04

Gibson Dunn adds public law capabilities in Paris
Through the hiring of Nicolas Bavarez, formerly a name partner at the French corporate boutique firm Brandford-Griffith & Associés, Gibson Dunn & Crutcher has added a public law practice to its Paris office. Bavarez will serve as leader of the new group, a role he is familiar with after serving as Partner in Charge of Public Law at his former firm. Two associates from Brandford-Griffith will also join Gibson Dunn. Bavarez focuses on corporate transactions as well as public and administrative law, and the firm believes that his French public M&A practice will serve to complement the firm's European M&A practice. Firm Press Release, 5/28/04

Bingham McCutchen continues to expand broker-dealer practice
Boston-based Bingham McCutchen has added three partners to its national broker-dealer practice group this month, adding to the 22 others the firm has picked up since last year. Eric Seltzer comes to the firm from a deputy counsel/senior VP position at UBS Financial Services. Paul Allen will join from Morgan Stanley, where he was the assistant general counsel and first vice president. Nader Hossain Salehi is the lone hire from a law firm, coming from the Securities Practice at soon-to-merge Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. Seltzer will be located on the East Coast, Allen will work out of San Francisco, and Salehi will work in D.C. Bingham's broker-dealer practice currently has 70 attorneys and the firm is seeking to expand its influence in this area to the West Coast. Firm Press Release, 5/24/04

McDermott gains group from latest Clifford Chance defections
The New York arm of Clifford Chance lost six corporate attorneys last week as McDermott, Will & Emery gained a derivatives and structured products practice. Two partners, John Lutz and David Taub, and four associates will join McDermott in the move to start the practice. The firm has placed importance on the addition of more elements to its capital markets practice in New York, citing client needs as the main reason for making it a priority. Taub focuses his practice on the trading and securitization of derivative markets as well as the structuring of complex securitization transactions. Lutz practices in federal and state taxation, with an emphasis on structured finance, derivatives and structured products. Firm Press Release, 5/27/04

Boston firm adds on in New York, D.C.
Twelve attorneys, including one large practice group in New York, have joined Boston-based Sullivan & Worcester, expanding both of its satellite offices. Seven attorneys from the New York office of international law firm Salans have joined the firm, giving their new firm four partners and three counsel. The attorneys come from both Salans' intellectual property group and its litigation practice. Barbara Champoux, a real estate partner from Nixon Peabody; Dan Sitomer, an environmental and construction lawyer joining Sullivan's real estate group; and Robert Gold, a litigator who formerly worked in the U.S. Attorney's office in Southern New York, will also join the firm in New York. The Washington, D.C. office gains two partners, William Weisberg, a government contracts and grants attorney from Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman, and William Zeitler, an international trade partner formerly with Thompson Coburn. The firm's press release touted the latest hires as proof that the firm's "Mid-Size Law Firm Model," which offers clients big firm quality and boutique personal relationships, can be a successful one. Firm Press Release, 5/25/04

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart announces a number of hires in San Francisco
Christopher Wright, Kathryn Wheble, and Timothy Parker have all joined the growing San Francisco office of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in the second half of May. Parker, the first hire announced, will join as Of Counsel in the investment management practice. He comes from a position as Global Head of Compliance and Risk Management at Allianz Dresdner Asset Management. Christopher Wright, formerly of Cooley Godward, will join the firm's antitrust and trade regulation and intellectual property practices as a partner. Wheble, also of Cooley Godward, will join the intellectual property group as a copyright and trademark partner. Firm Press Releases, 5/17/04, 5/18/04, 5/26/04

Fast-growing Texas firm adds Houston office
The acquisition of 23 attorneys from Dunn, Kacal, Adams Pappas & Law has allowed Godwin Gruber, a litigation-only Dallas firm, to open its second office in Houston, the firm announced last week. The additions make Godwin Gruber the largest litigation-only firm in Texas. Six partners, including one who will get a promotion from senior associate in the move, and seventeen associates will form the core of the new office, which they may be looking to build upon. Christopher Pappas, a name partner at his former firm, will join Godwin Gruber's Executive Committee and serve as the managing partner of the Houston office. Firm Press Release, 5/24/04

McDermott Will & Emery gains international trade attorneys in D.C.
Adding to the Clifford Chance attorneys that joined the firm's New York office, and another lateral partner hire in Palo Alto, McDermott Will & Emery's other big acquisition last week came in the form of four hires in its international trade practice group in Washington, D.C. Michael House, former co-chair of Kaye Scholer's international trade practice, and Raymond Paretzky will both join the firm as partners. Also joining is Sandra Wright, an international trade analyst, and Shi Zhaoyu, the former First Secretary and Legal Counsel in the Economic and Commercial Office of the Embassy of the People's Republic of China. Firm Press Release, 5/26/04

Top American firm to cut out firm-wide managing partner role
Following the creation of a managing partner position for the firm's New York office earlier this year, which eliminated what was traditionally one of the roles of the firm-wide managing partner, Shearman & Sterling has opted to eliminate the latter position altogether. The firm hopes that the move will reduce firm bureaucracy and give more local autonomy to the firm's international network of offices. Now that the firm has M&A partner John Madden to serve as managing partner of the New York office, all of the offices have their own managing partners. Robert Treuhold currently serves in the soon-to-be-eliminated position. Legal Week, 5/27/04

Birmingham firm to open in Charlotte
Birmingham, Alabama's oldest and largest firm, Bradley Arant Rose & White, announced last week that it is opening its sixth office in Charlotte. The new office will be headed by John D. Bond III, who formerly served as president and general counsel of a construction company. His experience will come in handy as he will seek to expand upon the firm's esteemed construction and procurement practice group in a new market. The addition of a Charlotte office was part of the firm's plan to expand its regional presence. The firm has around 200 attorneys in five other offices -- three in Alabama, one in Jackson, MI, and one in Washington, D.C. Firm Press Release, 5/28/04

5/24/04

O'Melveny & Myers opens shop in Brussels
Following the hiring of Riccardo Celli, O'Melveny & Myers has announced that it will open an office in Brussels, Belgium. Celli comes to the firm from Norton Rose's Brussels office, where he held a managing partner position. He will also serve as managing partner of O'Melveny's new office. A competition lawyer, Celli will also start a European Antitrust/Competition practice group for O'Melveny and serve as head of the group. The firm said in a press release that the addition of a European competition practice was the main attraction for the firm in opening the new office, particularly with a renowned attorney like Celli. Firm Press Release, 5/20/04

Gardner Carton & Douglas benefits from major Akin Gump health care losses
Thirteen attorneys, including eleven partners, from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have been hired to join the health care practice group at Gardner Carton & Douglas, adding to the major steps Gardner Carton has taken recently to expand that practice. Six partners and two associates will join the Washington, D.C office, three partners are being added in Albany, NY and two partners will join the firm's Chicago office. The Chicago office had gained five attorneys from a health care labor & employment boutique the week before, as well. The group parted with Akin Gump amicably and said that conflicts with Akin Gump's vast client base forced the decision. With its recent moves, Gardner Carton has made it clear that it will back up its talk of growing its core practices to national prominence. Firm Press Release, 5/20/04

Three Gray Cary lawyers defect to MoFo
The San Diego office of Morrison & Foerster expanded last week when it was announced that three trial lawyers will join the firm from Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich. The three attorneys - Don Rushing, Mark Zebrowski and James Huston - will join as partners in the firm's litigation department. Rushing formerly served as chairman at his former firm, and as chair of the litigation department there. The firm and the new partners expressed excitement about the opportunity to grow a premier trial practice in San Diego. Opened in 1999, the San Diego satellite now has 50 attorneys and ranks as one of the firm's fastest growing offices. Firm Press Release, 5/20/04

Duane Morris expands in Princeton, Newark and Chicago
Three different offices and three different practice groups of Duane Morris grew last week as the firm announced a slew of lateral partner hires. In Newark, the firm welcomed Eric Breslin to its trial practice and Stephen Urban to its real estate group, from Epstein Becker & Green and Drinker Biddle & Reath, respectively. Another New Jersey office, the Princeton satellite, saw its corporate practice expand due to the hiring of Vincent Vietti from Buchanan Ingersoll. In Chicago, Christopher Sullivan will join the firm's trial practice from Kirkland & Ellis. Duane Morris currently has more than 550 attorneys working in 20 offices around the globe. Firm Press Releases, 5/19/04, 5/18/04

Construction practice continues to grow at Kilpatrick Stockton
Kilpatrick Stockton continues to build its prominent, top-rated construction practice, most recently through the hiring of partners Tony Smith and Tom Wilson. The two come from Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan. Smith and Wilson join five other partners with whom they used to practice more than 12 years ago in what the firm's press release called a reunion of "seven leading construction attorneys." The arbitration and dispute resolution practice also benefits from the additions, as Smith and Wilson will work with that group, as well. Firm Press Release, 5/20/04

Sheppard Mullin hires two U.S. attorneys in D.C.
Roscoe Howard Jr., the United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, and Mark Nagle, Chief of the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney's office, have been added to the roster of the Washington, D.C. office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. The pair will join the firm on June 1st, when they will take on cases similar to those handled by a U.S. Attorney - albeit on the other side. These two additions highlight several moves that Sheppard Mullin has taken to grow its Washington, D.C. office since it was opened in February of last year. The D.C. office is Sheppard Mullin's first outside of California and the firm will most likely to continue to take steps to expand it. Firm Press Release, 5/19/04

Locke Liddell adds practice, lateral partners
Dallas-based Locke Liddell & Sapp announced earlier this month that the firm will take on three partners to form a new "Appellate Section" in its Austin office. Mike and Molly Hatchell will leave their own appellate practice, Hatchell PC, to join Charles Watson in starting the new practice group. Watson is joining from Mullin, Hoard & Brown, based in Amarillo, TX. Mike Hatchell, a highly respected attorney consistently ranked among the best practicing appellate law in Texas, will head the group. Firm Press Release, 5/5/04

Three partners leave Clifford Chance in San Francisco
Fenwick & West and Cooley Godward both gained former Clifford Chance partners this week, as three partners left the international mega-firm's San Francisco office. Dean Kristy and Kevin Muck will join Fenwick's securities litigation team and Craig Waldman will join the antitrust group at Cooley Godward. The San Francisco branch of Clifford Chance was opened in 2002 and faced its first partner losses with these defections. There are now only 10 partners in the firm's San Francisco office. Legal Week, 5/21/04

Atlanta firm forms a medical device practice
Atlanta-based Morris, Manning & Martin announced last week that it has formed a medical device group to serve the Southeast's business needs. The firm, which counts more than 150 attorneys among its ranks, has tabbed Rick Haury to chair the new practice. Haury, a healthcare attorney, co-founded the non-profit SouthEastern Medical Device Association. Other attorneys joining the group offer corporate healthcare and intellectual property experience. Morris, Manning & Martin has offices throughout Georgia, as well as in Charlotte, NC and Washington, D.C. Firm Press Release, 5/18/04

King & Spalding boosts IP practice in New York with hires
Two attorneys from the New York office of intellectual property firm Fish & Neave have left to join King & Spalding. W. Edward Bailey and Theresa Moehlman will join King & Spalding as partner and counsel, respectively. The pair will allow the firm to add patent litigation services to the trademark prosecution and litigation services it currently offers in New York. The move is part of an ongoing effort for King & Spalding to grow its intellectual property capabilities. Currently, the firm employs more than 50 intellectual property attorneys and patent agents in its New York and Atlanta offices. Firm Press Release, 5/17/04

Three lateral hires added to Paul Hastings' real estate group in LA
Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker announced today that one partner and two of counsel attorneys from Nossaman, Guthner, Knox & Elliott have joined the firm's real estate department. The three attorneys - Robert McMurry (the partner), A. Catherine Norian and Bradly Torgan -- specialize in land use planning and environmental law. Paul Hastings had more than 160 attorneys in its international real estate practice working in all 15 of its offices. Firm Press Release, 5/24/04

5/17/04

Milbank to open Munich office in June
With three partners from UK firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer set to join, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy has announced that it will be opening an office in Munich next month. Among the partners who will open the office is Peter Nussbaum, who formerly served as the co-head of Freshfields' global private equity practice. Rolf Fuger and Norbert Rieger will also join, bringing specialty private equity practices with them. The additions will serve to strengthen Milbank's global corporate and finance market practices. The Munich office will be the firm's tenth, including five other international offices, one of which is in Frankfurt, Germany. Firm Press Release, 5/13/04

Gardner Carton & Douglas expands practices through several lateral hires
Five attorneys from Stickler & Nelson, the leading labor and employment firm representing health care industry employers, have left their firm to join the growing Chicago office of Gardner Carton & Douglas. Bruce Stickler and Mark Nelson, the name partners of the firm, are among those making the switch. Both the labor and employment and health care practices will gain experience and clients as a result of the hires. Winston has also announced that Jonathan Silverman, formerly of Kirkland & Ellis, will also join the firm in its financial markets practice. Firm Press Release, 5/13/04

Two KMZRosenman partners head to Winston & Strawn
Two partners, formerly of Katten Muchin Zavis & Rosenman, have joined Winston & Strawn and will help the firm expand its employee benefits practice in Chicago. Mark Weisberg and Linda Lemel Hoseman, who specialize in issues involving retirement benefits, equity-based compensation plans and welfare benefits plans, will serve to shore up the existing 12-attorney employee benefits and executive compensation practice at Winston. In a press release earlier this month, the firm proclaimed the pair an excellent fit for its growing practice. Firm Press Release, 5/7/04

Lord, Bissell & Brook partners defect to create boutique
Lord, Bissell and Brook's Atlanta office lost four equity partners recently, as they left the firm to create a new complex insurance litigation boutique last week. The new firm, founded by Paul Fields Jr., Terry Howell, Michael Athans and Robert McLaughlin, will start out with the benefit of having already established a client base at an AmLaw 200 firm, as much of the partners' book of business will follow them to the new firm. Three associates from Lord Bissell will also be joining the firm, which will be known as Fields Howell Athans & McLaughlin. The partners on both sides cited that the lawyers who left wanted to focus on a different kind of law. New York Lawyer, 5/13/04

Wildman Harrold hires new London branch head
U.S. firm Wildman Harrold Allen & Dixon has hired Rajita Sharma to lead its London office, filling the void left last year when the office's managing partner left to join an intellectual property boutique. Sharma, who comes to the firm from a partner position at Kilpatrick Stockton, will help the office establish a full intellectual property practice. Before she joined, the office was only offering trademark and patent prosecution services due to limited staff. Legal Week, 5/13/04

Winstead Sechrest hires three for its office in The Woodlands
Three corporate attorneys from Andrews Kurth, including one partner and two associates, will join The Woodlands office of Winstead Sechrect & Minick, the firm announced last week. Jeffrey Harder, who will join as partner, founded Andrews Kurth's office in The Woodlands, TX and has served as the deputy managing partner of the office for nine years. Winstead believes that the additions, all of which will work in the corporate & securities practice, will serve to strengthen it's prominent position in South Montgomery County. The trio will also provide experience in biotech law, life sciences, nanotechnology and technology law. Firm Press Release, 5/10/04

Masons to open Dubai office
Hoping to further capitalize on the large amount of rebuilding work expected once war-torn Iraq settles into peace, Masons has decided to open an office in nearby Dubai, according to UK publication The Lawyer. The Dubai office will be the firm's first in the Middle East, and will mainly focus on issues involved with the rebuilding of Iraq. This is not the first time Masons has sought to create ties to the area. The firm, among with its U.S. partner Thelen, Reid & Priest, had formed an alliance with Iraqi firm Salam Abdullah & Partners in February. The Lawyer, 5/13/04

Lovells opts for organic expansion in U.S.
Lovells, one of Britain's top firms, has cut thirteen positions from its U.S. strategy committee after making the decision that it will grow its branches in the U.S. through lateral and first-year hires rather than continue to aggressively seek out a merger partner. Down from eighteen people to five, the committee is still interested in the prospect of a merger, but will no longer pursue it actively. The firm will also hold out on building a corporate practice in New York, which it believes can not be done through lateral hires because of the need for more a full service practice to complement it. Lovells currently has offices in New York and Chicago. Legal Week, 5/13/04

Former Mexican Ambassador joins Duane Morris
A former Mexican Ambassador to Singapore, Brunei, and Myanmar, Eduardo Ramos-Gomez will now bring his international experience to the New York branch of Duane Morris. He will join the firm as a partner, bolstering Duane Morris's corporate and international practices and allowing the firm to further its plans to grow its international corporate practice. Ramos-Gomez formerly worked with Thacher Proffitt & Wood and maintains strong ties to Mexico and the diplomatic scene in general through the several positions of leadership he currently holds. Firm Press Release, 5/12/04

5/10/04

Orrick in merger discussions with Swidler Berlin
After failed attempts to merge with Silicon Valley-based law firms Venture Law Group (who instead opted for Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe) and Cooley Godward, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe is looking further east for a possible merger partner. Several sources are reporting that the firm is in talks with Washington, DC-based Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman to create a 900-lawyer firm and shore up Orrick's D.C. operations. Swidler Berlin's 235 attorneys in New York and DC are the main draw for the firm, along with an esteemed insolvency practice. Speaking with Legal Week, one Orrick partner confirmed the discussions, but claimed that the deal is far from complete. Legal Week, 5/6/04

Pillsbury Winthrop life sciences team defects to Mayer Brown
Six attorneys (two partners, two counsels and two associates) that made up the life sciences practice of Pillsbury Winthrop's D.C. office have defected to the D.C. office of Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw to practice intellectual property law. Mark Paulson and Paul Sharer, who formerly helmed Pillsbury's D.C. office, will join as partners. One of the counsel attorneys, Susan Brown, formerly served as the head of Pillsbury's trademark practice group. The group will focus on patent and trademark work, specifically in the biotech, chemical and pharmaceutical industries. Mayer Brown has also made six other lateral hires in the intellectual property practice nationally in recent months, further emphasizing its commitment to growing this area. Firm Press Release, 4/26/04

SJ Berwin close to finalizing merger with German firm
The partnership of UK-based SJ Berwin unanimously voted in favor of a merger with its longtime German partner firm, Knopf Tulloch & Steininger, after a lengthy tie-up based on the legal implications involved with the annexation of tax advisers. In the United Kingdom, it is not permissible for tax lawyers to join partnerships, but the two firms got the Law Society to approve the merger when it agreed to register those tax advisors as foreign lawyers. The only remaining hurdle will be the approval of the German tax authorities, which are less stringent that the English Law Society. Knopf, Tulloch will bring 21 partners and offices in Frankfurt, Berlin & Munich to SJ Berwin when the merger is finalized. Legal Week, 5/6/04

Dewey Ballantine gains tax group in Frankfurt
A group of tax attorneys from the Frankfurt office of Shearman & Sterling has opted to head over to Dewey Ballantine, aiding that firm in its effort to expand its German presence. Dr. Hanno Berger will join as a partner resident in the firm, along with a team that includes Beatrice Prauschke-Schaefer, Julia Quack, and Konrad Rohde. Dewey Ballantine has also recently been adding to its international tax practice, having recently started a tax group in the UK. Dewey Ballantine has more than 550 attorneys in 13 different offices. Firm Press Release, 5/10/04

Greenberg Traurig expands in Dallas
A bankruptcy group from Patton Boggs LLP has been hired to join the Dallas office of Greenberg Traurig, the firm announced last week. Two shareholders and three associates will join the firm, including Clifton Jessup, Jr., who will head the firm's 8-member Dallas bankruptcy practice. Greenberg Traurig's Dallas office now has 22 attorneys, and is opting for a growth plan that includes hiring attorneys who can serve the firm's diverse client base, which includes local, national and international clients. The additional attorneys joining the ranks are Bruce White, who will join as a shareholder, and Bryan Elwood, Vickie Driver and William Medford, who will join as associates. Firm Press Release, 5/1/04

Two large IP boutiques talk merger
Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis and Merchant & Gould are currently involved in talks that would create a large national intellectual property firm with almost 200 attorneys. Burns, Doane, based in Alexandria, has 90 attorneys and Minneapolis-based Merchant & Gould will bring 100 to the merger if it goes through. While not on par with the recent large merger between Wilmer Cutler Pickering and Hale & Dorr in terms of size, the merged firm would be an attractive choice for companies with intellectual property needs that wanted a boutique feel with large firm capabilities. The firms were aware of this, and thus sought out only other IP firms as potential merger partners. Should the deal go through, the merged firm would have nine offices. CalLaw.com, 5/10/04

Fulbright & Jaworski adds six in Dallas
Four attorneys from Jenkins & Gilchrist, one from Vinson & Elkins and one from Strasburger & Price have been hired away by Fulbright & Jaworski to further that firm's plans to grow its Dallas office. The hires, announced in a press release last week, span a wide array of practice areas and levels of experience. Toby Gerber will join the firm as a partner, and formerly served as the national chair of the bankruptcy department at Jenkens & Gilchrist. Mark Platt and John Schwartz will also join the bankruptcy department from Jenkens, both as senior associates. Mark Patterson, also of Jenkens & Gilchrist, will join the real estate practice at Fulbright & Jaworski as counsel. Two associates, Meredith Bjorck and Kenny Meixelsperger, join from Vinsons & Elkin's corporate group and Strasburger & Price's litigation group, respectively. One attorney, Kenneth Edwards, will also be added to the ranks of the Dallas office via the Houston office. Firm Press Release, 5/5/04

Quinn Emanuel quickly find replacements for partner defections
Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges was quick to replace two partners who defected to Hogan & Hartson in New York last week. New York Law Journal reported that the firm has found two new partners in Edward DeFranco and Andrew Berdon, only three days after reporting that two partners had left the firm. DeFranco comes to Quinn Emanuel from Fish & Neave and will work in patent litigation. Berdon will be cast in a similar role. He is coming to the firm from Frommer Lawrence & Haug. New York Law Journal, 5/6/04

5/3/04

Wilson Sonsini hires five partners to open San Diego branch
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati announced today that it will soon be able to service its Southern California clients locally, as five new partner hires and one partner transferring from the firm's Palo Alto office will open a San Diego office for the firm. Three partners, Jeffrey Guise, Alexandra Mahaney and Vicki Norton, came as lateral hires from Pillsbury Winthrop and will provide biotechnology and intellectual property services out of the new outpost. Albert Halluin, formerly a partner at Howrey Simon Arnold & White, will also join the biotechnology and IP practices, but as senior counsel. Two more partners, Gary Cheever and Jeffrey Higgins, were hired from corporate positions at Kinzan, Inc., and will work on corporate and securities matters. Martin Waters, relocating from Palo Alto, will help build the corporate and life sciences practices for the new office. All five of the new partner hires formerly worked at now-defunct Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Firm Press Release, 5/3/04

Squire Sanders adds fourth office in Asia
Continuing with the almost weekly tradition of U.S. firms opening Asian offices (Chinese offices, in particular), Cleveland-based Squire Sanders & Dempsey gained approval from the Chinese government to open an office in Shanghai. Squire Sanders has maintained a presence in Asia since the 1950s and currently has three other offices in the region - in Tokyo, Hong Kong, and Beijing. The firm has placed an emphasis on growing its Asian practice in recent years, highlighted by the doubling of the Beijing office's staff last year. Dan Roules, who will serve as managing partner of the new office, believes that having a presence in Shanghai is central to the firm's international goals, as it is the "commercial heart of the world's most dynamic economy." Amy Sommers will join him in opening the office as a national partner and together, the two of them will oversee what the firm expects to be rapid expansion over the next few years. Firm Press Release, 5/3/04

Milberg Weiss completes firm split
The former partners of Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach announced today that their old firm has finished splitting into two separate entities, a process that the two sides had hoped to finish at the end of last year. Milberg Weiss Bershad & Schulman will keep more than 100 attorneys from the firm, approximately 40 of which are partners, as well as offices in New York, Boca Raton, Los Angeles, Wilmington and Seattle. The firm will also retain four of the original firm's name partners, including Patricia Hynes, who will continue to work with Milberg Weiss in an Of Counsel role. The leaders of the firm's West Coast operations will form a new 125-attorney, 51-partner firm named Lerach Coughlin Stoia & Robbins. Lerach Coughlin will be headquartered in San Diego, and will have satellite offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Philadelphia and Washington, DC. Prior to the split, Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach was the largest plaintiffs' securities litigation firm in the country with more than 200 attorneys. Both firms will continue to work on the same matters and expect to have an amicable and mutually beneficial relationship. Firm Press Releases, 5/3/03

Adorno & Yoss expands out of Florida to open its sixth office
Miami-based Adorno & Yoss, the largest certified minority-owned firm in the country with 185 attorneys, is opening an office in Atlanta, its first outside of Florida. The firm said in a press release issued today that this is the first step in its plan to develop a more national presence, as it hopes to expand to other prominent legal markets in the future. The firm's Atlanta office will be staffed with six attorneys and will focus on construction and commercial litigation, but will be grown to offer a full-service practice over time. Adorno & Yoss now has six offices, with attorneys also in Boca Raton, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Miami and West Palm Beach. Firm Press Release, 5/3/04

Houston IP boutique opens office in Austin with Thompson & Knight hires
Wong Cabello Lutsch Rutherford & Brucculeri, a Houston-based intellectual property boutique, has expanded to Austin. A group of three attorneys, including one partner, William Raman, and two associates, from Thompson & Knight was hired to open the new office. Raman expressed excitement in joining Wong Cabello in a press release, saying, "While my prior firm was an outstanding firm, I am thrilled to be practicing again with an intellectual property firm having the depth and diversity of intellectual property talent that I find at Wong Cabello." The firm was founded in 2001 with 5 attorneys and becomes one of the largest intellectual property boutiques in Texas with 16 attorneys after the most recent hires. Firm Press Release, 4/30/04

Two Virginia firms complete merger
On May 1st, Richmond-based Williams Mullen /strong> merged with Norfolk-based Hofheimer Nusbaum, one day after Williams Mullen broke news of the merger. The merger creates the third largest firm in Virginia and the second largest law firm in the Hampton Roads region, with 250 attorneys in nine offices. Hofheimer Nusbaum brings 29 attorneys from offices in Norfolk and Portsmouth to Williams Mullen, and due to the firm's solid reputation in the area, those offices will practice under the name Williams Mullen Hofheimer Nusbaum. The remaining seven offices in Charlottesville, London, Newport News, Richmond, Tysons Corner, Virginia Beach and Washington D.C. will continue to practice as Williams Mullen. Both firms were interested in the merger as a way to offer its existing clients a more diverse practice, with Williams Mullen also expressing interest in further strengthening its Virginia roots. Firm Press Release, 4/30/04

Saul Ewing gains three from Duane Morris in Harrisburg
Philadelphia-based Saul Ewing has announced that it has added two partners, Eric Brossman and Catherine Walters, and one associate to its ranks in Harrisburg. The three attorneys all come from Duane Morris and will join the firm's business department. Brossman specializes in corporate and bankruptcy work, while Walters focuses on labor and employment law matters. The firm sought to hire the group because it saw a need for those exact specialties in the Harrisburg community. Saul Ewing currently has approximately 250 attorneys working in seven offices in the mid-Atlantic region and more than 20 attorneys in its Harrisburg office. Firm Press Release, 5/3/04

Minneapolis firm adds offices in Michigan, Washington, DC
Blackwell Igbanugo announced last week that the firm will be able to offer clients a national presence when it opens two new offices, one in Troy, MI and the other in Washington, DC. The firm, which has around 25 attorneys, is opening these two satellites as part of its first expansion effort to complement the firm's headquarters in Minneapolis. Jacqueline Sellers, who joins the firm from Detroit-based Lewis & Munday, will open the Troy office and head the firm's warranty litigation practice. Also coming from Lewis & Munday, Werten F.W. Bellamy will open the firm's Washington, DC practice and head the firm's corporate and technology group. With the additions, the firm becomes one of the largest law firm owned by African Americans in the country. Firm Press Release, 4/29/04

Hogan & Hartson adds two from Quinn Emanuel
Sanford Litvack and Joanna Swomley will join the New York office of Hogan & Hartson, the duo's third firm in the last four years. The two partners has previously worked at Dewey Ballantine together, but left that firm to work at Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges in late 2002. Litvack and Swomley are moving to Hogan & Hartson because Litvack wanted to join a firm with a presence in Washington, DC. Litvack, who also formerly worked at Disney, will join the firm's antitrust and litigation practices and will also spend time in the firm's Los Angeles office. Swomley will focus on complex commercial litigation work. New York Law Journal, 5/3/04

Altheimer & Gray's former chairman starts boutique firm
Gery Chico, who formerly led Altheimer & Gray from 1999 until the firm dissolved late last year and then moved to an Of Counsel position at Arnstein & Lehr, has decided to leave his second firm in a year and open up his own boutique firm with partner Marcus Nunes. The firm, which will be called Chico & Nunes, will focus on zoning and property law in Chicago. Speaking with the Chicago Sun-Times, Chico said that he and his partner wanted to start a Hispanic-owned law firm to offer real estate, litigation, and municipal law work to corporations interested in working with a minority-owned law firm. The parting with Arnstein & Lehr was cordial, and the two firms plan on referring work to each other. Chicago Sun-Times, 4/27/04

4/26/04

Hale and Dorr and Wilmer Cutler come to terms in "merger of equals"
More than 1,000 attorneys will be practicing under the banner of Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP on May 31st, 2004, when the large Boston and Washington, DC firms unite in what the firms are calling a "merger of equals." The announcement that both firms had voted the merger through was made last week in a joint appearance by William F. Lee and William J. Perlstein, managing partners of Hale and Dorr and Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering, respectively. The two will share co-managing partner titles at the merged firm, which, with approximately $700 million in projected revenues, will likely rank as a top 10 firm. The firm will have a strong 475-attorney presence in the Washington D.C. and Northern Virginia area, and a 325-attorney presence in Boston, the two firms' home cities. Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr will also have a 100-attorney New York City office and 135 attorneys stationed in Western Europe. One of the elements of the deal has Hale and Dorr's junior partners joining the merged firm as of counsel attorneys, according to Legal Week. The merger is the biggest in the United States since 2001, when Sidley & Austin merged with Brown & Wood to create what is now a 1,500-attorney firm. The merged firm will use the domain name www.wilmerhale.com. Firm Press Release, 4/20/04

Haynes and Boone opens New York office
Two lateral partners and two relocated native New Yorkers will head the newly-formed New York City office of Haynes and Boone, helping the Texas firm establish its second East Coast office. Kenneth Bezozo, a corporate tax attorney and co-chair of Haynes & Boone's business transactions group, will team with Judith Elkin, a bankruptcy attorney and co-chair of the firm's finance group, to head the new office. Also playing a major role in the opening of the office are lateral hires John Morrison, a longtime partner at Shearman & Sterling, and Gilbert Porter, who served as the co-chair of both the global finance practice and the project finance practice at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher. Both Morrison and Porter are bringing along one associate from their former firms. Haynes & Boone plans to grow the office organically through practice group and individual hires and wants to bring on more people like Morrison and Porter who can help the firm tap into the financial structuring field. The firm now has nine offices, including others in Washington, DC, in Mexico City and six in Texas. Firm Press Release, 4/21/04

Akin Gump continues to stress energy practice growth with hiring of new practice head
John P. Cogan, Jr. will join Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld as the new head of the global energy transactions team, bringing the firm further along in its plan to become the world's foremost energy transactions firm. Cogan comes to Akin Gump from King & Spalding's London office, where he headed the firm's global projects & transactions group and focused on international energy law. He will split his time between Akin Gump's London office and its headquarters in Houston. The hire is the second announcement of a major energy attorney addition in as many months, with Vinson & Elkin's Douglas Glass and two others also joining the London office. Firm Press Release, 4/26/04

White & Case gets the government go-ahead on Beijing office
The Government of China granted New York-based White & Case approval to establish an office in Beijing earlier this month, the firm's third in the country. White & Case has been active in the China region for more than 25 years, having established its Hong Kong office in 1978 and recently adding an office in Shanghai in 2001. The new office will focus on corporate work, and the firm hopes that it will get a closer position to the country's leaders by being in the capital city. The Beijing office will be initially staffed by attorneys from its other offices in China, but is looking for a prominent partner to head the office. The Hong Kong office, which serves as the base of operations for the firm's China practice, staffs approximately 25 attorneys. Firm Press Release, Legal Week, 4/23/04

Salans gains approval to open Shanghai office after six month wait
Salans, an international law firm founded by French and American attorneys, finally opened the last of the offices it acquired following the dissolution of Altheimer & Gray last year, ending an almost six-month waiting period when the Chinese government granted approval for the firm to practice in Shanghai. The firm acquired offices in Prague, Bratislava, Istanbul, Bucharest and Shanghai last October as Altheimer & Gray folded, but has had to put the opening of the Shanghai office on hold while waiting for the Chinese government's approval. The office will have one partner and nine other resident attorneys and focus on corporate and real estate matters, as well as dispute resolution, among other things. Salans now has 14 international offices. Firm Press Release, 4/04

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer could announce layoffs after office closing
Following the closing of international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's Bangkok office, the firm is currently pondering what to do with the office's 81 staff members, including three partners and 22 other attorneys. Legal Week reported that the firm's management decided to close the office because it was not feasible to invest as much as it would need to in order to keep the office afloat. The staff members may be relocated, either to another of the firm's Asian offices or another firm entirely, or laid off. The Bangkok office was opened in 1994. Legal Week, 4/22/04

Lewis Brisbois makes its way into the Southwest
Los Angeles-based Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith has taken on 13 attorneys from the Arizona firm of Mariano & Allen and will use that personnel to establish offices in two of the Southwest's most prominent legal markets, Phoenix and Tucson. Included among the hires is Carl Mariano, one of the small firm's founding members. Lewis Brisbois recently opened an office in Las Vegas and Robert Lewis, founding partner of Lewis Brisbois has stated that his firm will grow according to the demands of its clients. The firm now has approximately 450 attorneys in ten offices. The Recorder, 4/21/04

New Orleans firm actively seeking merger
Sessions, Fishman & Nathan, a Louisiana firm with offices in New Orleans and Metairie, is actively seeking a merger partner after the majority of the attorneys in the firm's insurance defense practice left to form their own firm. The departing insurance defense practice, which includes the head of the group, David Salley, and three other partners, two associates and one of counsel attorney, left to form a firm called Salley Hite Rivera & Mercer because it did not want to be part of a merger. Sessions, Fishman & Nathan might now be able to easier locate a merger partner because it will not have to deal with the conflict complications that a strong insurance defense practice might present. Sessions, Fishman & Nathan currently has 19 attorneys and the firm's partners believe it could greatly enhance another firm's status in the New Orleans area and provide its own clients a broader practice through a merger. New Orleans Times-Picayune, 4/20/04

Latham & Watkins grabs practice head from Skadden
Latham & Watkins announced the hiring of the fourth finance partner from Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in the last two months, as former Skadden West Coast banking and institutional investing practice head John Mendez gets set to join Latham. Last month, a three partner group that specialized in leveraged finance from Skadden's New York office joined Latham's Big Apple office. Mendez will join the same leveraged finance practice group as his East Coast colleagues. Latham insists that the latest hires in this practice have equipped the firm to take on the most complex finance work available. Firm Press Release, 4/20/04

4/19/04

Hale and Dorr, Wilmer Cutler & Pickering close in on merger agreement
Two of the nation's top firms may become one, as Boston's Hale and Dorr is involved in serious merger discussions with Washington DC-based Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering. William Lee, managing partner of Hale and Dorr, confirmed that the two firms were in negotiations, but had yet to reach a deal. A finalized deal would create a firm with over 1,000 attorneys, a top 10 firm by revenue and a top 20 firm by size. Hale and Dorr is known for its technology practice, but both are full service firms. Hale and Dorr would bring nine offices, three of which are international, to the deal, while Wilmer Cutler & Pickering brings seven, including three international offices. Both firms have offices in New York and London, and neither firm has an office west of the Mississippi. An announcement on the final outcome of the talks could come as early as this week. Legal Week, 4/16/04

All in the last week in the last month in the last 3 months in the last 6 months in the last year

Search Career Advice

Boston firm opens new office in Delaware
Edwards & Angell, a 300-attorney firm based in Boston, announced last week that it has opened an office in Wilmington, Delaware. Two partners from the Wilmington office of Buchanan Ingersoll will open the satellite, including Selinda Melnik and Stuart Brown, who will serve as Partner-in-Charge. The Wilmington office will work on strengthening the firm's Finance group, as well as deal with bankruptcy issues, which both partners have extensive experience in. The office will be the firm's ninth, in addition to a representative office in London. Firm Press Release, 4/16/04

Employment law team heads for Baker & McKenzie
A group of five partners was added to Baker & McKenzie's North American Compensation & Employment Law Practice Group last week. The hires, led by Ron Manthey, all hail from leading national labor and employment firm Littler Mendelson and will work out of Baker's Dallas office. The team will handle employment law litigation and advice, and cited Baker & McKenzie's growing local practice and its thriving global practice, which counts over 400 labor and employment attorneys, as their reason for moving. The other four partners are Ann Marie Painter, Joel Allen, Paulo McKeeby and Ellen Perlioni. Firm Press Release, 4/13/04

Jones Day files forms to open office in Moscow
Cleveland-based international law firm Jones Day, one of the top five law firms in the United States by size, has filed paperwork with the Russian government that will likely enable them to open an office in Moscow later this year. The office would be headed by Vladimir Lechtman, a mergers & acquisitions partner currently working in the firm's Washington, DC office, and would likely be staffed by shifting some attorneys and hiring some local attorneys. Jones Day played a large role in the largest corporate transaction ever in Russia by advising an oil company in a joint venture last year. The firm is counting on its local credibility from that deal and what it perceives as a strong Russian economy to ensure that this new office will be successful. Legal Week, 4/8/04

Withers LLP Bergman adds four to continue strong growth in U.S.
Withers Bergman, an international private client law firm with offices in New York, New Haven, London and Milan, announced the addition of four senior attorneys to its 40-attorney U.S. team last week. The firm has grown its U.S. capabilities by 25% over the last two years, and is necessarily doubling the size of its New York office. The new hires are John Forry, formerly with Ernst & Young, Mark Holden and Richard Cassell, both formerly with Bryan Cave, and Sanford Davis, who comes from Cummings & Lockwood. Withers Berman, which is called Withers LLP internationally, has 74 principles and over 450 staff members in its global practice. The firm also has the largest U.S.-qualified private client practice outside the United States, with ten attorneys in London. Firm Press Release, 4/13/04

Schiff Hardin gains two partners from Dewey Ballantine
Schiff Hardin, which bills itself as "Chicago's oldest large law firm," just got a bit larger with the addition of two partners in its New York City office. Both Russel Hamilton and Graham Hone will be joining Schiff Hardin's real estate group, where they will use their expertise in representing banks in commercial real estate lending deals, among other things. The two attorneys previously practiced with Dewey Ballantine. Schiff Hardin has over 300 attorneys working in six offices, including one international outpost in Dublin, Ireland, and was established in 1864. Firm Press Release, 4/19/04

Foley & Lardner taps new head of trademark group
Miriam Beezy, formerly of the Los Angeles office of Greenberg Glusker, has been hired by Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner to join the firm's IP department as a partner, and to head the firm's trademark & copyright practice group. Beezy held a similar position at Greenberg & Glusker, where she headed that firm's IP department, and has served as Chief Trademark Counsel for Disney. Foley's IP practice chair, Richard Florsheim, said that the firm's newest addition is another step in their ongoing growth plan for the intellectual property group. Firm Press Release, 4/16/04

Thompson & Knight adds three attorney group in Houston
Dallas-based Thompson & Knight has bolstered its trial practice group by adding four attorneys, including two partners, in Dallas and Houston this month. Two partners, Richy Raven and Jonathan Shoebotham, and one associate joined the firm's Houston office from Porter & Hedges. The firm's Dallas office also added one staff attorney, Jennine Lunceford, who formerly worked in both the Office of the Solicitor of the U.S. Department of Labor and at Jones Day. Firm Press Releases, 4/15/04

4/12/04

Cozen O'Connor expands in Washington with boutique acquisition
Currently focusing on expanding its Washington, D.C. practice as part of its overall national expansion plans, Cozen O'Connor has added four attorneys to its DC office through its acquisition of renowned white collar crime and complex criminal defense boutique Asbill Moffitt & Boss, Chtd. The small firm's three name partners -- Henry Asbill, William Moffitt and Barry Boss - will join Cozen as senior members, along with one associate from their practice. With the move, Cozen also fulfilled a desire to expand its white collar practice beyond its Philadelphia office. Firm Press Release, 4/1/04

Shaw Pittman branches out to the Silicon Valley and Taipei
Hoping to take advantage of what they consider to be the globalization of the economy, Shaw Pittman has hired Yitai Hu to establish an office for the firm in Taipei, Taiwan. The office will be the firm's first in the "Greater China Region" and provide a presence in a major intellectual property market. Hu, an intellectual property specialist, formerly served as the managing partner of Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner's Taipei office. Another major intellectual property market, California's Silicon Valley, is gaining a Shaw Pittman office, also with Hu's involvement. Shaw Pittman has five other offices, including one international office in London. Firm Press Release, 4/6/04

Holland & Knight opens Beijing outpost
Holland & Knight announced last week that the Chinese government has authorized the firm to open an office in Beijing. The Beijing office will be the firm's first in China and second in Asia (in addition to the Tokyo office), focusing mainly on corporate matters. The firm does not plan on immediately growing the office, which initially will be staffed by a consultant and serve as an office for Holland & Knight attorneys with business in the area. Zhao Xiaohua, a native of Beijing, will serve as the office's representative partner. Firm Press Release, 4/6/04

LeBoeuf Lamb gains 12 after energy boutique dissolves
A 12-attorney energy and utility team will be joining LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae in New York following the dissolution of Huber Lawrence & Abell, a New York-based energy boutique. Frank Miller will join LeBoeuf Lamb as a partner, while six other partners from Huber Lawrence will be joining as senior counsel, along with one of counsel attorney and four associates. At its peak in 2001, Huber Lawrence had 33 attorneys practicing energy law, but defections, including those of key partners, took their toll on the firm. The remaining attorneys at Huber Lawrence thought it would be wise to join a firm with a thriving energy practice such as LeBoeuf Lamb to be able to continue to provide their clients with the same level of service. New York Lawyer, 4/8/04

UK firm cuts four Asian offices loose
While many American firms are anxious to get a foothold in the Asian legal market, one UK-based firm is eager to get out. In a move designed to increase partner profits, Denton Wilde Sapte, often referred to as Dentons , has decided on a dramatic downsizing that will eliminate its entire underperforming Asian practice, according to a Legal Week report. Four Dentons offices in the region, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, Singapore, and Beijing outposts, will all be closed. Though some of the 50 attorneys practicing in the firm's Asian offices may be transitioned into some of the more thriving offices, there will be a high number of layoffs. Dentons will have ten international offices when these four offices are released. Legal Week, 4/8/04

Clifford Chance loses another partner in New York
Litigation partner Joseph Cyr is the latest in a long line of partners to leave the New York office of Clifford Chance. Cyr left Clifford Chance to bring his international commercial litigation practice to rival UK firm Lovells, which keeps a small 36-attorney presence in New York. With more than 1600 attorneys nationwide, Lovells ranks as the sixth largest firm in the world, but only maintains a 60-attorney presence in the United States, with offices in New York and Chicago. Clifford Chance will not likely be making up the losses from the bottom up, as The Lawyer reported that the firm only promoted 18 attorneys to the partnership, including one in New York, in this year's round, down from 31 last year. New York Lawyer, 4/8/04, The Lawyer, 4/6/04

Virginia firms merge to create fifth largest firm in state
Effective May 3rd, Roanoke-based Flippin Densmore Morse and Jessee will merge with Richmond-based Leclair Ryan to become the fifth largest law firm in Virginia with more than 130 attorneys. Flippin Densmore will bring 20 attorneys in two offices in Roanoke and Blacksburg, VA to Leclair Ryan, which also has offices in those two cities that will be merged with the larger Flippin Densmore offices. The combined firm will continue to trade on the Flippin Densmore reputation in the Western Virginia region, where it will be known as Leclair Ryan Flippin Densmore, but will keep the Leclair Ryan name in the rest of the state. In addition to the Roanoke and Blacksburg offices, the merged firm will also work out of Alexandria, Charlottesville, Innsbrook, Norfolk, Alexandria, Charlottesville and Washington, DC, giving the firm a strong presence throughout Virginia and DC. Richmond Times Dispatch, 4/8/04

Buchanan Ingersoll looking to hire in Philadelphia after real estate partners defect
Two partners from Buchanan Ingersoll will make a lateral transition to White & Williams in Philadelphia, effectively leaving their firm in the lurch without a real estate partner, but with plenty of real estate work. Kevin Silverang left Buchanan Ingersoll last month to work with O'Neill Properties, which would provide plenty of real estate business for the firm and its two remaining real estate partners. Those two partners decided to leave, however, and Buchanan Ingersoll will be forced to bring in a real estate partner from Pittsburgh temporarily while they search for a permanent replacement. The Legal Intelligencer, 4/8/04

4/05/04

Morgan Lewis set to open Paris branch with a 15-attorney French practice
Pending approval from the Paris Bar, Morgan Lewis & Bockius is set to open its 18th office in Paris. The firm gained the requisite personnel by hiring a 15-attorney team from leading French firm De Pardieu Brocas Maffei & Leygonie & Leygonie, including name partner Jean Leygonie, a corporate attorney with a strong antitrust practice who will head the new office. Four partners in total are included in the team, which brings along a "very impressive" client list, according to a firm press release. The other partners are Anne Tolila, another corporate partner; Florence Guthfreund-Roland, a technology and telecom partner; and François Vergne, a labor and employment partner. The Paris office, if approved, will be Morgan Lewis's fifth European outpost. Firm Press Release, 4/1/04

Patterson Belknap acquires 11-attorney practice in New York
A real estate group from Bingham McCutchen's New York office defected to Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler last week, tripling the firm's practice in that area. Five partners, two of counsel attorneys, and four associates were involved in the move. Patterson Belknap's managing partner believes that the new additions will allow the firm to occupy a more prominent place in the New York real estate practice. Bingham McCutchen, however, was left with only three real estate attorneys in New York. Firm Press Release, 4/2/04

Baker Donelson moves into Iraq
With the growing interest corporations have in the rebuilding of war-torn Iraq, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz has decided that it would be wise to set up an office in Baghdad. The leader of the firm's international transactions and trade practice, Charles Johnston, has already moved to the country. Having already made several business trips to Iraq recently, Johnston and the firm decided it should have an office there rather than continue to shuttle its attorneys over there. Baker Donelson is one of the first firms to send one of its American partners to the country that U.S. forces still occupy. Baker Donelson has one other international office, in Beijing. Washington Business Journal, 4/2/04

Akin Gump grabs three attorney energy team from Vinson & Elkins in Europe
High-profile partner Douglas Glass and two senior counsel attorneys moved their energy practice from Vinson & Elkins to the London office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld last week. Both Glass and Akin Gump's chairman, R. Bruce McLean, proclaimed that the firm's desire to have the top energy practice in the world was the motivation for the decision. Glass and Artem Faekov will practice in the London office, while Alexey Condratchik will work out of the Moscow office. Glass also has extensive experience in Moscow, where he previously served as a managing partner for Vinson & Elkins. Firm Press Release, 3/29/04

Norton Rose launches satellite in Rome
London-based Norton Rose will open its second Italian office in Rome, according to a report from Legal Week. The firm felt that having a presence in Italy's capital city was crucial to their overall practice in the country, so they hired a tax partner away from Gianni Origoni Grippo & Partners to start the office. Both the new Rome office and the existing Milan office will be led by Italian Practice Head Robert Cornetta. Legal Week, 4/4/04

Baker Donelson acquires a satellite office to expand in Nashville
One of the nation's fastest-growing firms, Memphis-based Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz continued to add attorneys to its roster last week. The beneficiary this time was the firm's Nashville office, which will absorb the entire local office of Cincinnati-based law firm Dinsmore & Shohl. Seventeen attorneys will join Baker Donelson, giving the firm 78 attorneys in Nashville. Gary Brown, who served as managing partner of the Nashville office of Dinsmore and will chair his new firm's business practice, cited the expiration of the lease on the Dinsmore office and Baker Donelson's dedication to the Nashville market as the main reasons for the move. A conflict of interest check is the only issue standing in the finalization of the transfer. Nashville Business Journal, 4/5/04

Kansas City-based firm merges with St. Louis-based firm
Kansas City-based Polsinelli Shalton & Welte will soon get another name partner and approximately 40 more attorneys as the result of a merger with St. Louis firm Suelthaus. The merger will create a 190-attorney firm, to be called Polsinelli Shalton Welte & Suelthaus, and give Polsinelli a stronger presence in St. Louis (where it previously had 30 attorneys) and allow Suelthaus's attorneys to offer its existing clients a more diverse practice. The merged firm will have three offices in Missouri (one in Kansas City and two in St. Louis), three in Kansas (Topeka, Overland Park, Edwardsville) and an office in Washington, D.C. that Suelthaus began a month ago when it hired a patent attorney from Coudert Brothers. The merged firm also expects to open a Jefferson City office in Missouri in the near future. St. Louis Business Journal, 4/2/04

New Jersey merger decision causes 32 attorneys to defect, start anew
When the planned merger between Morristown, NY-based McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney and Newark, NY-based Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey that would have created a 190-attorney firm goes through on May 2, the firms will be 32 attorneys short of their plan. Most likely as a direct result of those merger plans, 32 attorneys from the larger McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney, including one third of the firm's equity partners, resigned from the firm. The lawyers have started their own Morristown, NJ firm, which will be called Coughlin Duffy, led by name partners Kevin Coughlin and Timothy Duffy. New York Lawyer, 3/31/04

Large Las Vegas firm hit with defections
Three partners from the Las Vegas firm Jones Vargas left last week to form their own firm with a former colleague, taking some high-profile clients with them in the process. Though the firm will have a large roster of clients for the four attorneys to handle right away, the partners don't conceive of their venture as the next Las Vegas mega-firm. Instead, they expect some growth, but would like to keep the firm under 12 attorneys or so. The partners left Jones Vargas, which has 60 attorneys, to practice in a smaller firm situation and would prefer to keep that environment intact. The firm will be called Rice Silbey Reuther & Sullivan, incorporating the names of all of the founding partners. Miami Herald, 4/1/04

3/29/04

Heller Ehrman opens its first office in China
Continuing the trend of American law firms placing extreme importance on the market in China, Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe LLP announced last week that its Asian practice will gain a new office in Beijing. The Beijing office will be the first for the firm in China, which has recently seen a lot of American and European firms moving in due to loosened restrictions on setting up offices in the country. Heller Ehrman has maintained a presence in Asia since 1993, when it opened an office in Hong Kong. The firm followed that a year later by opening an office in Singapore. Citing both American clients with growing interests in China as well as Chinese companies with venture capital issues and growing business concerns, Heller Ehrman felt that the move to Beijing was necessary given the importance of the city to China's economic functions. Carson Wen, who joined the firm last year in Hong Kong as part of a large group of attorneys from local law firm Siao Wen and Leung, will continue to head the China practice. Firm Press Release, 3/25/04

Piper Rudnick continues to expand LA real estate practice
Approximately one month after adding seven attorneys, including five partners, to its Los Angeles real estate practice, Piper Rudnick has made another significant move to increase its practice by taking on Richard Mendelson, Claudio Chavez, both real estate partners, and one associate. All three of the new hires are coming from Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe's Los Angeles office. Piper Rudnick has stated that growing its real estate practice remains a priority right now, and has added over fifty attorneys to the national practice since January of last year. The Los Angeles real estate group was cited by the group's chair, Jay Epstein, as one of the "fastest growing segments" of the firm. Firm Press Release, 3/22/04

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart hires two partners, two associates for IP practice
Two former partners of Trademark & Patent Counselors of America, PC, including founding partner Mark Peroff, joined Kirkpatrick & Lockhart in New York last week to work on intellectual property matters. Joining Peroff and Darren Saunders, the other partner, are two intellectual property associates from their former firm. The four hires, in addition to other recent IP partner hires Anthony Handal and Kelly Talcott, help strengthen the firm's national IP practice, which now stands at around seventy attorneys. Firm Press Release, 3/29/04

Clifford Chance partners vote in favor of new expulsion procedure
Partners at Clifford Chance will no longer find their hands tied when they make an effort to oust one of their colleagues. As revealed by The Lawyer last week, a three week vote to change the firm's constitution ended with the partnership council getting the votes they needed (85%) to allow major changes to the way the firm can deal with underachieving partners. The new procedure allows the partnership council to make the decision to remove underperforming partners without involving the firm's worldwide roster of partners in a vote. If the partner facing expulsion protests the decision, a vote would then be required, but the expulsion would only need 66% of the vote to pass, instead of the current 85%. The changes will also allow the council to prevent partners from moving up the lockstep partnership system, and can even insist they move down. The Lawyer, 3/23/04 - Legal Week, 3/25/04

Chadbourne & Parke reorganizes private equity practice
Citing the improving economy at home and abroad, New York-based Chadbourne & Parke has decided to capitalize on the growing private equity market by "refocusing" its practice in that area. The move will align the firm's private equity attorneys into one group, allowing the attorneys to draw upon the resources of an official practice. The private equity practice spans the firm's offices in New York, Washington, DC, Houston, London, Moscow and Warsaw. More information about the private equity practice, as well as about the firm's many past successes in the private equity area, can be found at the practice's new web address, http://www.chadbourne.com/PrivateEquity/. Firm Press Release, 3/29/04

Hogan & Hartson adds a new practice in London with Jones Day hire
Jones Day's Chrisopher Berry, who came to the firm in a merger with London firm Gouldens, added more than just an increase in Hogan & Hartson's partner roster when he decided to move his practice there last week -- Berry's arrival allows H&H to add a new practice to its repertoire in London. The firm will launch a property and property finance practice as part of its overall strategy to provide a full-service practice in England. The firm has been stressing its European practice in its growth plans as of late, adding tax, corporate finance and asset and aviation practices to its London capabilities, as well as establishing a new office in Munich. Firm Press Release, 3/26/04

Greenberg Traurig bolsters DC intellectual property practice
One partner, Mark Hogge, and one of counsel attorney, Kathryn Clune, joined the Washington, DC litigation practice of Greenberg Traurig last week. The two attorneys will focus on intellectual property litigation. Hogge comes to the firm from Dorsey & Whitney, where he was a partner, and brings extensive litigation experience, including work on over 90 patent cases in his career. Kathryn Clune also comes to Greenberg Traurig from Dorsey & Whitney. Firm Press Release, 3/23/04

Winston-Salem firm adds an office in Charlotte
Bell Davis & Pitt expanded its 31-attorney practice recently, opening its second office in Charlotte. The new office will be initially staffed by one attorney, Ward Davis, but may be expanding, as the office space can hold up to five attorneys. Some of the firm's attorneys from the main office in Winston-Salem will likely share time in the Charlotte office, as well. Bell Davis's strong banking practice, which includes clients like Bank of America, contributed to the decision to move into Charlotte. Charlotte Business Journal, 3/22/04

3/22/04

Clifford Chance both loses and gains a partner in New York
In another blow to Clifford Chance's US operations, Kevin Kelley, the firm's global head of US securities, is leaving to join Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, according to a report from Legal Week last Monday. Kelley, who will practice corporate and securities law at Gibson Dunn's Manhattan office, is one of the few attorneys involved in the recent partner exodus from Clifford Chance that was a CC partner before the firm expanded with a Rogers & Wells merger. Despite the departure, the firm's partner totals for the week remained even with the hiring of Stuart Strauss. Strauss comes to Clifford Chance from Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, where he practiced in the corporate finance group. Clifford Chance currently has 83 partners in New York. Legal Week 3/18/04, 3/19/04

Four Hogan & Hartson attorneys defect to Pillsbury Winthrop
The Century City office of Pillsbury Winthrop gained four attorneys from Hogan & Hartson, including high-profile corporate securities partner Ray LaSoya, last week. LaSoya and his three-attorney team, which includes one other partner and two associates, focus on mergers and acquisitions and private equity matter. In a press release announcing the hires, Pillsbury Winthrop says that the four new attorneys will provide an immediate boost to its California presence and to its overall corporate securities practice. The group formerly worked as co-counsel with Pillsbury Winthrop on the ChevronTexaco merger when they were with Fried, Frank, Shriver & Jacobson. Press Release, 3/17/04

Two New Jersey-based firms to merge in May
Morristown, NY-based McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney and Newark, NY-based Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey announced last week that the firms plan to merge, effective May 1st. The new firm will be called McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter LLP and maintain one of the five largest New Jersey-based practices with approximately 200 attorneys. Name partner Ed Deutsch says that the strategic move will allow the two firms to offer clients a stronger practice, without having to compromise the firms' culture, which is similar. McElroy, Deutsch & Mulvaney brings 130 attorneys and 4 offices (Morristown, NJ; Ridgewood, NJ; New York, NY; and Denver, CO) to the merger, and Carpenter, Bennett & Morrissey offers 60 attorneys and a Newark office. Firm Press Release, 3/19/04

Piper Rudnick's San Francisco office continues to grow
At the beginning of 2004, Piper Rudnick merged with Steinhart & Falconer, giving the former firm its first San Francisco presence. Throughout the month of March, Piper Rudnick has shown that it intends to build upon that presence with several high-profile hires, including a three-attorney litigation group that comes from Aon Corporation. Aon plans on closing its San Francisco office and will rely on the two partners and one of counsel attorney that Piper Rudnick hired for its litigation work in California.

Two real estate partners also joined Piper Rudnick in San Francisco this month. Stephen Cowan, who comes to the firm as the former head of O'Melveny & Myers' real estate department, will serve as the head of Piper Rudnick's West Coast real estate practice. Joining him will be Caryl Welborn, who previously worked at Morrison & Foerster and has run her own boutique real estate practice for the last eight years. Firm Press Releases, 3/8/04, 3/15/04

Baker Donelson adds four attorneys to month-old New Orleans office
Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz PC hasn't acquired the "fastest growing firm in the nation" moniker by waiting for its offices to experience organic growth. Just one month after opening an office in New Orleans with 12 attorneys, the firm increased the office size by 33% with the addition of four commercial litigation attorneys from Phelps Dunbar LLP . Among the three partners and one of counsel attorney who will join the firm is Roy Cheatwood, a highly esteemed litigator who will serve as the office's managing shareholder. Baker Donelson now has over 350 attorneys. Birmingham Business Journal, 3/22/04

Fried Frank hires former Ashurst managing partner
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP LLP announced last week that it has hired Justin Spendlove to serve as the managing partner for the firm's European practice. Spendlove formerly served as the managing partner of Ashurst, the firm that Fried, Frank made a failed attempt to merge with recently. A leveraged finance attorney, Spendlove will also serve as a major part of the London office's practice in that field. Spendlove will also join Fried Frank's Governance Committee. Firm Press Release, 3/19/04

Dechert's loss in London ends insurance practice
Following James Lewis's defection to LeBoeuf Lamb Green & McRae, the London branch of Dechert has decided to discontinue the office's insurance practice. The office's managing partner maintained that the firm will still offer corporate, employment, real estate, and litigation practices, but the firm and Lewis seemingly came to a mutual decision that Dechert would not be the best place for him to grow his insurance practice. Dechert also saw the head of the London office's construction practice defect recently. The Lawyer, 3/17/04

Canadian firm expands into US with Chicago, NY offices
Top Canadian firm Blake, Cassels & Graydon announced today that it has officially opened offices in the United States, where they will practice Canadian law. The firm's new New York office will be staffed by a co-leader of the securities law group and another securities partner, both from the firm's Toronto office. A corporate and securities law partner from the firm's Vancouver office will open the new Chicago office. The new office marks the first time a Canadian firm has opened an office in Chicago, which the firm felt was a vital market to provide better service to its many clients in the Midwest. Firm Press Release, 3/22/04

Baker & Daniels opens second office in China
Indiana-based Baker & Daniels was among six firms that was allowed to open a new law office by the Chinese Ministry of Justice, and was the only American firm that got the go-ahead in the round of applications. The second office, located in Beijing, was seen as necessary to allow for the growth of their international business group. Edward Williams will be stationed in the new office, where he will direct the firm's entire China practice, which includes a licensed law office in Qingdao, a port city. The firm's consulting subsidiary also maintains an office in Shanghai, but it is not considered a functional law office. Firm Press Release

McDermott, Will & Emery gain four health care partners in Chicago
A group of four partners -- Bernadette Broccolo, Ralph DeJong, Michael Peregrine and William Roach -- from Gardner, Carton & Douglas joined the Chicago office of McDermott, Will & Emery this month. All four of the partners will join the health care practice, with Ralph DeJong also spending time on Employee Benefits matters. Firm Press Release, 3/04

3/15/04

Skadden loses three partners to Latham in New York
Latham & Watkins added three partners to its New York City finance team last week, courtesy of a raid on the Manhattan office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher, & Flom. The three partners - Marc Hanrahan, Ronan Wicks and Marcus Dougherty - focus their practice on lending transactions for financial institutions and will serve to augment the firm's leveraged finance capabilities. Both Wicks and Dougherty are admitted to practice in the UK as well as the US, and Dougherty is admitted to practice in Hong Kong, allowing the three attorneys to add to the firm's impressive global practice. Latham currently has more than 50 leveraged finance partners in nine offices in the US and Europe. Firm Press Release, 3/9/04

Duane Morris bolsters Miami, Detroit offices
Duane Morris announced the hiring of three attorney hires in Miami and one in Detroit last week, continuing its pattern of national growth. Former Pepper Hamilton partner David Wunder joins the firm's tax practice in Detroit and will help serve the office's automotive clients, in addition to the several Fortune 100 clients for which he serves as outside tax counsel. The Miami office gains two health care attorneys and one litigator, all from Broad and Cassel . Joanne Erde joins as the former co-chair of the health care practice at Broad and Cassel along with D. Michael Bitz, who will be a health care associate with the firm. Dan Small, who was named litigation chair of Broad & Cassel's Miami office the previous week, will bring his high-profile litigation practice to Duane Morris, as well. Miami Daily Business Review, 3/10/04, Firm Press Releases, 3/9/04

Four new attorneys boost Mintz Levin's IP practice
The New York office of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo received a large boost in the form of three partners and one associate, all of whom will practice in the firm's intellectual property practice. Partner Daniel Coughlin is coming to the firm from Edwards & Angell, where he mainly worked with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. The remaining attorneys - partners Marvin Gittes and Richard Lehrer, as well as associate Margaret Gwiazda - hail from Gibbons, Del Deo, Dolan, Griffinger & Vecchione in New Jersey. Mintz Levin counts more than 80 attorneys, scientists and other professionals in its intellectual property practice. New York Lawyer, 3/15/04

Dykema Gossett acquires small DC firm for its Corporate Finance Practice Group
Dykema Gossett PLLC added DC-based securities and corporate law firm Jones & Blouch LLP to its Corporate Finance Practice Group earlier this month. Two attorneys - name partners J. Sumner Jones and John W. Blouch -- will join the firm's Washington, DC office as members, along with one of counsel attorney and one associate. Jones and Blouch focused its practice on federal securities law as it related to financial institutions and the firm's addition will allow Dykema the chance to better serve its core clients through the acquired firm's federal ties and national policy and regulatory abilities. This is the second firm to join Dykema Gossett in the last month, along with Rooks Pitts. Firm Press Release, 3/1/04

Clifford Chance to vote on simplifying the partner-elimination process
In response to the difficulty the firm faced when trying to oust the managing partner in Bangkok, Clifford Chance has decided to put the process by which it dismisses partners to a vote. The new system will allow the partnership council to hold hearings on the fate of its partners if it so chooses without being subject to a firm-wide vote. An ousted partner would get to appeal the decision, however, which would lead to a firm-wide vote among partners. The old rules required that 85% of the firm's partners vote for dismissal, but the firm is contemplating a change that would not even require a voting majority to eliminate the partner in question. Legal Week, 3/11/04

Austin firm lays off five partners, four associates
Bickerstaff Heath Smiley Pollan Kever LLP, Austin's 11th largest firm, cited the effects of the economy last week when it laid off nine of its attorneys, including five partners. The nine attorneys represent more than 20% of the firm's total attorney staff, which last year included 43 attorneys and 24 partners. The affected areas were the firm's utility and transactional practices. The firm hopes to shift its focus to its more financially healthy practices, which include municipal law and water law. Austin Business Journal, 3/12/04

Thelen Reid & Priest gains two Dewey Ballantine partners
New York partner movement was rampant last week, and Thelen Reid & Priest was another firm that reaped the benefits. E. Ann Gill, who specializes in private corporate finance, and Richard Stenberg, a private equity transaction specialist, ended their twenty-year affiliation with Dewey Ballantine last week to join Thelen Reid as partners in the firm's private equity practice. The hires are the latest indication that Thelen Reid would like to continually grow its New York office, which has hired five other corporate partners in recent months. The firm's corporate finance practice has 135 attorneys, 70 of which are in New York. Firm Press Release, 3/10/04

Hinshaw & Culbertson hires two Edwards & Angell partners in NYC
Hinshaw & Culbertson LLP added two partners to its 130-attorney professional malpractice group last week. Hal R. Lieberman and Richard Supple, both from Edwards & Angell, will be joining the "Law of Lawyering" group, comprising 40 attorneys focused on representing lawyers and law firms in malpractice and disciplinary matters. Both have extensive experience dealing with ethical issues involved in the practice of law, including working with the Departmental Disciplinary Committee of the New York Supreme Court's Appellate Division. Hinshaw maintains one of the largest and most esteemed legal responsibility practices in the country. Firm Press Release, 3/8/04

Leboeuf Lamb IP partners defect to Mayer, Brown
LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae lost the co-chair of its intellectual property litigation practice when Wayne Matus left the firm to head to Mayer Brown Rowe and Maw last week. With him went A. John Mancini, who, like Matus, will become a partner at Mayer Brown. The new attorneys specialize in Internet and data security intellectual property work. Both Mancini and Matus will work in the firm's New York office, which has approximately 220 attorneys. New York Lawyer, 3/11/04

3/8/04

Greenberg Traurig officially announces the opening of Orange County, Silicon Valley offices
In a move that will significantly increase its California presence, Greenberg Traurig has added Silicon Valley and Orange County offices to its 70-attorney Los Angeles office, according to a firm press release last week. It was previously reported that the firm was hiring away senior-level associates from local Silicon Valley firms and granting them partnerships, so the news is not unexpected. Seven attorneys will open the Silicon Valley office, led by Todd Rumberger, who formerly worked in Greenberg Traurig's Orlando office. Ten other attorneys are currently being considered for hire in this office, as well. The Orange County office will be headed by Gordon Schaller, a shareholder from the firm's Los Angeles office. Six other attorneys, including four partners, will give the firm a strong base on which it expects to grow quickly to turn the office into a full service satellite branch. Firm Press Release, 3/3/04

Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP acquires three-attorney public law group
Two partners and one associate will join Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, as the firm welcomes the public policy group from Winstead Sechrest & Minick PC into its fold. Before joining the firm as a partner in the Public Law & Policy Strategies group, Frederick McClure served under two presidents, as Assistant for Legislative Affairs under George Bush Sr. and as a Special Assistant for Legislative Affairs under Reagan, and currently holds positions on many boards under the current president, including the Secretary of Energy's Advisory Board. The other partner joining the firm is Mark Cushing, who has served as Special Assistant to the Governor of Oregon. Firm Press Release, 3/1/04

Johnnie Cochran's law firm gains a Las Vegas outpost through merger
The Cochran Firm, owned and led by Johnnie Cochran, further increased the size of its vast national plaintiff's personal injury practice last week through a merger with Mainor Eglet Cottle. The Las Vegas firm will fully integrate its practice with The Cochran Firm on March 16th, when it will be known as Mainor Eglet Cottle in Partnership with the Cochran Firm. Forty employees, including nine attorneys, will give The Cochran Firm one of the largest presences in Las Vegas of any personal injury firm. The Las Vegas office will be the firm's 12th. Las Vegas Sun, 3/2/04

Latham & Watkins adds nine attorneys to Paris team
Adding to one of the largest litigation practices in Paris, Latham & Watkins hired nine attorneys for the group, which now boasts over 50 attorneys, an impressive number for the Parisian market. The three partners -- Patrick Dunaud, Emmanuel Drai and Judith Vuillez -- and six associates all hail from Sokolow Dunaud Mercadier & Carreras and will help the firm continue to build a strong and diversified litigation practice in Europe. The group specializes in such varied fields as media and entertainment litigation, intellectual property litigation, and corporate and securities litigation. Dunaud, in addition to being a name partner with his former firm, also served as head of the litigation department. Firm Press Release, 3/3/04

Oppenheimer's European offices begin to break off
Following Oppenheimer, Wolff & Donnelly's announcement last summer that it would no longer support its international offices in Brussels, Geneva and Paris, attorneys in two of the three offices recently announced their next moves. Steptoe & Johnson stepped up and acquired the Brussels office, which housed three partners, one counsel, and three associates. The attorneys will give Steptoe & Johnson an increased ability to handle the regulatory matters that its London office formerly handled for both Britain and the European Union. The Lawyer,, 3/2/04

The firm's Parisian office, made up of three partners, also decided its fate last week - to branch off into a solo firm. The new firm will be called CGR after the last initials of the firm's partners. Frederic Roche, who led the office under Oppenheimer, told Legal Week that the firm had talked to United States firms about entering into another possible merger, but decided it would be best to go alone. Legal Week, 3/4/04

Alston & Bird supplements New York IP practice with Coudert Brothers hires
Four attorneys from the New York office of Coudert Brothers have joined Alston & Bird's New York office. The four transferring attorneys includes the former head of the New York IP practice at Coudert Brothers, as well as two other partners and one of counsel patent attorney. Coudert Brothers has centralized the vast majority of its IP attorneys in its Palo Alto office, leaving the New York office without a substantial presence in that practice area after the latest move. New York Lawyer, 3/2/04

Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn changes name, focus
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn has decided to drop three retired partners from its moniker, and from now on will simply be known as Arent Fox. The firm is also unveiling a new ad campaign that features the outline of a fox. This shift in image comes at the same time as an increased focus on the firm's D.C. real estate, IP, and life sciences practices. Arent Fox rates as one of the top 200 firms in the country with approximately 250 attorneys in its Washington, DC and New York offices. New York Lawyer, 3/5/04

Atlanta-based labor and employment law firm hires three partners, adds Asheville office
Last week, Atlanta-based Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLC, a labor and employment firm with 90 attorneys, hired three attorneys from Edwards, Ballard, Clark, Barrett and Carlson, P.A. , who will join as partners. Kenneth P. Carlson, Jr. and Terry A. Clark will join the firm's Winston-Salem office and Jonathan W. Yarbrough will open the firm's newest office in Asheville, North Carolina. According to a firm press release, the three hires will increase the firm's abilities and allow them to bring in more clients. Firm Press Release, 3/5/04,

Western New York firm choosing to branch out
Hogan & Willig, a 25-attorney full service firm that ranks as the largest in Western New York, has made expansion plans for three Western New York cities. Lockport, NY, which is currently home to a makeshift office used for client meetings, will gain a full-time, multiple attorney presence in a new, larger office. The firm also plans to open an office in Lewiston, NY in the middle of this month, following on the heels of the opening of a Niagara Falls office through a merger with a small local firm. Based in Amherst, NY, all of the new offices will be in Niagara County. Business First, 3/5/04

3/1/04

Foley & Lardner opens Silicon Valley satellite
With a strategy to expand on its life sciences practices, Foley & Lardner announced today that it will open a new Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto after recruiting life sciences attorney Gerald Swiss to join the firm. Opening the office with Swiss will be three associates that worked with Swiss at his old practice, as well as two partners relocating from Foley's San Francisco office. In addition to the life sciences abilities that the new office provides, the Silicon Valley satellite will also immediately impact the firm's business law and intellectual property practices. A firm press release indicated that future avenues of growth for the office will likely include the addition of more attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation, intellectual property, and business law in order to better serve the firm's tech-heavy Silicon Valley client roster. Firm Press Release, 3/1/04

Two Mayer Brown partners defect to Latham
Top-5 American law firm Latham & Watkins added two financial regulatory partners in Washington, DC last week. Both Brian Smith and Timothy Keehan joined Latham from Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, where they worked for 12 years together. Smith served as head of Mayer Brown's Financial Regulatory Group for his entire tenure at the firm, and previously served as managing partner of Stroock, Stroock & Lavan's Washington, DC office, where he also worked with Keehan. Firm Press Release, 2/18/04

McGuireWoods adds a Detroit office
McGuireWoods LLP opened its 15th office in Detroit on February 11th to allow for better service to its Detroit area clients. The office will focus on civil litigation and automotive products liability work, in particular. The firm currently lists seven of the top ten auto manufacturers and suppliers as clients, and the new office continues the firm's model of growth by establishing new offices where its clients need them most. The firm boasts one of the country's top products liability departments. Firm Press Release, 2/11/04

Preston Gates & Ellis bulks up its Orange County office
With the addition of two new partners and three new associates, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP increased the size of its Orange County office by 36%, according to last week's press release. Robert Bekken, a labor and employment partner, joins the firm from his position as the founding partner of the Irvine office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP, and Bill Grenner will come to the firm as a commercial litigation partner with Morrison & Foerster. Preston Gates' three new associates all hail from Bekken's former firm. The firm also announced last week that the David Perry, who joined the firm in 2003, will be the new managing partner of the Orange County office, which now counts 19 attorneys among its staff. Firm Press Release, 2/25/04

Harris Beach merges with Western New York firm
Albany-based Harris Beach LLP announced last week that Angola, NY firm Hurst Brothman & Yusick would join the firm through a merger agreement. The five attorneys who come over to Harris Beach in the deal include two partners, two of counsel attorneys and one associate. Harris Beach, which has been eager to increase its presence in Western New York, believes that the attorneys will fit in well and help the firm achieve its goal of providing clients with a full service branch office in Buffalo. The Hurst Brothman attorneys will add experience in practice areas as varied as litigation, commercial real estate, and estate administration and planning. Firm Press Release, 2/23/04

Bracewell & Patterson to lose majority of Houston IP practice
Following a merger three years ago, the attorneys of Felsmen Bradley Gunter & Dillon LLP began the process of trying to adapt their small IP practice to fit Bracewell & Patterson's needs. Last month, the attorneys who came over in the merger announced that that process was unsuccessful, leaving Bracewell & Patterson with only one intellectual property expert. Two partners from the practice group, Andrew Dillon and Craig Yudell, will head a new firm called Dillon & Yudell LLP, which will also feature five other IP experts from Bracewell. The separation was friendly, with the departing attorneys citing the need for a more focused practice as the reason for their exit. Bracewell & Patterson still plans to maintain an intellectual property presence in the area, and will likely have IP attorneys from other offices share the Houston IP workload unless it is deemed necessary to hire more attorneys. Austin Business Journal, 2/20/04

Four Kaye Scholer attorneys break off to form a new firm
Four trusts and estates attorneys from Kaye Scholer have left their firm and banded together to create the kind of small firm that they believe offers the only atmosphere that can allow a trusts and estates practice to flourish. Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera, the name of the new firm, will be led by the former head of the trusts and estates practice at Kaye Scholer, Sanford J. Schlesinger. The three other attorneys who left will also join as partner. In order to provide a better depth of service to their trusts and estates clients, Schlesigner Gannon has affiliated itself with the multi-practice, 35-attorney Dreiser firm. The New York Law Journal, 3/1/04

Moye Giles and Miller Wood announce merger
Denver-based Moye Giles announced last week that it will be adding four attorneys to its roster through a merger with Miller Wood, also based in Denver. The attorneys joining the firm include name partners James Rollin Miller and Paul R. Wood, as well as two associates. All four of the attorneys practice litigation, and Miller and Wood will serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of their new firm's litigation group. Firm Web Site

2/23/04

Greenberg Traurig prepares to enter Silicon Valley with new partners
Greenberg Traurig is making a push to open yet another office in the United States, furthering the firm's ultimate goal to be able to serve every major legal market in the country locally. The Recorder reports that the firm is hiring several senior associates from top Bay Area firms, promising them a chance to be partner and start a new office for the growing firm. Included among the nine hires the firm has made thus far is a former GT attorney who left the firm during the dotcom era and will now serve as managing partner for the Silicon Valley office. The office, which will likely be the firm's 24th, will mainly work on corporate and IP matters and has yet to be officially opened. The Recorder, 2/18/04

Dykema Gossett merges with Chicago firm
Detroit-based Dykema Gossett continues to work toward its goal of becoming the Midwest's preeminent law firm, as evidenced by the announcement last week that it is merging with 78-attorney Chicago firm Rooks Pitts. Dykema's Chicago office, which will now be headed by the former managing partner of Rooks Pitts, is the firm's second largest with over 100 attorneys, including the newest additions. The move helps strengthen Dykema's litigation practice and enables Rooks Pitts to service its clients with a more diversified practice. For a short period, the Chicago office will be known as Dykema Gossett Rooks Pitts before the office fully transitions into Dykema Gossett. Both firms were coming off financially healthy 2003s. Firm Press Release, 2/23/04

Florida's largest firm opens first out-of-state satellite through merger
Billing itself as the "largest law firm exclusively in Florida" may prove more difficult for Akerman Senterfitt now, as the firm's recent merger with Tallahassee firm Katz Kutter Alderman & Bryant gives the firm its first out-of-state office in Washington, DC. Katz Kutter is bringing 40 attorneys and several lobbyists to Akerman, thereby increasing the latter firm's presence in Florida's capital and bolstering its government relations practice. Serving as managing partner of the Tallahassee and five-attorney Washington, DC offices, as well as head of the government relations practice, will be name partner Allan Katz. The merger will give Akerman 415 attorneys and is likely to be finalized over the next month. Miami Daily Business Review, 2/20/04

Tennessee firm establishes a satellite in New Orleans
Memphis-based Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz has announced the opening of its tenth office in New Orleans, as it continues to build upon its reputation as one of the fastest-growing firms in the country. The eleven lawyers that will open the office come to the firm courtesy of the New Orleans office of Houston firm Locke Liddell & Sapp, and include seven shareholders, two counsel attorneys and two associates. Two of the shareholders specialize in health care, a field in which Baker, Donelson is prominent and hopes to continue to grow. The Commercial Appeal, 2/20/04

Masons Thelen Reid creates a formal alliance with an Iraqi firm
In a first-of-its-kind move, Masons Thelen Reid, LLP, a partnership between the UK firm Masons and the New York firm Thelen, Reid, & Priest that ranks as the largest construction, engineering, and infrastructure law firm in the world, has established a formal alliance with Iraqi firm Salam Abdullah & Partners. The move will allow the firm to provide local assistance and advice to clients who are seeking to assist with the rebuilding efforts of the war-ravaged country. The firm has been working with Mr. Abdullah since June of last year, gaining an understanding of the specifics of doing business in the new Iraq. Firm Press Release, 2/18/04

Pennsylvania firm expands to Princeton
Stevens & Lee , based in Reading, PA, announced the opening of a new office in Princeton, NJ earlier this month, with the aid of sixteen new attorneys. The sixteen attorneys are all coming from Smith, Stratton, Wise, Heher & Brennan, LLP and will serve to establish a multi-practice from the outset with venture capital, intellectual property, estates and trusts, and land use specialists among them. The group includes nine partners, four associates, and three of counsel attorneys. The Princeton office is the 10th for the 200-plus attorney firm. Firm Press Release, 2/2/04

Littler Mendelson adds three partners in Minneapolis
San Francisco-based Littler Mendelson, the largest labor and employment firm in the country, just got a little larger with the addition of three partners in Minneapolis last week. Patricia Ann Burke, Dale Deitchler, and Mark Schneider all will join Littler Mendelson's six-year-old Minneapolis firm from Rider Bennett. The move increases the number of attorneys in the office to seventeen. Littler, which employs 400 labor and employment attorneys in 29 states, was considered the natural choice for a move by the three attorneys, who wanted to grow their practices in an environment focused on their specialty practice. Firm Press Release, 2/18/04

West Virginia's largest firm set to open 11th office
Jackson Kelly, West Virginia's oldest and largest law firm with more than 150 attorneys, announced earlier this month that it will open a Pittsburgh office, the firm's 11th. R. Henry Moore, an occupational health and safety attorney, has been hired as a Member and will serve as the head of the new branch office. The move allows Jackson Kelly to increase its national occupational health and safety practice as well as expand its energy practice. The office is the firm's fourth outside of West Virginia. Firm Press Release, 2/13/04

2/16/04

Proskauer Rose opens an office in Boston with three IP attorneys
Three intellectual property partners from Boston's Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault have left their firm to open Proskauer Rose's newest office. Steven Bauer and Joseph Capraro, Jr., will be joining Proskauer as the Boston office's first partners. Daniel Bernstein, a partner at Testa, Hurwitz, will work as a senior counsel with his new firm. With its seventh office and these three new intellectual property hires, Proskauer is seeking to take advantage of the high density of tech companies in the Boston area and along the Route 128 corridor, as well as the increasing importance of intellectual property law to American businesses. Proskauer Rose has over 600 attorneys in six domestic offices, as well as in an office in Paris. Firm Press Release, 2/11/04

Clifford Chance loses another practice head in New York
In what has become somewhat of a regular occurrence over the past few months, an important partner from Clifford Chance's U.S. operations defected to another firm last week. Robert Finley, the former co-leader of Clifford Chance's banking and financial restructuring practice in the United States, quit the firm to move to the New York office of King & Spalding, where he will be a member of the financial transactions practice. King & Spalding now employs more than 160 attorneys in its New York office, which was established in 1992 and continues to grow. Firm Press Release, 2/13/04

Baker Botts adds five environmental attorneys in DC
Baker Botts has significantly increased the size of its environmental practice this month with some high profile hires in Washington, DC. The five-attorney environmental practice group from Kelley Drye & Warren, including the group's chairman, Daniel Stenway, has joined Baker Botts, leaving its former firm without an environmental practice in Washington, DC. In addition to Stenway, who will be joining as a partner, the group includes two associates and two special counsel attorneys. Baker Botts now has a national environmental law practice of 33 attorneys, including six in the Washington, DC office. Although Kelley Drye no longer has an environmental practice in DC, it's New Jersey office will continue to operate one. New York Lawyer, 2/13/04

Orrick strengthens Italian practice with merger
Less than a year after opening an office in Milan, Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has beefed up its presence in Italy through a merger with Studio Legale e Tributario (SLET) that will bring the firm a new office in Rome. The 16-lawyer office (all from SLET) will focus on administrative law and banking and finance law and, according to the managing partner of the Milan office, provide another valuable presence in the country for Italian clients. The additions increase Orrick's European practice to over 100 attorneys in four offices, none of which existed until 1998. Firm Press Release, 2/9/04

South Carolina firm expands into Washington DC
Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough announced the opening of a Washington, D.C. office last week, its ninth in the Southeast. The office will be headed by U.S. Representative Butler Derrick and former senior executive at the Department of Education Leo Coco, and is expected to have at least twelve attorneys by the end of the year. Nelson Mullins has experienced a rather large growth spurt over the last 20 years, leading the firm to make the decision to move into the Washington, DC market to better serve its clients with a strong government advocacy practice. Nelson Mullins currently has 330 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 2/10/04

Arnold & Porter doubles the size of Brussels office
Five antitrust/competition attorneys joined Arnold & Porter's Brussels satellite last week, more than doubling the size of the office. All of the newest additions to the office will be associates who will serve to spell the caseload that the four partners who opened the office have been experiencing. Arnold & Porter opened its Brussels office last summer, and has experienced enough growth to call for the firm to shift some of its human resources to Brussels and hire still others. Firm Press Release, 2/13/04

San Francisco firm merges with East Bay boutique
Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP, based in San Francisco, has added 12 attorneys to its roster via a merger with Emeryville-based Legal Strategies Group. Townsend currently has 150 attorneys specializing in intellectual property and litigation work, making the Legal Strategies Group's practice areas - mainly dispute resolution and IP litigation - a nice fit. Six shareholders and six associates will come over in the move, joining Townsend and Townsend's San Francisco office. The merger will be official at the beginning of next month. Firm Press Release, 2/11/04

EY Law real estate attorneys head to Baker & McKenzie
Baker & McKenzie's Paris office announced the hiring of five new attorneys from the real estate practice of EY Law last week, including the head of the practice group, Oliver Mesmin. Mesmin and two associates will join the firm's tax group and lead the real estate tax practice, while Marc Mariani, plus one associate, will join the corporate group and work closely with the real estate practice. The additions give the Paris office of Baker & McKenzie 21 partners and 130 attorneys, including more than 30 in the tax group and 40 in the real estate group. Firm Press Release, 2/9/04

2/9/04

• Search Legal Jobs
• Search Articles
• Employer Listing

United States

Search jobs

All in the last week in the last month in the last 3 months in the last 6 months in the last year

Search Career Advice

Select In-House Law Firms Government Recruiters Public Interest

Search Employer

Piper Rudnick and DLA discuss potential mega-merger
Piper Rudnick, with 985 attorneys, is currently one of the fifty largest firms in the world, yet it had no offices outside of the United States. DLA, with over 3600 legal professionals across the globe, is the 9th largest firm in the United Kingdom, yet has no North American presence. Both firms' lacking areas could be addressed soon, however, as the two firms are rumored to be considering a merger that would form the third largest law firm in the world - trailing only Baker & McKenzie and Clifford Chance in number of attorneys. While talks still seem to be in the early stages, Piper Rudnick admits to having narrowed its search for a potential overseas merger partner down considerably. DLA is openly discussing a meeting of its partners with Piper Rudnick's, saying that a merger with a US firm would most likely have to wait until 2005, though. In the meantime, DLA will focus on fully integrating its current European practice together. Chicago Business, 2/9/04

Greenberg Traurig makes several moves to strengthen its government affairs practice
Three different Greenberg Traurig offices have expanded with the announcement of several recent hires designed to enhance its national government affairs practice. The major additions come to the firm's Albany practice, which will take on eleven attorneys, including seven partners, from Couch White, a premier lobbying firm in Albany. The attorneys come from Couch White's health care and government regulations practice and are bringing a large number of clients to the Greenberg Traurig, which will immediately become one of the major players on the Albany lobbying scene. In addition to the Albany move, Greenberg Traurig announced the addition of Jim Bacchus, formerly of the World Trade Organization, to its Washington, DC office to lead a 20-lawyer global trade group. Finally, Greenberg Traurig's Boston office will gain from the addition of John Stefanini, formerly chief counsel and advisor to the Massachusetts speaker of the house. Firm Press Release, 2/9/03

Clifford Chance loses another US partner
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has hired away Dale Chakarian Turza, a former white collar litigation partner at Clifford & Chance, dealing the UK-based mega-firm another hit to its US offices. Turza, who worked out of Clifford Chance's Washington, DC office, is the latest in a long line of US partners to make lateral moves out of the firm. Turza will be joining Cadwalader's business fraud and complex litigation practice along with Bret Campbell, who will work as special counsel in the firm's litigation department. Clifford Chance's Washington, DC office is left with only eight partners after the latest defection. Legal Week, 2/9/04

McKee Nelson gains two securitization partners from Weil Gotshal
McKee Nelson, an Ernst & Young-allied law firm with offices in Washington, DC and New York City and more than 100 attorneys, has announced the hiring of William Gray and Eugene Ferrer. Both of the new partners are securitization and structured finance attorneys transferring their practices from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. McKee Nelson is just five years old, but already boasts 20 partners in its structured finance practice. Among the twenty partners are two more former Weil, Gotshal partners with whom Gray and Ferrer used to work. The Lawyer, 2/4/04

Fowler White Boggs Banker opens its ninth office in Jacksonville
Florida firm Fowler White Boggs Banker has hired Thomas C. Dearing, a former partner at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae L.L.P, to open its newest office in Jacksonville, Florida. Joining Dearing in opening the new office are three more attorneys, two of which will be shareholders, from LeBoeuf Lamb. All four attorneys practice in commercial litigation and will help to further Fowler White's goal of providing a full service law firm all across the state of Florida. Firm Press Release, 2/4/04

Akin Gump expands new San Francisco office with two partner hires
Just recently established in October of last year, Akin Gump's San Francisco office is already getting a boost in the form of two new partners that will enhance two of the firm's key practice areas. Karen Kubin, a labor and employment litigation partner, is joining the office from Cooley Godward, and Reginald Steer, a litigation partner, will be transferring his practice from Pillsbury Winthrop. Akin Gump's San Francisco office currently has nine attorneys on staff, all of whom practice litigation. Firm Press Release, 2/5/04

Jones Day hires away transactional partner from Texas firm
Dallas firm Hughes & Luce lost a twenty year member of the firm, as well as an important partner and member of the firm's executive committee last week when Clay Mulford decided to take his practice to Jones Day. Mulford was a hiring target of the partners in Jones Day's Dallas office for some time, according to the office's managing partner, because they felt his practice and experience could benefit from their firm's more national capabities. Mulford is the son-in-law of Ross Perot, whose company is one of Hughes & Luce's largest clients, but Mulford did not take that company's business with him to Jones Day. New York Lawyer, 2/4/04

2/2/03

Fish & Richardson lures San Diego biotech practice group away from Heller, Ehrman
Over 20 attorneys, technical specialists, scientific advisors, and other staff members of San Francisco-based Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe defected to Boston-based Fish & Richardson last week. All of the former Heller, Ehrman legal professionals will be joining Fish & Richardson's San Diego office, led by Dr. Stephanie Seidman, co-founder of the rapidly-expanding San Diego office of Heller, Ehrman. The acquisition further enhances Fish & Richardson's prominence in the biotechnology field, as they now have almost 100 biotech professionals nationally and more than 60 attorneys in San Diego. Heller, Ehrman now has approximately 60 attorneys in San Diego, as well. Firm Press Release, 1/28/04

Morgan Lewis's securities brokerage team in Miami defects
The Miami office of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius took a hit last week as its nine-attorney securities brokerage team left the firm to start a new office in Fort Lauderdale for New Jersey-based Bressler Amery & Ross. Two partners - Keith Olin and Bennett Falk - and one of counsel attorney lead the group that also includes six associates and eleven support staffers. Olin will serve as the new office's managing partner, and expressed an interest in hiring more attorneys to join the South Florida practice. New York Lawyer, 1/28/04

Labor & employment firm Fisher & Phillips merges with South Carolina firm
Fisher & Phillips, a labor and employment firm exclusively dedicated to representing employers, recently gained two offices in the Carolinas and fourteen attorneys through a merger with Ellzey & Brooks. Ellzey & Brooks, also a labor & employment firm focused on representing management, was based in Columbia, SC, with offices in Charlotte, NC and Atlanta, GA, all of which will join Fisher. The merger gives Fisher & Phillips a presence in 12 different cities, with 145 attorneys, as well as a boost in their expansion efforts, which are likely to continue. Firm Press Release, 2/2/04

Piper Rudnick hires seven real estate attorneys away from Pillsbury Winthrop
The Los Angeles office of Piper Rudnick more than doubled the size of its real estate department with the announcement that seven attorneys will be joining the firm within 20 days. Five partners and two associates, all from the Los Angeles office of Pillsbury Winthrop, will bring a roster of impressive national real estate clients to a firm that is seeking to expand both its Los Angeles office and its national real estate capabilities, given the recent boom in real estate law. Firm Press Release, 1/27/03

New York labor & employment firm closes doors after 75 years
Benetar Bernstein Schair & Stein announced that it will shut down its operations at the end of this month after 75 years of serving New York's business community in labor and employment law matters. The move has allowed the firm's attorneys to join the practices of two larger firms by opening New York area satellite offices. Three partners and one associate from the dissolving firm will open the New York satellite of Ford & Harrison, one of the five largest labor and employment firm in the country with over 130 attorneys. The other firm benefiting from the close will be Syracuse's Bond, Schoeneck & King, which will be adding two partners and one associate from Benetar Bernstein, as well as ten attorneys moving laterally from Rains & Pogrebin. Bond, Schoeneck's new additions will be opening new offices for the firm in Long Island and Manhattan. Firm Press Release, 1/29/04

Dewey Ballantine opts to not promote any associates to partner
In an effort to prevent the firm's partnership ranks from becoming too bloated due to a rash of lateral hirings, partners at Dewey Ballantine decided not to allow any associates into their vaunted company this year. The firm has hired 41 lateral partners over the past two years in addition to promoting 11 associates to the partnership last January, which now totals 151 attorneys. In order to maintain the firm's profitability, current associates in the partner track will not receive consideration in January, when the firm usually announces partners, but may consider some in the summer. The firm is also doing away with its lockstep bonus structure in favor of a merit-based system, according to Legal Week. Legal Week, 1/29/04

KLegal will disband formal network of firms
Following the announcement that international professional services provider KPMG would no longer be affiliated with KLegal, its network of associated law firms, due to Sarbanes-Oxley complications, the legal network has decided to disband, as well. This move also seems designed to evade the complications of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, as the former KLegal firms hope that their independent status will again allow them to work closely with KPMG. Although disbanding, the independent firms intend on maintaining relationships amongst each other. Legal Week, 1/30/04

Allen & Overy adds 18 in Italy
Allen & Overy's recent acquisition of an 18-attorney team in Italy has provided the firm a major boost in its European tax capabilities. All 18 attorneys will join Allen & Overy's 200-plus attorney Italian practice in either the Milan or Rome offices. The attorneys, led by partners Andrea Manganelli and Francesco Parisi, formerly worked at German firm Haarmann Hemmelrath & Partner, but had left that firm to open an independent practice before beginning negotiations with Allen & Overy. Legal Week, 1/29/04

Weil, Gotshal further expands DC antitrust practice
Following the hiring of almost a dozen antitrust attorneys from Clifford Chance last October, Weil, Gotshal & Manges has announced that it has added two more high-profile partners to that practice group. Ann Malester and Steven Bernstein, both formerly of the Federal Trade Commission's Bureau of Competition, will be joining the firm. Malester served as the deputy director of the FTC before she left after 26 years with the government agency. New York Lawyer, 1/30/04

1/26/03

Piper Rudnick Adds Nine Real Estate Attorneys in New York
Nine attorneys from the New York office of Swidler Berlin Shereff Friedman have left their previous firm for the New York office of Piper Rudnick. All of the newly acquired attorneys will work in the real estate practice, including Martin Polevoy, a prominent figure in New York real estate law circles, who will head the office's real estate group. The move more than doubles the size of Piper Rudnick's New York real estate practice and brings five new partners to the firm, along with several national clients. The firm's hires increase the size of the New York office to 132 attorneys, up from 106 at the beginning of 2003. Firm Press Release, 1/20/04

Skadden hires away West Coast head of Howrey Simon Arnold & White
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom made a significant addition to its West Coast practice last week with the announcement that Thomas Nolan, former head of Howrey Simon Arnold & White's West Coast practice will be joining its Los Angeled office. In his new position, Nolan will serve as the co-head of the Skadden's West Coast litigation practice group. Skadden has reportedly been looking for an attorney like Nolan to increase its presence on the West Coast (without having to resort to a merger) for the last ten years. Legal Week, 1/22/04

Gray Cary acquires white collar criminal defense boutique in DC
Nancy Luque, a highly esteemed white collar criminal defense attorney in Washington, DC, will be joining Gray Cary Ware & Friedenreich as a partner following that firm's acquisition of her boutique white collar criminal defense firm, Luque Sheinbach LLP. Also making the move will be Donna M. Sheinbach, a former name partner at her old firm, who will serve as Special Counsel at Gray Cary. The new hires enhance an already-thriving white collar criminal defense practice and provide a nice complement to Gray Cary's broad regulatory practice in DC. Firm Press Release, 1/26/04

White & Case bolsters its German practice with three new hires
White & Case has hired three attorneys away from Clifford Chance's office in Dusseldorf to work in its own office in the German city. The acquisitions include one partner, Manfred Ungemach, who will join the firm's corporate team, as well as two associates. All three of the attorneys specialize in energy law. Legal Week, 1/22/04

Coudert Brothers Reconsiders Partnership Structure
Coudert Brothers' current three-tiered system for partnership compensation is being revised to keep up with their competition, according to Legal Week. The new system will likely abandon the firm's second tier status of partners, called contract partners, in favor of a more conventional track. The contract partner tier currently falls in between salaried and equity partners and exists as a way for the firm to evaluate the attorney before granting him or her the coveted equity status. Usually, a partner will remain a contract partner for a year before reaching the equity partnership, but it could last longer, and only two or three years of contract partnership guarantee the same treatment as equity partners. A decision to make the change will likely be made next month. Legal Week, 1/22/04

Arent Fox adds three attorneys in DC
Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn strengthened its DC office with the recent lateral hiring of three attorneys, including two partners. The new partner hires are Erik Cherdak, who will join Arent Fox from Steptoe & Johnson as an intellectual property partner concentrating in the fields of acquisition of rights, licensing, and litigation of patent rights, and Joseph Rieser, Jr, a tax partner coming from Reed Smith who focuses on matters relating to federal and state income tax. Julie Tierney joins Arent Fox's food and drug practice as an associate from Buc & Beardsley. New York Lawyer, 1/23/04

1/19/04

Reed Smith acquires 21-attorney advertising law boutique for New York, Los Angeles offices
Pittsburgh-based Reed Smith announced that it will soon be acquiring 21 attorneys from boutique firm Hall & Dickler, and it will create an Advertising and Marketing Group with the newly obtained partners. Eight partners from Hall & Dickler will work in the new group, along with 3 counsel and 2 associates from the firm and some attorneys currently practicing in Reed Smith's media & entertainment practice. Other practice areas strengthened with the new additions include tax, real estate, litigation, media & entertainment and trust & estates. Reed Smith will officially begin incorporating Hall & Dickler's New York and Beverly Hills offices into its own New York, Los Angeles, and Century City offices on February 1. The firm has declared that growth in its New York office, which currently houses almost 100 attorneys, is one of its primary objectives for 2004. Firm Press Release, 1/14/04

Bryan Cave plans to increase its presence in Chicago
New hires and the relocation of some of its St. Louis, New York, and Kansas City attorneys will bring twenty new attorneys to Bryan Cave's Chicago office by year's end, according to firm plans. The firm has already taken one major step toward that goal with the addition of four partner hires and one of counsel, all from McGuire Woods, who will work on corporate transactions, banking and finance, health care litigation and commercial disputes. To accommodate the planned expansion, which is partly due to the efforts of partner and former US Senator Alan Dixon, Bryan Cave is looking into possibly moving its offices. Firm Press Release, 1/16/04

O'Melveny & Myers announces expansion of London corporate practice
Two private equity and corporate finance attorneys from UK firm SJ Berwin will be joining O'Melveny & Myers' corporate practice in London, pending the review of potential conflicts. The hires come as part of the firm's commitment to building on its debt advisory practice in London by adding corporate finance, private equity and debt-related finance capabilities. Matthew Hudson, who will serve as managing partner of the firm's London office, and John Daghlian will also help the firm enhance its global private equity abilities by advising on European-based funds. Firm Press Release, 1/19/04

Weil, Gotshal's international practice loses partners to King & Spalding in the UK, Salans in Central & Eastern Europe
A few days after opening a new Munich office to accommodate its flourishing German practice, Weil, Gotshal & Manges suffered a few major partner defections in its other European offices. King & Spalding hired Charles Alexander, a four-year partner in Weil, Gotshal's corporate practice in London, to strengthen its private equity and mergers & acquisitions capabilities. Also last week, Weil, Gotshal lost two partners and two associates to Salans. Evan Lazar was the co-chair of Weil Gotshal's European property finance group and will join Salans' Prague office with two associates from his former firm. The other acquisition, Eric Roseland, comes from Weil's Poland office, where he was the head of the office's property and finance group. He will work in Salans' London office. King & Spalding Press Release, 1/15/04, The Lawyer, 1/16/04

New York firm Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn adds 11 Attorneys, Albany office
New York firm Pryor Cashman Sherman & Flynn has had a busy 2004 so far, adding 11 attorneys to its roster, including nine from Herrick Feinstein, one former partner at White & Case, and a former Nassau County Official and managing partner of Long Island firm Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. The move will add two practice areas, government relations and crisis management, as well as help to shore up its labor and employment, employee benefits, white collar defense, and investment funds practices. An Albany office is being added to accommodate the firm's new government relations practice, as well. The firm says that it is excited about the acquisitions and maintains that it will continue to operate as a full-service mid-sized New York firm and that its strategic growth plans will fit into that mold. Firm Press Release, 1/14/04

Vinson & Elkins' 38 associates layoffs a sign of lagging oil & gas work
Every year, Texas firm Vinson & Elkins conducts a year-end review of its associates that leaves, on average, 20-30 of them seeking new positions. Legal Week reported last week that the numbers were slightly higher this year, with 38 of its associates asked to look for new positions, largely due to the continuously slow work in the oil and gas sector. One of the firm's main clients in that practice area was Enron, and the firm is likely still feeling the effects of the scandal that destroyed that corporation. The majority of the associates that will be affected by layoffs are in the firm's main office in Houston. Legal Week, 1/15/04

Clifford Chance says partner departures come in response to ultimatum
Clifford Chance recently spoke out regarding the massive partner emigration that the US offices of the global mega-firm is currently feeling, essentially saying that the firm encouraged the partner defections. Legal Week reports that the firm's senior management in London spoke with several partners in New York and told them they were committed to the current lockstep compensation plan and to maintaining the firm culture, and if they did not like it, they should leave. Some concessions were offered to a few partners, but the firm was apparently unwilling to do whatever it took to accommodate the unhappy partners. Over the next few months, Clifford Chance was hit with the losses of some of its top attorneys in the US, including the heads of both its litigation and intellectual property practices in America. Legal Week, 1/15/04

Skadden to close New Jersey office in June
After more than ten years in New Jersey, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom will close up shop in June and relocate its eight-attorney New Jersey practice to the firm's massive Manhattan office. Robert Del Tufo, the former New Jersey attorney general who opened the Newark office in 1993, said that consolidating the New Jersey and Manhattan offices made sense financially and that, with the help of advancing technology, the firm's clients in the area would be better served by the move. New Jersey laws requiring law firms to hold offices in the state in order to practice there were struck down by the state's Supreme Court last year, making a physical presence in the state much less important. New York Lawyer, 1/14/04

Manatt's former international trade practice heads to Greenberg Traurig, telecom goes out on its own
Two former practices that were officially let go by Manatt, Phelps & Phillips' DC office at the beginning of 2004 for underperforming have moved on to new ventures. Greenberg Traurig recently picked up four attorneys from the defunct international trade practice as well as a counselor, while the telecommunications practice will re-establish itself as Rini Coran. Manatt acquired Rini Coran as a telecom boutique only two years ago, and the practice now finds itself in familiar territory. Manatt's DC office now has only 21 attorneys (down from 56 in 2001) and will focus on energy, finance, and health care. Washington Business Journal, 1/17/04

IP firm Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis adds fourth office in San Diego
Intellectual property boutique Burns, Doane, Swecker & Mathis has hired former Pennie & Edmonds biotechnology patent attorney Laurie Axford to open its fourth office in San Diego. The firm's presence in San Diego establishes the first biotechnology practice in an IP firm that does not exist as part of a general practice. The firm says they are committed to the new office, hoping to buck the recent trend of tried-and-failed biotech firms in the area. The firm has already received dozens of resumes to join the new office. Burns, Doane currently employs 85 attorneys, patent agents, and technical specialists in Virginia, California, and North Carolina. Firm Press Release, 1/14/04

1/12/04

Clifford Chance's IP, litigation & dispute resolution practices take hits
International powerhouse Clifford Chance has taken several blows recently, watching as many of its top partners migrate to other firms. In addition to losing the head of its intellectual property department and another IP partner to Kaye Scholer, the firm also saw two more intellectual property head for Hogan & Hartson last year. Last week, a group of eight IP attorneys decided to follow its former colleagues to Hogan & Hartson, including one counsel who will join as a partner.

Kenneth Gallo, the head of Clifford Chance's US litigation & dispute resolution practice, also headed for another firm last week in one of the biggest losses to date for the firm. Gallo's move to Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison was accompanied by the departure of two other Clifford Chance anti-trust litigators who left for Simpson Thacher & Bartlett and Weil, Gotshal & Manges recently. The Lawyer, 1/6/04, 1/7/04, 1/9/04

Weil, Gotshal announces the opening of a second German office
International firm Weil, Gotshal, & Manges announced the opening of its 17th global office, its second German office, in Munich earlier today. The firm cited a strong German practice, particularly in the fields of private equity, restructuring and litigation, that called for the firm to add the Munich office in order to satisfy client demand. The new office will initially house two partners and 13 associates and Germany Managing Partner Gerhard Schmidt will split his time between the Frankfurt office, established in 2000, and the new Munich office. Weil, Gotshal's excellent reputation in the country has been built upon involvement in deals like the largest German private investment in a public entity transaction and the largest German NPL transaction. PRNewsWire, 1/12/04

Gardner Carton & Douglas adds eight litigation attorneys from Piper Rudnick
Gardner Carton & Douglas enhanced its Chicago litigation practice with the hiring of eight financial market litigation attorneys last week. The recent acquisitions, all of whom came from Piper Rudnick, include five partners, one counsel, and two associates. The new attorneys focus their practice in national and international financial services litigation and arbitration. Gardner Carton & Douglas currently has offices in Chicago and Washington, DC and approximately 230 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 1/12/04

Coudert Brothers' Munich office loses six to Dechert
Three partners and four associates who worked in Coudert Brothers' Munich branch defected to Dechert last week. The attorneys made the not-quite-unanimous decision (one senior attorney voted against the move) in December and began practicing under the Dechert name last week. Dechert's new hires will be the founding members of a new Munich office for the firm, which launched a German practice in Frankfurt in August of 2002. The Munich branch will be Dechert's 17th global office. In order to recoup from this loss and other recent blows to its European practice, Coudert Brothers is in discussion with Italian firm Cannata Pierallini about a possible merger. Legal Week, 1/8/04

Dechert announces Real Estate Finance and Securitization hire, new Charlotte office
Just days before acquiring the personnel necessary to open its 17th office in Munich, Dechert found a partner worthy of opening its 16th office in Charlotte, NC. James Bryant III, formerly of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, will open the office as part of the firm's Real Estate and Finance group and use his strong professional relationships in the area's financial and banking circles to provide the firm with a strong presence in a region that Dechert tabbed as expanding in importance. The two offices opened in the second week of 2004, in combination with the two California offices opened in 2003, represent a rapid, sustained growth effort by the firm. Firm Press Release, 1/5/04

Littler Mendelson expands into Boston with seven lateral hires
The nation's largest labor and employment law firm, Littler Mendelson, just got a little larger, thanks to lateral partner hires from Bingham McCutchen (2), Hale and Dorr LLP, and Choate Hall & Stewart. Three associate attorneys will be joining the four partners in helping the firm realize its goal of a 29th office in Boston, MA. David Casey, former co-chair of Bingham McCutchen's national labor and employment practice, will serve as the Boston office's managing shareholder. Boston was the last major metropolitan area that Littler Mendelson had yet to establish itself in, and the move brings the firm even closer to providing its clients with a national practice. Currently, Littler Mendelson practices in 17 states with over 400 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 1/5/03

Two partner hires enhance Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg's Health Law Group
Two partners, both from Michael Best & Friedrich LLP , have recently been invited to join Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg's Health Law Group. Jack Rovner, who will serve as co-chair of the firm's practice, and Kathryn Roe joined the firm partly because of its commitment to expansion with its health care practice. Over the past year, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg has substantially increased its attorney ranks with hires from Freeborne & Peters and Altheimer & Gray for its bankruptcy and intellectual property practices, respectively. Building up the health care practice is currently one of the firm's priorities as part of its overall strategic expansion. The firm currently has 155 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 1/7/04

French employment firm joins Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
UK firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer has acquired Parisian firm Belier et Associates, a four-attorney employment boutique that will help further establish the firm's strong presence in its French office. The firm's current employment practice in Paris was already thriving, but had only one partner. The addition of Gilles Belier, the only partner from the acquired firm, will help ease the burden on the current partner as he takes on the role of joint head of the employment practice in France. The new additions are expected to join Freshfields in late January, bringing the total number of partners in the Paris office to 37 and the total number of attorneys over 260. Legal Week, 1/8/03

Kentucky firm finalizes fourth merger in as many years
Louisville, KY business and litigation firm Stites & Harbison, added seven lawyers and approximately 20 employees to its Washington, DC office when it completed a deal with Larson & Tyler in which the two firms would merge, effective January 1st. Larson & Tyler will serve to shore up Stites & Harbison's intellectual property practice as well as provide a stronger Washington, DC office once it joined with Stites & Harbison's existing two-attorney DC practice. Larson & Taylor sought to merge with a larger firm to provide more resources for its clients, particularly its international ones, and decided on Stites as the best fit after discussing merger possibilities with other firms. Stites & Harbison currently employs approximately 250 attorneys in seven offices throughout the Midwest, as well as in Atlanta and DC. American City Business Journals, 1/12/04

1/05/03

Chadbourne & Parke acquires last remnants of European Altheimer practice
New York-based Chadbourne & Parke has strengthened its international practice this week with the acquisition of the Kiev and Warsaw offices of former global giant Altheimer & Gray. The two offices will be staffed by a total of 44 attorneys, 35 in Poland and 9 in Ukraine. Altheimer & Gray dissolved last year and saw its international network of law offices broken up and disseminated amongst the legal community. The Kiev and Warsaw offices were the last major parts of Altheimer's European practice to be picked up. Another former Altheimer attorney will also be joining Chadbourne & Parke in the firm's London office. Chadbourne & Parke now has nine offices, four domestic and five international. Legal Week, 1/5/04

Reed Smith bulks up its DC office with addition of IP boutique
Reed Smith announced last week that it has acquired Alexandria, VA intellectual property boutique Shanks & Hebert, which wound down its operations and joined Reed Smith on January 2nd. The Shanks & Hebert team, all of which joined Reed Smith in the DC office, comprises two partners, one counsel, 5 associates, 2 paralegals, and 5 others who serve as support staff. The move is a major step forward for the growth goals of Reed Smith, which is seeking to develop a strong intellectual property practice in its Washington, DC office to handle the IP needs of its healthcare, life sciences and government regulatory clients as well as to become a prominent presence in the DC market. Firm Press Release, 12/29/03

Proposed merger between Foley & Lardner and Edwards & Angell falls through
Last minute client conflicts between Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner and Boston-based Edwards & Angell recently prevented the two firms from closing on a proposed merger, but Foley & Lardner has not lost hope that it can find a suitable partner with which it can expand its East Coast practice. The move would have added Edwards & Angell's seven offices to Foley & Lardner's 17, including offices in the two legal markets which Foley & Lardner is seeking to expand to - New York City and Boston. Foley & Lardner is starting over in its search for the firm that can provide it with a solid Northeast presence, still preferring to merge with an existing area firm rather than open an office with lateral hires. The firm hopes to make a move into the area in the next year and a half. Milwaukee Business Journal, 12/31/03

Hong Kong office of Bryan Cave may face downsizing
St. Louis-based international law firm Bryan Cave's 12-attorney Hong Kong practice could be facing a significant reduction in staff as soon as the end of the month. The firm is currently reviewing its Asian practice, which comprises a Shanghai office as well as the one in Hong Kong, and is likely to make a change to the practice that the office provides its clients. The firm's resident manager in London has confirmed that the Hong Kong office is likely to be downsized to offer a more specialized practice. It is unlikely that the firm will follow the lead of other American firms that have chosen to leave the economically troubled area. The Lawyer, 1/05/04

McGlinchey Stafford expands into Albany, NY
New Orleans commercial law firm McGlinchey Stafford has acquired the consumer financial services group of Albany firm McNamee Lochner Titus & Williams to serve as the founding members of its own Albany, NY office. The office's new attorneys, all four of which come from McNamee, will be joining a practice with seven other offices and more than 30 attorneys. McGlinchey Stafford also operates out of two other offices in Louisiana, two offices in Texas (Dallas & Houston), and offices in Jackson, MS, and Cleveland, OH. New York Capitol Region Business Review, 1/5/03

Pittsburgh firm expands into Philadelphia and New Jersey, and has plans for Ohio
Burns, White & Hickton, a Pittsburgh, PA firm with 50 attorneys, has announced that it will acquire a small East Coast practice that will give the firm a presence in both Philadelphia and New Jersey, according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Alder O'Halloran, the acquired firm, is made up of two attorneys, one practicing in Princeton, New Jersey, and the other in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania. The acquisition is a result of the growing business and litigation practices of Burns, White, as well as the need to serve clients from these areas. Burns, White also plans to open an office in Eastern Ohio within the next 18 months for the benefit of its clients in that area. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 12/31/03

Akerman Senterfitt hires former Housing Secretary and Senate-hopeful
Republican Mel Martinez is seeking to make the law as he runs for the Senate seat of retiring Florida Democrat Bob Graham in the November elections, but until then, he landed a job with Akerman Senterfitt, where he will focus on the practice of law. Martinez had served as secretary of the Housing and Urban Development Department in the Bush administration since 2001, but left last month to pursue the soon-to-be-vacant seat of the Florida Democrat for his party. The Cuban-born Martinez will handle "strategic planning" and corporate work for the Orlando office of Akerman in the meantime. Miami Herald, 12/22/03

Dallas firm adds seventh office in fast-growing Collin County
President Bush's recent approval of a federal courthouse in Plano, TX adds further emphasis to the US Census Bureau deeming Collin County the second-fastest growing small county in the country. Strasburger & Price's addition of a branch office in Frisco, TX seeks to take advantage of this flourishing community with 15-18 attorneys (and 8-10 partners) who will serve the legal needs of the area. Strasburger hopes that the new office will offer its clients in the burgeoning local economy a more local and convenient service and predicts that the office could double in size in the near future. Strasburger currently employs 200 attorneys and 300 support staffers. Dallas Business Journal, 12/29

12/29/03

Piper, Rudnick expands into the San Francisco market with merger
Piper Rudnick LLP, a top national firm, announced today that it has gained a foothold in the San Francisco market as part of its strategic growth plan by merging with stellar regional firm Steinhart & Falconer. Steinhart & Falconer's 32 attorneys (including 19 partners) in both New York and San Francisco will all be moving to Piper Rudnick, which the firm considered to be the best fit among the many large firms that have sought it out in recent years, citing a similarity in culture and being a positive fit with Piper's overall expansion plans. Piper Rudnick's recent growth efforts have also brought it into Boston through a merger with Hill & Barlow and expanded its Southern California offices through organic expansion. The firm currently has over 950 attorneys and the San Francisco office will be its 14th. Firm Press Release, 12/29/03

Ohio firm set to open an Akron office
Columbus, Ohio-based Vorys, Sater Seymour and Pease LLP announced today that, effective immediately, the firm will be opening a new office in Akron, OH. Dan Balmert, currently the managing partner of the firm's Cleveland office, will be taking on the same role in the new Akron office, where he will be joined by six new partner hires. All six of the new partners come from Brouse McDowell LPA , also based in Akron. The firm has plans to increase the size of the new office through local lateral hires as well as the relocation of some of its current attorneys. Vorys, Sater is celebrating its 95th anniversary next year, having used that time to grow from a small four-attorney firm in Columbus to one of the most highly-esteemed Ohio firms with almost 350 attorneys and five national offices in the Midwest and on the East Coast. Firm Press Release 12/29/03

Former Bush administration official joins Alston & Bird
Another high-profile former government official has joined Alston & Bird's health care practice, as Tom Scully, former head of the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, brings his experience and background to the firm's DC office. Scully was instrumental in the writing of the newest Medicare law for the current administration and will focus his work at Alston & Bird on health care regulatory, strategic, and public policy matters. This announcement comes just weeks after the hiring of Colin Roskye, the Senate Finance Committee's lead staffer on the Medicare bill that Scully helped write, earlier this month. The two join an already admired practice, which boasts former Senator and Republican Presidential Nominee Bob Dole among its ranks. Firm Press Release, 12/18/03

Jones Day officially announces its Pennie & Edmonds additions
With the news of Pennie & Edmonds' decision to dissolve in the last month and the announcement that Jones Day would take on many of their lawyers, rumors have been flying about how many they would take on and how many would be let go. Yet few details were certain until last week, when Jones Day issued a press release announcing that they would be taking on almost 100 attorneys from Pennie to work in the firm's New York, California, and Washington, DC posts, adding to the firm's already impressive 175-attorney intellectual property practice. The firm sees the acquisition of these attorneys as a step towards moving their IP practice beyond litigation that can offer licensing, and trademark and patent prosecution. Jones Day will also continue Pennie & Edmonds' program that enlists doctoral and post-doctoral candidates as law clerks and supports them in becoming attorneys. The announcement makes clear that some attorneys of the dissolving firm (which counted 172 attorneys among its staff, about 25 of which chose to go to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius) will be seeking work. Firm Press Release, 12/23/03

Head of SEC's New York office to return as a partner to Wachtell
The Securities and Exchange Commission's New York office is losing Wayne Carlin, who has decided to step down as director of the office in January and return to his roots at highly-regarded Wachtell, Lipton, Rose & Katz. Carlin first started as an associate at Wachtell, which consistently rates as one of the most profitable firms in the country every year, in 1984 and will rejoin as a partner. The SEC has yet to announce a replacement for his position. In his tenure at the SEC, his office was responsible for bringing charges against Martha Stewart for her alleged insider trading activities and against Credit Suisse First Boston for activity involving IPO offering allocations. Forbes, 12/19/03

Syracuse, NY firm acquires Albany civil litigation firm
Effective January 1, 2004, Hiscock & Barclay LLP, a 140-attorney firm based in Syracuse, New York will fully integrate the civil litigation practice of Kiernan & Casey with its own. Kiernan will bring nine attorneys and seven partners to Hiscock, as well as strong insurance defense and insurance subrogation practices. The move is part of Hiscock's plans to develop a larger, statewide presence in New York. The firm has grown from 60 attorneys in 1998 to a roster that will boast 150 attorneys at the beginning of the new year. Besides the Syracuse and Albany offices, the firm currently also operates in New York City, Buffalo, and Rochester. Firm Press Release, 12/17/03, New York Lawyer, 12/29/03

Cozen O'Connor expands New York office with five new attorneys
Philadelphia-based Cozen O'Connor has announced the lateral hiring of four partners and one counsel attorney to its New York City office. All five of the attorneys hail from New York-based Hill, Betts & Nash. Among the additions are two commercial litigation partners, two maritime and aviation litigation partners, and an environmental counsel. The move represents a major boost to its New York City office, increasing its number of attorneys to 35. Cozen O'Connor currently operates in 20 cities and has approximately 470 attorneys. New York Lawyer, 12/23/03

12/22/03

Pennie & Edmonds partners scatter to new firms
While most lawyers from the soon-to-be-defunct law firm of Pennie & Edmonds chose to opt in on a package deal to Jones Day (or, in the case of some Palo Alto and Washington, DC firms, Morgan Lewis & Bockius), several other high profile firms have announced their own hiring of partners from the firm. Among those firms announcing lateral partner hires from Pennie & Edmonds are Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobsen, which added two partners to specialize in intellectual property litigation, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart (one litigation partner), and Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky (Pennie & Edmonds' chair of the nanotechnology group). Announced earlier last week, two intellectual property partners will be headed to Fross Zelnick Lehrman & Zissu, a trademark boutique. New York Lawyer, 12/15/03 and 12/22/03

Manatt, Phelps acquires NY entertainment boutique
Los Angeles-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has added five partners, three counsels and four associates to its roster with the recent acquisition of New York City litigation boutique Parcher Hayes & Snyder, a heavy player in the realm of entertainment law. All twelve Parcher lawyers will make the move to Manatt's New York City satellite, giving the firm 65 attorneys in an office that didn't exist until February of this year. Manatt has built up its New York branch with the acquisition of 42-attorney health care firm Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein and the more recent lateral hiring of the advertising promotion group from Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood, the latter of which was a major selling point in getting the lawyers from Parcher Hayes & Snyder to join. Manatt's entertainment practice now totals between 40 and 50 attorneys working on both coasts. New York Lawyer, 12/18/03

Dallas firm announces layoffs amid rapid growth
Even firms in growth mode are not above layoffs. Godwin Gruber, one of the fastest-growing law firms in Texas over the last two years, announced last week that they have released 11 attorneys. Six asbestos litigation associates and five non-equity partners from various practice groups were laid off, with managing partner Michael Gruber citing the dismissed attorneys' practice areas as no longer profitable. This comes on the heels of Godwin Gruber's settlement for Halliburton Corp.'s hundreds of thousands of asbestos claims, which was the bulk of the firm's business for that practice. The firm still expects to be hiring attorneys to add to the 50-plus they have taken on over the last year. Texas Lawyer, 12/15/03

Baker & McKenzie strengthens Spanish IP practice with partner hire
José María Méndez will join Baker & McKenzie's entertainment practice, according to a firm press release last week, further boosting the firm's already high-profile presence in Spain. Méndez comes to Baker & McKenzie from a similar role at Squire Sanders, which he took on after working in house at Polygram and SogeCable, two leading Spanish media outfits. Members of the firm's Spanish management team expressed excitement over the new hire and the possibility for an increased entertainment presence in the area that Méndez brings. Baker & McKenzie's Spanish practice comprises two offices, 29 partners and more than 170 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 12/19/03

Clifford Chance Pünder to drop its last name, rebrand
Clifford Chance Pünder, the German arm of international giant Clifford Chance, has decided to rid itself of the name of the merged firm's founder, announcing last week that it has rebranded itself as "Clifford Chance." The move was made to bring the German offices of the firm in line with the international brand that Clifford Chance has become since the firm, then known as Pünder, Volhard, Weber & Axster, merged with Clifford Chance in 2000. The move has already been initiated. Clifford Chance's German stable contains over 400 legal professionals, tax consultants, and auditors in four different offices. Firm Press Release, 12/15/03

Wilson Sonsini grabs Heller Ehrman partner for Asia practice
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati announced the hiring of partner Lucas Chang for the firm's Asian practice last week. Chang, who is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and Taiwanese, will work out of the firm's Palo Alto office. With the growing Chinese market, the hire represents a coup for Wilson Sonsini, which is seeing a lot of interest in the area from clients. Chang comes from Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe, where he handled many of that firm's Pacific Rim clients and worked on corporate and securities work. A licensed patent attorney as well, Chang will continue to handle the same type of work for Wilson Sonsini. Firm Press Release, 12/16/03

12/15/03

Jones Day to take on most, but not all, of dissolving firm Pennie & Edmonds' staff
With Pennie & Edmonds finalizing the details of its December 31st dissolution, Jones Day has stepped in to make individual offers to many of the firm's partners and associates, as well as some of the staff. Jones Day is not, however taking everything that will be left behind once Pennie & Edmonds dissolves and certain partners in Washington, DC as well as the entire Palo Alto office head to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius. Pennie & Edmonds is already warning many of its current employees that they may find themselves without jobs for the holidays, saying the support staff is most likely to take the hit. Much like Morgan, Lewis did with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison as it sank, Jones Day avoided having to merge with Pennie & Edmonds and can therefore "cherry pick" what assets of the firm it would like to acquire. The Lawyer, 12/11/03

Milberg, Weiss split taking longer than expected
Milberg Weiss Bershad Hynes & Lerach's plans to split into one West Coast and one East Coast firm has hit a few snags which will most likely prevent the firm from meeting its end-of-the-year deadline. Among the major issues the two sides still need to work out are how to equitably divide the firm's assets, how retirement benefits will be affected and how to handle the possibility that such a division could lead to malpractice suits. Milberg Weiss is currently the country's largest plaintiffs' securities litigation firm with 200 attorneys. The firm announced in June that it would split in two because it grew too large to be effectively managed. Partners on both sides now expect to finalize the transition in March, 2004. New York Lawyer, 12/15/03

New Paris presence for Paul Hastings
After months of deliberation, Paul Hastings and French firm Moquet Borde have decided to merge. The new partnership will expand Paul Hastings' European practice, which currently comprises only one 16-attorney office in London. Moquet Borde also stands to gain from the merger, having finally found its long sought-after international partner in the 750-attorney, full-service firm. Paul Hastings is expected to take over the 60-lawyer law firm by early next year. Legal Week, 12/9/2003

Fried Frank, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Cravath stabilize bonuses
Last week, Fried Frank, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore all announced that they will keep associate bonuses stable at last year's amount. The announcements come one week after Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom set the New York associate bonus standard by announcing that they, too, will repeat last year's levels. Fried Frank, Sullivan & Cromwell and Cravath's associates will get between $17,500 and $25,000. Although this year's amount is still nowhere near the $40,000-$100,000 level of the late 1990s, the current bonuses come as a positive change from the declining trend of recent years. New York Lawyer, 12/11/2003

DC office of Paul Hastings grows
Paul Hastings has expanded its energy and project finance practice with the addition of three new partners in its Washington D.C. office. Partners Jeff Schroeder, Larry Skinner and Ellis Butler will be leaving the firm of Hunton & Williams to offer their expertise to Paul Hastings' project finance group. All three lawyers bring diverse experiences in energy related transactional matters. The new additions are expected to increase the global presence of Paul Hastings' 30 lawyer project finance group. In the past, the project finance group of Paul Hastings has handled over $15 billion of business and is particularly well known for their work in energy generation and transmission matters. Firm Press Release, 12/2/2003

Ogletree, Deakins continues with expansion plans
Following the acquisition of a Morristown, New Jersey firm that gave Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, PC its first Metro New York presence a couple of weeks ago, the firm has announced the opening of another new office in Miami. Ogletree, Deakins, the third largest labor and employment firm in the country, will be setting up their Miami location with the lawyers and legal staff from the firm of Whelan & DeMaio. The office will house four attorneys and fulfill a long-standing Ogletree, Deakins desire to have a presence in the area. Both the Morristown and Miami offices are set to open under the Ogletree, Deakins banner on January 1, 2004, and will be the firm's 17th and 18th offices, respectively. The South Florida Business Journal, 12/15/03

Past, future expansion means larger offices for Mayer, Brown in Silicon Valley
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's Silicon Valley office has nearly tripled in size since the doors opened in 2001, making space issues enough of a concern to move its Palo Alto headquarters to larger digs. The move was spurred on by the recent addition of four partners with practices in intellectual property, antitrust, and tax law. The office's eleven current attorneys, eight of which are partners, will now be stationed at Two Palo Alto Square, and will likely be joined by new additions over the coming months. Cabell Chinnis, the office's partner-in-charge, has stated that the firm intends on doubling the number of Mayer, Brown attorneys in Palo Alto to fill the new office. Firm Press Release, 12/15/03

12/08/03

Ashurst Morris Crisp re-branding itself with a one name title
In an effort to seem less provincial to potential international clients, Ashurst Morris Crisp is changing its name to simply Ashurst. The top-10 London firm made the move in part because of a desire to appeal to different European countries. The firm is commonly referred to as Ashurts, but that name was rejected in favor of Ashurst, which was deemed easies to pronounce for Europeans. Legal Week, 12/08/03

Pennie & Edmonds additions strengthen Morgan Lewis's growing West Coast practice
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, one of the ten largest firms in the United States, has already come to terms with seven patent litigation partners from the Palo Alto office of Pennie & Edmonds to join its practice, as well as one patent litigator from that firm's Washington, DC office. Effective January 1, 2004, all eight of these attorneys will transport their practices to Morgan Lewis, where they have already been voted in as partners. Additional transfers were announced later last week, with Morgan Lewis planning on brining between 15 and 20 associate attorneys and around 25 new staff members from Pennie & Edmonds on board in Palo Alto, as well as a team of associates to work with the new Washington, DC hire. Morgan & Lewis, which also announced the hiring of a new Technology Transactions partner in Palo Alto last week, has recently taken great strides to develop a strong West Coast practice with the acquisition of many of the attorneys from former firm Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison. Pennie & Edmonds is currently in plans to merge with Jones Day at the beginning of next year. This Firm Press Release, 12/03/03

Morgan Lewis to close its McLean office
On the heels of major additions to its West Coast practice, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has announced that it will be closing its Northern Virginia office recently. The McLean office was designed to serve the burgeoning tech economy in the area when it was first introduced, and was initially launched with the idea of housing more than 50 attorneys. Many firms that initially set up branch offices in the area are now choosing to withdraw from the area, and with only six attorneys left after peaking with 22 attorneys, Morgan Lewis is following suit. Several key departures from this office have also been key factors in this decision. New York Lawyer, 12/08/03

Clifford Chance's IP department takes another hit
With three intellectual property partners recently defecting to Kaye Scholer, including practice group head Leora Ben-Ami, Clifford Chance was probably hoping not to have to endure another such situation anytime soon. Hogan & Hartson, however, announced last Monday that Eric J. Lobenfeld and Ira J. Schaefer, both IP partners with Clifford Chance, have joined its IP practice. The two lawyers will be working in New York and both will focus on dispute resolution in patent, trademark and copyright protection. Firm Press Release, 12/01/03

Large labor & employment firm opens its first Metro New York office
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. , the third largest labor & employment firm in the United States, announced last month that it will be opening its first Metro New York office in Morristown, NJ with the addition of nine new attorneys. All nine of the attorneys are joining Ogletree Deakins as a result of a merger with Stanton, Hughes, Diana, Mariani & Margello, P.C. The firm cited a desire to gain a foothold in the New York City area and their identifying Stanton, Hughes as a firm with exceptional attorneys and a similar outlook for the future as the main reasons for the merger. The merger will go into effect on January 1, 2004 and will give the firm its 18th national office. Firm Press Release, 11/26/03

Baker & McKenzie wins award for pro bono work
Baker & McKenzie, America's largest firm with 3,210 attorneys and 66 offices in 36 countries, was the recipient of the 2003 Pro Bono Initiative Award from the Public Interest Law Initiative (PILI) during an awards ceremony last week. Baker's Partner to Serve program, in which Baker & McKenzie attorneys assist corporate legal department in developing in house pro bono programs and then works with them to help indigent community members, is being rewarded for the innovative approach to pro bono work. A full time position was recently established at Baker to oversee the firm's pro bono work in the United States. Firm Press Release, 12/04/03

12/01/03

Three Clifford Chance partners head to Kaye Scholer
Three new attorneys will be joining Kaye Scholer's patent litigation group, all defectors from Clifford Chance. Included in the three is Leora Ben-Ami, who headed the Intellectual Property group in the Americas for Clifford Chance, and Thomas F. Fleming and Patricia A. Carson. All three attorneys will be joining the firm as partners in the New York City office. The prominence and success of Kaye Scholer's patent litigation group was cited as one of the main reasons for the three attorneys' choice to move there. With the three new additions, the size of the patent litigation group will increase to around 50 attorneys and science professionals. Lawfuel.com, 11/29/03

White & Case gives up on finding a NYC merger partner
Hoping to shore up its corporate and securities practices in New York, White & Case was searching for just the right firm to add onto its main office. There was no such firm, apparently, as White & Case has decided that it will mainly seek to increase the 350-attorney NYC office through lateral hires. Many are saying that the firm's inability to find a merger partner was not for lack of trying and that the city's medium-sized firms may have been waiting for a firm with a higher level of profitability to merge with. Despite that contention, the firm will likely be announcing several hires in the corporate & securities area in the near future, as they are still intent on growing those practices. Legal Week, 11/27/03

Two Carolina firms set to merge
On January 1, 2004, Nexsen Pruet Jacobs & Pollard, a Columbia, SC firm, will merge its practice with North Carolina Triad firm Adams Kleemeier Hagan Hannah & Fouts. The merged firm will be called Nexsen Pruet Adams Kleemeier and retain the Greensboro office that Adams Kleemeier currently resides in. Nexsen Pruet currently has five offices in South Carolina and one in Charlotte, housing a total of 135 attorneys. The merged firm will have 172 attorneys and over 30 practice areas. Adams Kleemeier had been searching for a merger partner to enhance its three main practice areas (securities, IP, and health care) and had been linked to other regional firms in merger talks, but the firm's managing partners insists talks have been held only with Nexsen Pruet. The Business Journal (Triad Edition), 12/01/03

Memphis firms in the final stages of a merger negotiation
Two downtown Memphis, TN firms, Thomason, Hendrix, Harvey, Johnson & Mitchell and The Hardison Law Firm are finishing up merger discussions that will create a top 4 Memphis firm. Thomason, Hendrix, with 32 attorneys, will most likely see the 14-attorney Hardison firm move into its office space, although that is one of the issues still being considered. The two firms practice in different areas, with Thomason Hendrix having a diversified practice that includes civil and criminal litigation, trusts & estates, and real estate, and The Hardison Law Firm focusing on medical malpractice, insurance defense, professional negligence defense and ADR. The possible merger would be the latest in a long line of recent moves to shake up the small legal market of Memphis. Memphis Business Journal, Week of 11/17/03

Skadden Arps announces 2004 associate bonuses
Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom recently became the first of the major New York City firms to announce their associate bonuses for 2004. The bonuses remained the same as the 2003 bonuses, with $2,500 going to first year associates and up to $20,000 going to senior associates. Skadden has a history of being the first to announce its bonus structure, having done so in 2001, as well. The firm's salaries for associates are among the highest in the profession, so bonuses tend to be somewhat smaller. New York Lawyer, 12/01/03

CMS considering merging 1,300 lawyers into one partnership
The eight member firms of The CMS Group, including large British firm CMS Cameron Mckenna and seven other European firms, are currently looking into the possibility of merging all . Formed in 1999, the CMS Group comprises 450 partners among the eight member firms and would need to accommodate all members in a satisfactory way for the decision to be met with approval by all member firms. Among the possibilities being considered is a situation where all member firms would not join at once, but rather in phases. There is currently no profit sharing among the firms. Legal Week, 11/27/03

11/24/03

Arnold and Porter adds Commercial Litigation Group to Northern Virginia Office
The international firm of Arnold and Porter will be expanding their Northern Virginia office with the addition of a commercial litigation team. The team of three lawyers and one paralegal will be led by Douglas P. Lobel, who will be joining as a partner. The team is anticipated to bring specialized experience in telecommunications, securities, and financial services litigation to the Northern Virginia office, which has focused on transaction work and counseling. The litigation team will be joining Arnold and Porter's overall litigation practice of over 300 lawyers. Firm Press Release, 11/17/03

Greenberg Traurig opens Dallas office
With its eye on being able to serve all of the major American legal markets locally, Greenberg Traurig announced this month that they have officially opened their Dallas office. Twenty new attorneys will join the office from various firms, including Andrews & Kurth, Patton Boggs and Larson King. The new attorneys will focus on the practice areas that Greenberg Traurig is known for, namely corporate and securities, mergers and acquisitions, real estate, litigation, reorganization, restructuring and bankruptcy, tax, governmental affairs, structured finance, entertainment, employment, environmental and intellectual property. The Dallas office is the 21st for the firm, which boasts over 1050 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 11/13/03

Cleary Gottlieb opens an office in Cologne with two new partners
Two competition and antitrust lawyers will be joining international law firm Cleary Gottlieb as partners, the firm announced last week. The two partners will join a relocating partner from the firm's Frankfurt office as well as another attorney from that office in forming the nucleus of a new office based in Cologne. Also sharing time in the Cologne office will be two more Frankfurt partners who will split their work between the two offices. The Cologne office is the firm's eighth in Europe and twelfth worldwide. Both of the firm's new acquisitions came from Linklaters Oppenhoff & Raedler. Firm Press Release, 11/20/03

New Philadelphia firm emerges from Dechert LLP's immigration practice
In a move designed to allow clients the service of a firm practicing exclusively in immigration law, Dechert LLP's immigration practice in Philadelphia has left the firm to form a new entity. The new firm will be called Klasko, Rulon, Stock, Seltzer LLP and H. Ronald Klasko, chair of Dechert's immigration law practice, will head the new firm. The firm will be based in Philadelphia, but will soon have a New York office, led by Suzanne Seltzer. The four name partners will continue working at Dechert until the end of the year. Philadelphia Business Journal, 11/24/03

British firm Norton Rose hires eleven attorneys away from French firm
The Parisian office of Norton Rose recently got a big boost in the form of five new partners and six other lawyers, all transferring from the French firm Sokolow Dunaud Mercadier & Carreras. The new attorneys will specialize in M&A, private equity and arbitration, adding to the corporate practice that is the Paris office's most lucrative and the main focus of expansion for the firm. Norton Rose currently has over 200 partners and more than 1000 attorneys, 90 of which now work out of Paris. Firm Press Release 11/19/03

Lovells sets up committee to explore the possibilities for a US merger
In a major move for Lovells, Britain's fifth largest firm, the firm has set up a committee to help decide what their options are in exploring a merger with a US firm. In three or four months, the committee is expected to deliver a verdict on whether the firm should seek a US merger partner or whether it might be best to pursue other means of growth in the United States. The firm currently has more than 50 attorneys working in New York and California and a merger with an American firm could greatly enhance its presence stateside. Currently, the firm's priority is to set up an office in Spain. This is London, 11/18/03.

Pennie & Edmonds may be reconsidering Jones Day merger
The 172-attorney IP firm Pennie & Edmonds rejected Jones Day's offer to merge with them last year, but New York Lawyer recently reported that the firm may be reconsidering, or at least some of its attorneys. Sources told the paper that Jones Day again made an offer to the firm and that they may bring the entire firm in for a one-year period. Pennie & Edmonds, based out of New York with branch offices in Washington, DC, San Diego, and Palo Alto, may go, in part or in whole, to Jones Day soon. New York Lawyer, 11/10/03

11/17/03

Mayer Brown to make partner compensation uniform across the Atlantic
Since Chicago firm Mayer, Brown & Platt merged with UK-based Rowe & Maw in February of 2002, the two firms have acted separately in deciding the proper compensation structure for their partners. The firm is now seeking to adopt a plan that will unify the partners from both sides into the same structure, which will be the final step towards bringing the firms together. US-based attorneys from Mayer Brown currently operates under a merit-based system, while the firm's UK attorneys get rewarded through a lockstep program, and both sides will be heard from before making a final decision. Mayer Brown hopes to implement the move at the beginning of 2005, per the firm's plan upon merging to keep the status quo for the first three years of unification. Legal Week, 11/13/03

Sarbanes-Oxley Act Compliance forces EY Law's Stuttgart office to break up
Twelve partners and eight associates will be leaving the Stuttgart Office of EY Law in order for the firm to be able to comply with the US Sarbanes-Oxley Act and its German equivalent. The firm, locally known as Luther Menold, will lose twelve partners in the split, including the managing partner of the Stuttgart office and a name partner. The departing partners will form a new firm that will continue to work with Ernst & Young, but will have no business with EY Law. This news comes after KLegal International, a similar international network of law firms was abandoned by parent KPMG in part because of Sarbanes-Oxley complications. Legal Week, 11/17/03

San Francisco-based Gordon & Rees announces the opening of a Houston office
Gordon & Rees, a 215 attorney firm based in San Francisco, officially opened a new downtown Houston office recently. The office will be staffed by Donna Smith Cude, a labor and employment law attorney who will head the office, and two others. Gordon & Rees's expansion from a small insurance defense firm to a growing multi-office firm with a diversified practice has mostly come in the last few years, with the opening of many of the firm's offices and the addition of dozens of attorneys. Houston Business Journal, 11/17/03

Patterson Belknap forms an appellate practice group
New York City firm Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, long known for its litigation expertise, announced last week that several current attorneys from within will be placed into a new practice group that will handle the appellate needs of its clients. Although the firm's appellate practice is new, the attorneys who make up the new group have been appearing before appellate courts on behalf of Patterson Belknap clients for years. The firm has handled over 200 appeals. With the addition of the new practice group, Patterson Belknap's website promises its clients the benefits of an appellate group that will be "deeply grounded in the subject matter of the appeal." www.lawfuel.com, 11/15/05

Kirkland & Ellis adds a tax practice to their London branch
With the addition of a senior partner from Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Chicago giant Kirkland & Ellis will be adding a tax practice group to their UK office. The addition has been planned for awhile, but Kirkland & Ellis held out until they could find the right candidate to lead the new group. Ian Taplin will serve as head of the tax practice and become the London office's 14th partner. Kirkland & Ellis also added a finance practice to their London branch this year. Legal Week, 11/13/03

Baker & McKenzie adds a tax partner in Brussels
Another move from PricewaterhouseCrooper and another international effect of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act has placed a new tax partner at the Brussels home of Baker & McKenzie. Phillippe Lion commented on the move, saying that he feels that Sarbanes-Oxley will increasingly affect the tax law industry and augment the role of private firms with a strong presence in tax. Lion will be the 13th partner in Baker's Brussels office, and its 10th tax partner. The Lawyer, 11/13/03

11/10/03

Fried Frank overhauls its corporate practice
Fried Frank's 120-attorney corporate practice is in the midst of a makeover. The firm previously grouped all of its personnel resources under a general corporate heading, but has changed this due to recent growth. The attorneys will now be divided among seven different sub-practice groups, namely asset management, finance, capital markets, private equity, international corporate law, mergers and acquisitions and corporate governance. The former chair of the general corporate department will still hold a similar position as head of the overall corporate department, but will also serve as head of the private equity sub-group, working alongside six colleagues heading up the other practice areas. Legal Week, 11/6/03

Mannatt, Phelps adds a new practice areas with recent hires
With the addition of a group of attorneys from Hall Dickler Kent Goldstein & Wood LLP, the New York office of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips will be gaining a new advertising, marketing and media practice group. The new hires include name partner and former chair of the advertising, marketing and media practice at Hall, Dickler Linda Goldstein, widely considered one of the top attorneys in her field. Also making the move are four other partners, one of counsel attorney who was also a name partner, and four associates. Expansion of the New York office has been one of Manatt's stated goals since earlier this year and this move brings the firm closer to their goal. Manatt's New York office currently has 50 attorneys. The expansion also serves to supplement the firm's prominent entertainment practice on the West Coast as well as its bicoastal government regulatory practice. Firm Press Release, 11/4/03

Kansas City firms Lathrop & Gage and Craft Fridkin to merge
Merger discussions dating between two Kansas City firms dating back to July have resulted in an agreement that will create a 250-attorney firm. Effective January 1 of next year, the attorneys at Craft Fridkin will be supplementing Lathrop & Gage's real estate and litigation practices, among others. Ten lawyers will be joining Lathrop in the move, including name partner Jack Craft, who formerly worked for Lathrop Righter Gordon & Parker, an earlier incarnation of Lathrop & Gage. Nine lawyers will be joining the Lathrop's main office in Kansas City and one will join the firm's Jefferson City office. Kansas City Business Journal, 10/31/03

Jones Day decides to lose its British surname in the UK
For the nine months since American firm Jones Day took over established London firm Gouldens, the London office of Jones Day has appended the old firm's name to their title. Effective at the end of this month, though, Jones Day has announced that "Gouldens" will no longer be a part of "Jones Day Gouldens" - in name only, of course. The 150 attorneys that came over to Jones Day as part of the merger will remain with the firm, so this is largely a symbolic measure. The London practice will also enter into the same profit points system that the other offices currently enjoy, effective January 1. Legal Week, 11/10/03

Sullivan & Cromwell establishes a private equity group
New York-based Sullivan & Cromwell recently decided to shift three partners from its corporate and financial group to a new private equity practice. The new practice area will be composed of attorneys from three different offices, including the head of the firm's California practice as well as partners in London and New York. The firm currently handles this work as part of its larger mergers & acquisitions practice, but this move will enable the firm to compete with rival New York firms who have similar practice areas. The group was put together partly because Sullivan & Cromwell sees private equity as a thriving area of the law and would like to show its clients that the firm is committed and experienced in the practice. Legal Week, 11/6/03

Allen & Overy plans to convert to an LLP
British Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy plans to become the first of the major London firms to become a limited liability partnership in the United Kingdom. According to The Lawyer, a partnership vote is set that could allow the change to be enacted as early as the end of the fiscal year. The firm may also vote on whether the entire firm will convert to LLP status, as it is possible that some parts will not. Clifford Chance, another Magic Circle firm, is a registered LLP, but only in the United States. Several other British firms are also set to make the change. The Lawyer, 11/7/03

11/03/03

Akin Gump - Shaw Pittman Merger Talks End
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld and DC-based law firm Shaw Pittman have ended the merger talks that have taken place since September of this year. The merger would have been one of the largest law firm mergers in the United States, creating a 1,300 lawyer firm. The reasons for the breakdown of the talks were not disclosed and it is not believed that the firms are considering other prospective mergers. Legal Week, 10/31/2003

Heller Ehrman Opens New Office in Beijing
Heller Ehrman White & McAuliffe is continuing its expansion into the Asian market with the addition of a new Beijing office. This news comes as Heller Ehrman had recently expanded their Hong Kong office with 19 new lawyers in June of this year and announced the opening of their new Venture Law Group practice. This new office is expected to use the resources of the new Venture Law Group in China's growing venture capital market. The other Asian offices of Heller Ehrman, located in Hong Kong and Singapore, have primarily worked with companies in the IT and life sciences sector and worked on some major litigation cases. The new Beijing post of Heller Ehrman will be launched by partner Lucas Chang, who will be relocating from the Silicon Valley office. Legal Week 10/30/2003

New Faces at Frankfurt Office of White & Case
White & Case announced the addition of two new partners to their Frankfurt office. Stephen Hodgson will leave Baker & McKenzie's Frankfurt office and join as an acquisition and project finance partner. White & Case has also hired Axel Pajunk from the Munich office of SJ Berwin. Pajunk will be specializing in private equity. Both new partners will contribute to the growth of the business-related practice areas of the Frankfurt office. The Lawyer, 11/3/2003

New Corporate Finance Lawyer for Shanghai Office of Dorsey & Whitney
Dorsey & Whitney has hired away Corporate and M&A lawyer from the Shanghai office of Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. H. Richard Yao will join as a senior lawyer and will be expected to help cover the increases in client demands for M&A activities in China. This new hire comes one month after Dorsey & Whitney added two new lawyers in their Japan office. The firm has also promised to add more new lateral talents to their China office in order to fulfill the increasing demands of the Asian market. Firm Press Release, 10/20/2003

Mayer Brown Enhances European Real Estate Law Practice
Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw has added two new partners to their Paris office in an effort to bolster their European real estate law practice. Mayer Brown has hired away Clifford Chance Paris office founder and head of real estate, Henry Lazarski as well as Jean-Pierre Daniel from the Paris firm of DS Avocats. Both new lawyers are expected to enhance Mayer Brown's real estate practice beyond its current focus on real estate finance. There are now 21 lawyers in Mayer Brown's European real estate team. The Lawyer, 11/3/2003

Muller Mintz Key Partner Quits Before Merger with Akerman Senterfitt
Akerman Senterfitt lost a major labor and employment partner in its merger deal with Muller Mintz. Instead of merging with Akerman with the rest of his firm, Michael Casey has left both firms to join the NY-based firm of Epstein Becker & Green. While Akerman hoped to be getting as many stellar labor and employment lawyers as possible, it will now have to do without Casey. Casey is reported to have been a significant partner in his old firm with several major corporate clients. New York Lawyer, 10/30/2003

10/27/03

Baker & McKenzie Announces New Additions to their Paris Office
Baker & McKenzie has announced five new hires for its Paris office, all from the law firm of EY Law. The two new partners and three associates are being brought in to enhance the firm's competition/distribution team. The competition/distribution practice area in Paris was almost doubled with the new additions. The 11 lawyer competition and distribution team in Paris is part of a global team made up of approximately 175 lawyers. Firm Press Release, 10/2/2003

London Office of Paul Hastings Expands
Paul Hastings recently announced that they will be enhancing their London office by adding a new environmental practice and expanding their real estate capabilities. Linda Fletcher, the current head of Jones Day Gouldens' London real estate and environmental practice, will launch the new environmental practice. Three additional lawyers will join the real estate practice of Paul Hastings as associates in the London office. Having opened its London office in 1997, the addition of these practice areas as well as the increase in the office's attorney roster represent a significant growth to the firm's capabilities in Great Britain. Firm Press Release 10/22/2003

Hunton & Williams Atlanta Office Grows
The Atlanta office of Hunton & Williams continues its growth with a new lending service practice and the expansion of its corporate technology and labor teams. Three new attorneys that previously led the lending service practice of Smith Gambrell and Russell, including its former corporate head Bruce Moorhead, will head up the new practice area at Hunton & Williams. Additionally, Hunton & Williams has hired Timothy Dodson and John Neiditz to join its corporate technology group and labor teams respectively. Firm Press Release 10/8/2003

Corporate Practice Expansion for Hogan & Hartson
The Los Angeles office of Hogan & Hartson has announced the expansion of their corporate practice with the addition of two new lawyers. Ray La Soya joins Hogan & Hartson as a partner and has prior experience in high profile mergers and acquisitions, as well as in representing companies in large billion-dollar business deals. Ryan Bates joins as an associate from his previous position where he acted as general counsel to a post-production company. The Los Angeles office of Hogan & Hartson has over 50 lawyers. Firm Press Release 9/23/2003

Boutique Litigation firm joined Proskauer Rose
Earlier this summer, the Law Firm of Solomon Zauderer Ellenhorn Frischer & Sharp dissolved to become a part of Proskauer Rose. Known for its big case litigation involving complex commercial and corporate disputes, the Solomon law firm  was looking to increase their resources by joining a larger law firm. With over 300 litigation lawyers, Proskauer believes that the 20 litigators from Solomon will bring additional strength to its litigation practice as well as several new high profile clients. The staff of the Solomon law firm was also invited to join. Firm Press Release, 6/30/2003

Baker & McKenzie Continues to Expand New Health Law Practice in North America
Baker & McKenzie recently announced the addition of a fifth lawyer to their newly expanded North American health law practice. Michael H. Cook will be joining as a partner and will be the fifth of Baker & McKenzie's new health law lawyers to come from the firm of Jenkins & Gilchrist. In addition to Baker & McKenzie's European health care group of over 50 lawyers, the North American practice now consists of four lawyers in Dallas and Cook in Washington DC. The new North American group will focus on all aspects of health care, including regulatory issues and mergers and acquisitions. Firm Press Release, 10/8/2003

White & Case Adds New Real Estate Practice to London Office
White & Case expanded their global real estate practice this month by bringing in three lawyers to open a new practice in their London office. The two new partners and one associate will strengthen the firm's overall real estate practice as well as provide new services to their British clients. Partners Lorraine Ufland and David Cox bring considerable experience in commercial real estate, ranging from acquisitions to portfolio refinancing. The expansion of the real estate practice will contribute to the ability of the firm to provide real estate guidance across Central and Eastern Europe. Firm Press Release, 10/8/2003

10/20/03

Global head of Clifford Chance's anti-trust division heads to Weil Gotshal
Steve Newborn, a Washington, D.C. lawyer who headed up the anti-trust division of Clifford Chance's global practice, has left his firm to take on a similar role at Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP. Newborn will become co-head of Weil Gotshal's global competition group. Following Newborn in the deal are three Clifford Chance anti-trust partners. Clifford Chance is left with six partners and more than 40 total attorneys in their US antitrust division. The Lawyer 10/17/03

Vinson & Elkins recently opened their fifth international office in Dubai
With one of the most well-respected energy practices in the world, Vinson & Elkins decided that it only made sense to open an office where two-thirds of the world's oil and gas resources are located, especially with the recent spate of firms making the same move. Vinson & Elkins' Dubai office is currently staffed by three attorneys - two associates and one Of Counsel. The expansion has been planned for months, with the firm finally announcing the new office on the 9th of October. Several firms have recently opened offices in the Middle East, with Dubai among the most popular locations. Firm Press Release, 10/09/03

Chicago law firm Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg adds a bankruptcy practice
With the addition of seven attorneys from Freeborne & Peters, Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg has recently announced that it will be setting up a bankruptcy practice. Three partners are among the seven attorneys making the move from Freeborne, and they bring with them some impressive experience, including work on the reorganizations of such high-profile clients as United Airlines. Forbes.com, 10/07/03

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart adds two new practice areas to its Miami office
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart added three new attorneys to its Miami office last month and, as a result, two new practice areas in the branch office. Two partners, one who will specialize in maritime law and another who will head the office's bankruptcy department, joined the firm along with one associate, all from the small local firm of Ferrell, Schultz, Carter & Fertel, P.A. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart has ten domestic offices and over 730 attorneys. Firm Press Release, 9/25/03

10/13/03

Former Brobeck partners blame Clifford Chance for their firm's demise
Even when it's over, it's not really over. The departure of Tower Snow from Brobeck, Phleger, and Harrison, where he was the senior West Coast partner to Clifford Chance, was big news when it occurred, but more than a year later, it could become even bigger news. Former Brobeck partners filed a lawsuit against Snow and Clifford Chance for $140 million dollars, claiming that both parties acted duplicitously when Snow moved to his new firm. Among the claims is that Clifford Chance intentionally sought to destroy Brobeck with their advertising strategies and by hiring away their personnel. The Brobeck partners further argue that Snow transferred sensitive material to Clifford Chance. Clifford Chance issued a statement denying any wrongdoing on their part and vowed to fight the charges. Legal Week, 10/10

Shaw Pittman shuts down their corporate practice in London
The departure of two key partners from its London office and failure to gain the kind of clients they had hoped for has caused Shaw Pittman, to discontinue that office's corporate practice. Two corporate associates remained after the departure of the last corporate partners, but have since left the firm. The office is now left with 9 attorneys, most of which handle outsourcing matters. The Lawyer, 10/13

Coudert Brothers LLP loses a branch, gains a possible merger partner
Following the departure of all four partners from its Milan branch to British firm DLA, Coudert Brothers, is already actively seeking alternatives for a new Italian practice. In what sounds almost like a sure thing, Coudert Brothers is currently negotiating with 15-attorney Italian firm Cannata Pierallini, for a merger that could happen as early as the beginning of next year. Cannata specializes in aviation law, but handles corporate and litigation work, as well. Coudert may also bring on additional attorneys to diversify their Italian practice if this merger goes through. Plans for a merger in 2001 between the two firms never materialized when a German firm merged with Coudert, providing its now-departed Milan office, but both sides are more hopeful that things will be completed this time around. Legal Week 10/9

Skadden, Arps Closes its Reston, VA Office
With the technology market up in the late 90's, many firms headed to Northern Virginia to take advantage of the tech industry that flourished in the area. Many firms, including national powerhouse Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, decided to set up shop in Reston, Va, to best take advantage of the new economy. With the tech bust, however, so went the law firms, as Skadden Arps shut down its Reston office in September. The five attorneys who worked at the office were spared from the downsizing, however, as every attorney will be relocating to the firm's Washington, D.C. office. Washington Post, 10/9/03

Connecticut firm Wiggin & Dana merges with small New York firm
Wiggin & Dana, a 155-attorney law firm based out of New Haven, CT recently announced that Howe & Addington, a New York firm consisting of 6 attorneys, including 4 partners. Howe & Addington will serve as Wiggin's New York office, retaining the same office and staff, but practicing under the name of their merger partner. Wiggin's merger move is motivated by the exposure that comes with a New York branch, in addition to the benefits of being able to better represent clients in the area and increasing their efforts at expansion. Wiggin & Dana eventually plan to expand the New York office. Firm Press Release, 10/1/03

10/06/03

Foley & Lardner considers getting in on the merger craze
Seeking to bulk up its East Coast presence, Milwaukee-based Foley & Lardner is currently in merger negotiations with Edwards & Angell, firm which first opened its doors over a century ago in Providence, RI. Edwards & Angell now boasts 275 attorneys and eight full service offices as well as three satellite offices on the Eastern Seaboard. Should the merger go through, it would be the fourth in three years for Foley & Lardner and would create a 1,200 attorney firm that would be among the largest in the country. Legal Week 10/3/03

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius opens up shop in Chicago and Boston
Already one of the largest firms in the country, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius recently opened two more offices in Boston and Chicago, two of the few remaining major markets they had yet to take on. The offices are coming from Zevnik Horton, an insurance boutique which is shutting down operations. Twenty-seven lawyers come along with the new offices, most of which will be used on Morgan, Lewis's insurance recovery team. The offices started working for Morgan Lewis on October 1, 2003. Legal Week 10/2/03

California-based Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliot opens its first East Coast office
Nossaman Guthner Knox & Elliot announced last week that it is adding an Arlington, VA practice to its four California offices. The office will be headed by a partner relocating from the firm's Los Angeles office. Nossaman's newest office will focus on its infrastructure practice, which is the specialty of the relocating partner. Firm Press Release, 10/1/03

9/29/03

Akin Gump and Shaw Pittman ponder a merger
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, a Dallas-based full service firm that ranks among the largest firms in the United States with 950 attorneys, is currently discussing the possibility of a merger with the Washington, DC firm Shaw Pittman. Akin Gump currently has 15 offices, including four overseas, and would be taking on five additional domestic offices as well as 350 attorneys if the merger were to go through. The talks are still in the preliminary stages, however, and there is no word on when the two firms hope to reach a final decision. The Recorder 9/24/03

London firm SJ Berwin seeks a US partner for merger
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood currently appears to be the frontrunner of a pack of six firms being considered by British firm SJ Berwin, which is actively seeking an American merger partner. Only informal talks have taken place at this point, but both sides seem amenable to further discussions. Sources from Sidley Austin have said that they would be pleased to increase their London presence, while SJ Berwin is looking for an American firm to merge with as part of a long-term business straegy. Legal Week 9/25/03

Paul Hastings is seeking a merger with French partner
In a busy week for merger news, Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker is seeking a French merger partner. While 60-attorney Moquet Borde & Associates is currently considered the leader, Paul Hastings has insisted that they are in talks with several French firms and have yet to choose just one with which they will enter into negotiations. Paul Hasting's London office is currently its only European branch, which they hope to change by moving into several other high profile European locations. Legal Week 9/24/03

Dewey Ballantine LLP announces the opening of an Italian practice
Dewey Ballantine LLP has announced the opening of two new Italian offices, effective October 1. The offices will be located in Milan and Rome and will house roughly 20 attorneys when they open their doors. The addition of two offices brings Dewey Ballantine's total number of offices to 14, exactly half of which are international. In addition to the two new Italian offices, an Italian desk will be added to the firm's London branch. Firm Press Release 9/23/03

Duane Morris expands its Pittsburgh office
With plans to have 25 lawyers in its newly-opened Pittsburgh office by year's end, Duane Morris has taken a few steps toward that goal recently with the announcement of the hiring of five new attorneys. The five new attorneys includes three partners, two from Buchanan Ingersoll and one from Pepper Hamilton LLP, as well as two associates. The new lawyers will complement Duane Morris's complex litigation and bankruptcy practice areas. The Pittsburgh office now has nine attorneys. Firm Press Release 9/15/03

9/22/03

CMS Cameron McKenna closes DC office, lawyers head to Bracewell & Patterson
International British law firm CMS Cameron McKenna is close to announcing that it will close its Washington, DC office, which practiced under the name Cameron McKenna LLP. Earlier in the week, there were reports that Cameron McKenna had planned only to cut back the office, leaving a few attorneys in the office to handle work for the existing clientele, but they quickly realized that this was unfeasible. When the decision to reduce the number of attorneys in the office was made last week, six energy attorneys made their way to Bracewell & Patterson. Those that were unaffected by the first cuts have yet to announce their plans. Legal Week 9/19/03

Last partner to join Shaw Pittman through Klein & Martin merger leaves
The merger between Klein & Martin, a Los Angeles firm, and Washington, DC-based Shaw Pittman has ended after a two year partnership. All three partners that joined Shaw Pittman as part of the merger have now left the firm, after an agreement to end the merger was reached in August. The last partner to leave has joined Nossaman Buthner Knox & Elliot, following in the footsteps of two others, one of whom started her own firm with an associate that was also part of the merger. The other departing partner joined the Los Angeles office of Katten Muchin Zavis Rosenman along with three associates. This exodus leaves the Los Angeles office of Shaw Pittman with six attorneys. Los Angeles Daily Journal 9/22/03

Altheimer & Gray's international attorneys find new homes
Altheimer & Gray's dissolution is Salans' gain, as the international firm founded by French and American attorneys will take on five new offices. Salans will gain control of offices in Prague, Bratislava, Istanbul, Bucharest and Shanghai. Also taking on a new Eastern European office will be Chadbourne & Parke, which will set up a presence in Kiev with former Altheimer attorneys. Legal Week 9/18/03

Dykema Gossett establishes a presence in Southern California
Dykema Gossett, a large Detroit firm, has opened up a new office in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena thanks to the closing of another Detroit firm, Feeney Kellett Wienner & Bush. The office will initially house four attorneys and join the firm's litigation practice. Dykema also gained eight additional attorneys following Feeney Kellett's dissolution, including two of the name partners, all of which will work out of the firm's five Michigan offices. Los Angeles Daily Journal 9/22/03

Lathams attorney joins Linklaters' efforts to grow in New York
When Magic Circle firm Linklaters could not find a New York firm to merge with, they decided to grow their New York presence a different way. Following the hiring of four attorneys from Shearman & Sterling's and the subsequent formation of a New York litigation practice a few months ago, Linklaters has announced the hiring of a partner from Latham & Watkins and the opening of an insolvency practice that will help to further establish their presence in America's financial center. Legal Week 9/22/03



9/15/03

Seyfarth Shaw LLP announces merger with D'Ancona & Pflaum
Effective October 1, 2003, Seyfarth Shaw LLP and D'Ancona & Pflaum, both based out of Chicago, will merge their practices. D'Ancona's 60 attorneys will join the 210 attorneys already working in Seyfarth's Chicago office, raising the total number of Seyfarth attorneys across the country by more than 10%. Seyfarth Shaw, which is widely renowned for its labor and employment practice, sought out a merger with D'Ancona as a way to diversify by strengthening its commercial law practices, which D'Ancona specializes in. The firm will continue to practice under the name Seyfarth Shaw. Firm Press Release 9/12/03

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius opens a new venture that will seek to help corporate clients with federal compliance needs
Last week, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP opened a new venture to be called Morgan Lewis Resources (MLR). The new firm will serve as a division of Morgan Lewis & Bockius and focus on servicing corporate clients who need help complying with state and federal regulations that change with each new statute put in place. MLR will be run by attorneys who will advise and train corporate clients on how they can best deal with the changing laws that dictate how they are to run their businesses, as well as how best to avoid the pitfalls of litigation. Firm Press Release 9/10/03

9/8/03

McDermott merges with two offices of largest Italian firm
US-based McDermott Will & Emery has increased its European presence in the past week by absorbing 130 lawyers in two separate offices of Italy's largest firm, Carnelutti. McDermott will be adding Milan and Rome offices to its European practice, which already boasts almost 100 lawyers spread across three offices in London, Dusseldorf, and Munich. Carnelutti will not cease to exist as its own entity, however, as several of the firm's offices, including those in Padua and Paris and a portion of the Rome office, will not be following their colleagues over to McDermott. These lawyers, who number in the 50s, have chosen to continue to practice under the banner of their old firm, and will not face opposition in doing so. Legal Week, 9/5/03

Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker adds a fourth Asian office
With offices in Beijing, Tokyo, and Hong Kong, Paul Hastings Janofsky and Walker is further adding to their strong presence in Asia with a second mainland China office in Shanghai. The office will be headed by the former Partner-in-Charge of the Shanghai office of Jones Day and will initially house eight attorneys. The former CFO and COO of Morgan Stanley's real estate funds in Asia, as well as a relocating partner from Paul Hasting's San Francisco office, have also been designated as senior attorneys at the new office. The new office is the 13th for Paul Hastings. New York Law Journal 9/3/03

9/2/03

Orrick can not come to terms with Venture Law Group, who chooses to merge with Heller, Ehrman
For the second time in three months, what looked like a likely merger deal for Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has fallen through. Orrick's recent failed merger talks with Cooley Godward led way to serious discussions with Venture Law Group, a 60-attorney outfit stationed in California's Silicon Valley, but these talks have also ended without an agreement. It was believed that the relationship between Orrick and Venture Law Group, where Venture outsourced much of its clients' non-corporate work to Orrick, meant that the two would be an ideal match. Venture, however, ultimately thought otherwise and pursued merger talks with Morrison Foerster before ultimately deciding that Heller, Ehrman, White & McAuliffe would be the best match. The planned merger was announced on September 2, and is scheduled to be voted on September 9 by both firms. The addition of Venture Law Group will swell Orrick's ranks by almost 10%. Los Angeles Daily Journal 8/27/03 Legal Week 9/2/03

Morrison Foerster opens a new Shanghai office
Morrison Foerster has announced the opening of an office in Shanghai, China, its second in mainland China and fifth in Asia. The office will be headed by a partner from its Tokyo office and a lateral partner from the Shanghai office of Coudert Brothers. One associate is also set to join the Shanghai office upon its opening. The office will mainly work in inbound and outbound investment, mergers and acquisitions, private equity, securities offerings, construction and infrastructure, telecommunications and IP matters. MoFo has approximately 70 lawyers in the Asian region, spread out in Tokyo, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Beijing, and Singapore. Firm Press Release 8/28/03

8/25/03

Hogan & Hartson Attorneys in Brussels head for Sidley Austin Brown & Wood
Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, the New York law firm with approximately 1500 lawyers, has taken the first steps to fill its Brussels office by hiring away some attorneys from the Brussels office of Hogan & Hartson. Hogan & Hartson is losing the head of its Brussels trade practice, which has left the office with eight attorneys. Sidley has also hired another Belgian attorney who will come on as a partner. Additionally, an attorney from Sidley's Washington, D.C. office will be relocating to the Brussels office. The Lawyer, 8/22/03

Clifford Chance, LLP Fending off Allegations of Misconduct
When the now-infamous memo sent out by Clifford Chance associates announced that the firm encouraged their associates to pad their hours, bad things were bound to happen. One of their clients, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, recently filed suit against them, claiming that the firm had overbilled them when they sent an invoice for 19 million dollars. Mylan is also claiming malpractice on the part of Clifford Chance, and is suing another firm, Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Silberberg, which was hired to supervise Clifford Chance. The Lawyer, 8/18/03

Patton Boggs is Expanding to the Middle East
AmLaw 100 firm Patton Boggs LLP is opening up its first overseas office in Doha, which is located in the Middle Eastern country of Qatar. Patton Boggs, which currently houses over 400 attorneys in five American offices stretching from its main office in Washington, DC to Anchorage, AK, will start the office with one partner. Legal Week, 8/22/03

8/18/03

WolfBlock to Merge with Brach Eichler
Wolf Block Schorr and Solis-Cohen LLP, a Philadelphia firm with seven offices and approximately 250 attorneys, will be increasing in size by almost 20% when they merge with Brach Eichler Rosenberg Silver Bernstein Hammer & Gladstone. Brach Eichler, which operates out of one office in Roseland, NJ, will increase the WolfBlock presence in the Northern New Jersey and New York area to around 100 attorneys when the merger goes into effect on October 1st of this year. WolfBlock will be gaining a firm with respected health care and corporate practices, among others. For a short time, the Roseland office will be known as WolfBlock Brach Eichler while all the original WolfBlock offices will retain their original names. WolfBlock Firm Press Release 8/12/03

8/11/03

Next Stop: Dubai
Two law firms have designs on setting up shop in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Large international firm Norton & Rose will open their Dubai office next month with the help of a partner currently working out of their Hong Kong office. Vinson & Elkins, a US firm with over 750 attorneys and nine offices, including four international offices in Asia and Europe, also is making to plans to expand to the Middle Eastern city. Legal Week, 8/4/03

Holland & Knight Plans Seattle Expansion
Holland & Knight is planning a rather large expansion for their Seattle office. While Seattle's economy has suffered greatly due to the collapse of the dot.coms and the departure of Boeing, Holland & Knight is hoping that their expansion, which will increase their total roster of attorneys from 17 to 150 over the next three years, will not fall victim to the same fate that many Seattle firms recently experienced. The plan is for the office to have 75 attorneys by January 2005 and to double that number over the course of the next year. Puget Sound Business Journal, 8/1/03

8/04/03

Duane Morris in Pittsburgh
Duane Morris officially announced the opening of their Pittsburgh office on July 31st, 2003. The chair of the international practice of Buchanan Ingersoll as well as three litigation partners from Pepper Hamilton will head the new office, which intends to house at least 25 lawyers by year's end. The announcement of the addition of these four partners is just the beginning - the firm is currently in negotiations with several other Pittsburgh partners to also join the firm over the next few weeks. The Pittsburgh office will be the firm's third in Pennsylvania, joining the Harrisburg office and the main office in Philadelphia. The Legal Intelligencer, 8/1/03

Washington, DC Office of Manatt Phelps & Phillips Cuts Back
Manatt Phelps & Phillips has decided to remove two practice groups and approximately 15 attorneys from its Washington, DC office. The move will leave the office with about 30 attorneys. Attorneys affected will be in their international trade and telecommunications practices. Legal Times 8/1/03

7/28/03

Attorneys with Altheimer Find New Homes
International Chicago firm Altheimer & Gray's march to dissolution has been affecting firms all over the world, as they fight it out for the 300+ attorneys that filled Altheimer's ranks. After 22 attorneys left from the Chicago office, more firms have announced plans to absorb some of the dying firm's attorneys. Another Chicago firm, Seyfarth & Shaw, has taken on three more attorneys from Altheimer's San Francisco office and is believed to be the front runner for taking over the entire Altheimer SF office, adding to its current 50 attorney total.

The London office of Kilpatrick Stockton has bulked up recently, courtesy of 25 ex-Altheimers, including 14 partners. Kilpatrick Stockton, based out of Atlanta, voted unanimously to hire these partners.

Altheimer & Gray has found itself in debt for approximately $30 million and will most likely finalize their dissolution before the year is over. (The Lawyer, 7/28/03)

Cooley Godward and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe Think Twice About Merger
Recent talks that would have joined Cooley Godward with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe appear to have ended without a merger agreement. Orrick Herrington, considered to be in growth mode, currently has 653 lawyers scattered throughout 12 national offices, while Cooley Godward, which has been recently downsizing, has 475 lawyers in 5 cities. The three-month long negotiation talks seemed to have broken down because of the firms' differing visions of the future. Orrick Herrington is still in negotiations to merge with Venture Law Group. With about 60 attorneys, a merger with Venture Law Group would not have the same impact on Orrick as a merger with Cooley would, but would be big news for the Silicon Valley-based Law Group.. (Los Angeles Daily Journal, 7/25/03)

Linklaters Litigating in New York
Adding four partners from Shearman & Sterling LLP, Linklaters has expanded its New York office to include a litigation department. All four partners, including one who came from Shearman as a senior associate, will practice in litigation. The firm now boasts litigation practices on three different continents and in 14 different cities. (Firm Press Release, 7/24/03)

7/21/03

More Arter & Hadden Fallout
While Arter & Hadden's dissolution meant another firm sprung up in Cleveland (Tucker Ellis & West), attorneys in A&H's satellite offices were not all kept on for the new firm, which has meant several of these attorneys were on the market. Among those firms benefiting from this, Andrews & Kurth has added 15 of A&H's Dallas-based attorneys, and Lord Bissell & Brook and Reed Smith Crosby Heafey have split up some of the attorneys from the four former A&H Southern California offices. Lord Bissell added seven attorneys to their Los Angeles office, while Reed Smith has added three. Firm Press Releases 7/10/03 (Andrews & Kurth), 7/16/03 (Lord Bissell & Brook), 7/17/03 Reed Smith Crosby Heafey

Fulbright & Jaworski Expands
Fulbright & Jaworski has added five attorneys to its New York office, all coming from the New York office of O'Melveny and Myers. These attorneys will practice in Fulbright's asset finance and public finance practice groups. Firm Press Release 6/12/03

Leaving Altheimer
22 lawyers have recently left Altheimer & Gray, a Chicago-based firm with offices all over the world. Perkins Coie recently claimed 8 of the firm's partners, Neil Berger & Eisenberg has added 10 more attorneys to its ranks, and Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal has taken on four former Altheimer partners. All of the departing attorneys came from Altheimer's Chicago office. Legal Week 7/17/03

7/14/03

Mergers on the Decline Law firm mergers across the United States are showing signs of slowing, according to a Hildebrandt International Press Release. After 11 mergers in the second quarter of 2002, only seven mergers have been reported for the second quarter of 2003, with the merger involving McGuire Woods and Ross & Hardies considered to be the largest. For the 2003 year, generally smaller firms are merging, as well, as the average size of firms taken on has gone from 57 attorneys in 2002 to 35 this year. A total of 25 mergers have been completed in the 2003 calendar year. Hildebrandt International Press Release, 7/10/03

Arter & Hadden Out, Tucker Ellis & West In
Arter & Hadden, a full-service, Cleveland-based firm that once boasted 450 attorneys, will cease operations effectve July 15, 2003. Arter now serves as the latest casualty of the economic troubles that have affected the legal industry over the last few years. About 40% of the remaining Arter & Hadden lawyers will band together to form Tucker Ellis & West, which will begin operations on July 16, 2003. The Recorder, 7/9/03

Downsizing and Expansion
IP firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew is opening a sixth office in San Diego. The firm plans on having eight attorneys fill the office by the end of the year.
San Francisco Business Times, 6/7/03

Shaw Pittman is cutting out its emerging company and health care practices in its Los Angeles office, and eliminating 12 attorney positions in the process. The Los Angeles office will now focus on technology law. Legal Times, 6/7/03

Piper Rudnick is adding 25 attorneys to the 22 previous employees of its Reston office. This move will allow Piper to offer more services to their clients from this office. Legal Times, 7/7/03

Two partners from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld have joined with McGlinchey Stafford in opening a new Dallas office. The new partners will be joining the Consumer Financial Services group. Firm Press Release,7/1/03

Pillsbury Winthrop's newest office is expanding, adding six attorneys, including two partners from Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker.. The Houston office, opened in January, will now have 24 attorneys. The Recorder, 7/10/03

Piper Rudnick has taken on three former partners of Solomon Zauderer Ellenhorn Frisher & Sharp. The partners will join the litigation department. Firm Press Release, 7/1/03