As law firms nationwide expand, the issue of office space becomes a pressing one that requires serious attention. Some of the big deals of the past year included Winston & Strawn’s expansion to 430,000 square feet in Chicago; Ropes & Gray’s relocation to 400,000 square feet in Boston; and Jenner & Block’s relocation to 383,000 square feet in Chicago. Office space is generally the second biggest cost for law firms, behind payroll. Because of its importance, some firms are developing full time positions for individuals to manage leasing deals, rather than delegating the responsibility to firm leaders. Duane Morris, for example, has a five-person team of facilities managers who meets with leasing agents, architects, contractors and vendors. Other firms hire outside counsel to handle lease deals. Besides widespread expansion, increasing merger activity and lateral movement also require that firms have options about future space needs.
Source: www.law.com

Less than a month after Stoel Rives announced its plans to close its San Francisco office, environmental and natural resources litigator Sandi Nichols has left to join Allen Matkins Leck Gamble Mallory & Natsis. Allen Matkins has about 200 attorneys practicing in six California offices. Stoel Rives plans to relocate the 14 other lawyers from San Fran to other offices. The firm specializes in land use and real estate practices, and has nine offices on the West Coast.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Reed Smith Richards Butler has recruited former Freshfield Bruckhaus Deringer finance partner, Rex Rosales. Rosales will join Reed Smith’s asset finance and securitization team, which consists of 19 finance partners. Rosales’ work emphasizes capital markets – something new for the practice which generally deals more with asset finance. Moreover, his work financing aircrafts, ships, and trains will complement the practice group’s work in the shipping sector.
Source: www.thelawyer.com

Among some of the most profitable firms in the AmLaw 100, old-fashioned lockstep compensation systems remain in place. The partner pay scales have low spreads – often less than 4:1. Because these firms maintain such high profits per partner, partners have little reason to complain. However, even the most profitable firms have become more vulnerable to the lateral market over recent years. It has become more common for partners to make lateral moves to firms with high-spread compensation systems where they will be individually rewarded according to their value to the firm.
Source: www.law.com

According to a new survey reporting the experiences of over 1,000 partners who have made lateral moves over recent years, partners are happier at their new firms than they were 10 years ago. However, expectations about the firm’s ability to expand and support their practices are still not being met, causing many of the departures. The survey reported the firms that most met expectations and satisfied new partners. Among those in the top quartile were Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Cooley Godward Kronish; and Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold. The most important factor putting these firms at the top of the list was the level of emphasis they placed on integrating new partners. Partners were much happier with some sort of integration program rather than just being thrown in to fend for themselves.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

In San Francisco, Covington & Burling has hired Tammy Albarran as a special counsel and Jason Zoladz as an associate. Albarran comes from Morrison & Foerster and Zoladz comes from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. Sony Barrai has joined Schiff Hardin’s San Fran office as an intellectual property associate. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has added Liane Randolph as a counsel in the Sacramento office; she will practice political law.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer finance partner Franco Campomori will be joining Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe. The hiring has not been announced yet, but most likely Campomori will become a partner with the Milan banking and finance group. The addition puts Orrick’s numbers in Italy up to 39. Freshfields will also be losing dispute resolution partner Gunhild Schaefer from its Frankfurt office.
Source: www.legalweek.com