Alexander Cohen retired from his position as chief of staff at the Securities and Exchange Commission in December.  His next step?  Cohen just joined Latham & Watkins as co-chair of the corporate finance practice.  He work out of the D.C. office. 

Source:  www.legaltimes.typepad.com

Blank Rome announced that it is taking on David Gitlin, the chairman of Wolf Block’s corporate securities group.   Wolf Block recently voted to dissolve the firm.  Gitlin focuses his practice on mergers and acquisitions, venture capital and private equity and international transactions.  He will be bringing two associates along with him.  

Source:  www.philadelphia.bizjournals.com

Fox Rothschild announced that it has taken on a law firm in Stamford.  The firm, Pastore Osterberg, is composed of 9 lawyers.  It’s practice is based on the following: intellectual property, telecommunications, information technology, litigation, real estate law, and securities.

Source:  www.philly.com

Hammonds has lost four partners on one of the two days a year, equity partners are allowed to resign at the firm. Those days are March 31^st and September 30^th. Fixed share partners are able to leave at any time. David Beswick, a partner in the Birmingham office, left for Eversheds. Martin Letz and Amanda Allen left the Birmingham office as well. Jay Doraisamy, partner-in-charge of Hammonds London pensions practice, also resigned.

Source:  www.thelawyer.com

Littler Mendelson has launched a new office, located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  Jon Levine has joined the firm and newest office as shareholder.  Prior to joining Littler, Levine was a partner at Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, where he was a partner in the labor & employment practice group.  

Source:  www.businesswire.com

An overwhelming percentage of Norton Rose staff has voted to put a four day week plan into action.  96 percent voted to have four day weeks, starting at anytime within the next year.  All staff on the four day plan will keep 85 percent of base salary. The other option is to take a four to 12 week sabbatical, keeping 30 percent of base salary.

Source:  www.thelawyer.com

Would you like to know the number of attorneys and legal staff dumped in March? If not, stop reading. If you do, the number is (drum roll please): 3,500. This figure is definitely higher than February’s total of 2,000 some odd jobs, and January’s now seemingly small figure of 1,500. All of these numbers, are not exact totals. Several factors affect the tallies, such as law firm’s not announcing layoff numbers or they just aren’t calling them what they are: layoffs.

Source:  www.abajournal.com

Littler Mendelson has added a new member to its shareholder club. Benjamin Webster has joined the firm as the office managing shareholder of the Sacramento office. Webster spent the last 21 years at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, and the last 8 of those as managing partner of its Sacramento office. In addition to his duties as office manager, Webster also practice law in the area of general commercial litigation, paying particular focus to employment and labor law.

Source:  www.businesswire.com