McDermott, Will & Emery is abandoning lockstep salary increases for the merit-based system, which is becoming all the rage in Big Law. The new system will possess three skill levels, each with a different pay. All associates will be evaluated, even senior associates.
Source: www.nylj.com
Tags: McDermott Will & Emery LLP
Jackson Lewis is launching its 45th office in the US. The firm has snapped up DLA Piper partners to help launch the new Baltimore office. It is rumored that the four lateral partners are: Richard Hafets, Larry Seegull, Brook Amiont and Emmett McGee. They start at Jackson Lewis this Friday, January 15th.
Source: www.amlawdaily.com
Blank Rome has hired six attorneys in its Los Angeles office. Denis Codon joins from Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi as a partner. Name Partner Howard Knee from Knee, Ross & Silverman, also joins the firm as a partner, bringing with him attorneys: Michael Ludwig, Colleen Carolan, Jim Newman and Mary Pierce.
Source: www.jdjournal.com
Tags: Blank Rome LLP | Los Angeles
Entertainment attorney Joseph Voss has joined Clark Hill Grand Rapids, the firm announced this month. Voss joined as Senior Counsel and focuses his practice on transactions in the entertainment industry, including representation of debt and equity financing parties for film and television productions.
“We are thrilled to announce that Joe has joined our firm,” Clark Hill Grand Rapids Managing Member Ingrid Jensen said. “His unique talent and experience are valuable attributes for our current and future clients.”
Voss provides production legal services to independent producers working in Michigan and Illinois, as well general corporate representation to companies in the film, television and music industries.
“I’m looking forward to growing the entertainment practice group at Clark Hill,” Voss said. “Building upon the existing practice and expertise at the firm will allow us to offer clients access to service across a variety of disciplines.”
Voss regularly represents borrowers and lenders utilizing the State of Michigan Production Tax Incentive program, and provides guidance to parties that structure production financing transactions to maximize the effectiveness of tax incentives offered by various jurisdictions.
In addition to his work with entertainment industry clients, Voss provides general corporate representation to business operating in Illinois and Michigan. He handles merger and acquisition transactions, securities issues and general contracting matters, with a specialty in commercial lending transactions. Voss represents both borrowers and lenders in connection with the documentation and negotiation of secured lending deals throughout the Midwest.
Voss provides legal services in connection with artist-cause collaborations, and assists clients seeking to utilize media to further their non-profit missions. This involves advising clients on the tax-exemption process, handling the entertainment law aspects of artist-cause collaborations, and providing guidance on the numerous legal issues that can arise when entertainers and non-profits work together.
Voss earned his B.A. from Brooklyn College and his J.D. from DePaul University College of Law.
Tags: Clark Hill PLC | Grand RapidsRobert here. Here’s hoping that all our readers had a wonderful holiday season, now that we are back to work, at least until the upcoming Chinese New Year.
We are seeing continued improvement in interviews and hiring in Asia, mainly in HK / China. Of course the holidays put a stop to most interviews over the past few weeks, but interview activity should be higher this month and then after Chinese New Year than at any time in ‘09. 
This week, for example, my candidates overall are having about 5 interviews per day, either in-person, by phone or video conference. Some of these interviews have been with firms which were on solid hiring freeze all of ‘09 (firms that are just coming off hiring freeze are typically focusing mostly on cap markets hiring, due to the booming IPO market in HK / China). In fact we just made two HK placements at one wall street firm that was on hiring freeze from mid-‘08 through November ‘09.
In the span of three weeks, two San Franisco land use and real estate boutiques have closed. Cassidy Shimko Dawson & Kawakami is the latest firm to close. The firm only had 10 attorneys and seven have found a new home with Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold. Ellman Burke Hoffman & Johnson closed in December with many of its attorneys moving over to Buchalter Nemer.
Source: www.law.com
Greenberg Traurig has scooped up a M&A partner from Latham & Watkins. David Schwartzbaum will join the New York office. Greenberg has explicity stated that the firm is interested in growing its corporate practice.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Tags: Greenberg Traurig, LLP | New York
Latham & Watkins raised all salaries to what they would have been if they were never frozen. On top of that, it has been promised that associates will receive the portion of salary lost during the time of the freeze. It’s almost as if the associates loaned Latham money and the firm plans pay up soon (sans interest?). Salaries once again start at 160K for first years and increase according to class year.
Source: www.abovethelaw.com
Tags: Latham & Watkins LLPThe National Law Journal (NLJ) has released the site’s 2009 survey on the nations 250 top firms. According to the information NLJ gathered, the lay-off ration between women to men was comparable. The number of female lawyers at these firms decresased by 2 percent, same as men. The average number of women partners actually increased from 39.4 in 2008 to 41. Women only make up for 25 percent of NLJ 250 lawyers and only 18.47 percent of the partner pool.
Source: www.law.com
John Woodruff rejoins Gardere Wynne Sewell LLP. Woodruff was previously with the firm from 2004 to 2008, afterwhich he joined KPMG LLP. He will be stationed in the Houston office as a partner in the tax group. Gardere is an AmLaw 200 firm with offices in Austin, Dallas, Houston and Mexico City.
Source: www.openpr.com
Tags: Houston