Crowell & Moring added corporate partner, Bryan Brewer, to its D.C. office. Formerly working for Nixon Peabody, Brewer focuses on public securities, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and export controls. He brings with him between 25 and 30 clients, and said that he was interested in Crowell because he wanted to be a part of a local large corporate practice. Since 2001, when Crowell started a serious effort to increase its corporate group, the practice has grown by 40 lawyers. Sources say that the group could grow to 80 or more attorneys in the next six to eight years.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
IP Heavyweight Joins Cadwalader
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has hired Christopher Hughes from intellectual property speciality firm, Morgan & Finnegan. Hughes joins the New York office as the head of the IP group and as a member of the litigation department. He has over 30 years of experience in complex patent, trade secret and trademark litigation, as well as licensing and intellectual property counseling. Hughes’ practice covers the U.S. and abroad, and deals with a variety of industries including computers and software, consumer products and industrial equipment, e-commerce and financial service matters, and mechanical and medical devices. Founded in 1792, Cadwalader is a AmLaw Top 50 firm with offices in New York, London, Charlotte, Washington and Beijing.
Source: www.newswire.com
Clifford Chance Snags Litigation Trio from Sidley Austin
Magic cicle firm, Clifford Chance, has recruited three litigation partners from Sidley Austin to join its Washington, D.C. office. Juan Morillo, Stephen Nickelsburg and Steven Coltreau are white-collar and criminal defense attorneys who also have extensive experience in civil practice. In addition to the trio, Clifford Chance added another partner, Wendy Wysong. Wysong was previously a senior lawyer with the US government’s Bureau of Industry and Security.
Source: www.news.crippssears.com
Banking Partner Joins Mayer Brown, London
Michael Pabst has left Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw to join Jones Day’s London office as a partner. He joins the firm’s banking and finance group, headed by Ed Nalbantian. Pabst’s work focuses on acquisition, projects and emerging markets financing and restructurings in addition to structured derivatives finance in the context of tax-related asset and commodities deals.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Baker McKenzie Profits per Partner Reaches $1 Million
Baker & McKenzie announced on Wednesday that their profits per partner has reached the $1 million mark. This marks a 22% increase since last year, and a 20% increase in overall revenue. Baker & McKenzie, the world’s biggest law firm, is based out of Chicago and attributes these increases to a focus on expansion of global offices in order to attract multinational clients.
Source: www.nylj.com
New Foreign Investment Policy Increases Interest in US Attorneys
President Bush signed the Foreign Investment and National Security Act on July 26, causing a scramble in New York and other major US cities for investment attorneys familiar with the new code. The new law came into being due to ever-increasing security concerns and as a response to a 2006 controversy involving DP World’s acquisition of a British port operator which owns several US ports. Attorneys familiar with the new law say it confirms the government’s changing attitude towards foreign investments in security sensitive areas.
Source: www.law.com
Bingham Partner to Set Up Human Rights Boutique
Neil Micklethwaite, a litigation partner at Bingham McCutchen, has left his firm to open a human rights litigation boutique with his friend and former colleague Roger Gherson. This moves raises some questions about Bingham McCutchen; what was a human rights attorney doing at a financial law firm? It seems Micklethwaite was a financial attorney at Bingham McCutchen, but his heart just wasn’t in it. A source at Bingham McCutchen didn’t seem that upset to see Micklethwaite go, and said that he’s much better off elsewhere.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Hollywood Attorney Switches Firms
Michael Garfinkely, formerly of Rintala, Smoot, Jeanicke & Rees, has joined Venable’s Los Angeles office. Garfinkely, a litigator who specializes in entertainment and property law, represents entertainment companies such as William Morris Agency Inc. and International Creative Management Inc.. Previously, Garfinkely has worked for Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman with Douglas Emhoff, partner-in-charge of Venable’s Los Angeles office. In 2005, Garfinkely represent the author of the book upon which the film “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” was based in a suit against Walt Disney Co. concerning gross receipts.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Sutherland Gains Litigation Partner in Houston
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan has recruited top litigation partner, Rachel Giesber Clingman, for its Houston office. Formerly employed with Fulbright & Jaworski, Clingman will be the Co-Partner-in-Charge of the Houston office as well as the head of a national business litigation group. Clingman handles energy and environmental litigation, and was named as one of the five top Women in Energy by EnergyLaw360. Sutherland is dedicated in its efforts to expand its Texas energy practice; the Houston office has also added talent in other practices such as banking, real estate, and immigration. The firm has offices in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, New York, Tallahassee and Washington.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
IP Attorney Joins Winston & Strawn
Intellectual property attorney, Raymond Van Dyke, has left Nixon Peabody to join Winston & Strawn in its D.C. office. Van Dyke’s practice focuses on IP and technology counseling, procurement, licensing and litigation in federal courts and the U.S. International Trade Commission. His clients work in a variety of fields such as biotechnology, pharmaceutical, telecommunications, Internet and financial services. Winston & Strawn employs more than 850 lawyers in nine offices.
Source: www.bizjournals.com