Dewey Ballantine has hired two more corporate partners from the New York office of Reed Smith. Following two other former Reed Smith lawyers, John J. Altorelli and Jeffrey A. Potash, Patrick de Carbuccia and Alexander G. Fraser are joining Dewey as partners in the structured finance group. De Carbuccia and Fraser both focus on general corporate transactions, with a particular emphasis on private equity funds. Dewey is working on building up its structured finance practice in anticipation of the increased use of “asset-backed byouts” by private equity groups.
Source: www.law.com
Orrick Recruits Hong Kong Litigation Partner
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Robert Pé, the former head of Paul Hastings’ Hong Kong litigation practice, will join Orrick as a partner. Recognized as one of the region’s top litigators, Pé has diverse experience handling an array of contentious matters with a focus on high-end, complex commercial disputes. Orrick sees its pan-Asian litigation practice as becoming one of its fastest growing, considering the increased economic activity in and relating to China and other Asian countries. Hong Kong specifically, is considered to be one of the major centers for dispute resolution, especially in regards to commercial disputes involving Mainland China. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe has 980 lawyers worldwide, and focuses on litigation, complex and novel finance and innovative corporate transactions.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
LA Firm Opens in Cosa Mesa
Los Angeles-based firm Jeffer, Mangels, Butler & Marmaro is opening a new office in Costa Mesa, CA this month. This decision comes after the recent hiring of Gordon Schaller, the former managing partner of Greenberg Traurig’s Orange County office. Schaller, a tax estate planning attorney, will head the office, and some partners from the L.A. office who live in Orange County will also work there. The firm will be looking to hire more attorneys over the next six months. The Costa Mesa office is Jeffer’s third in CA, with the firm already having offices in Century City and San Francisco.
Source: www.law.com
DLA Piper Looks South of the Border
DLA Piper has entered new territory, finally crossing the border to Latin America. The firm has 62 offices in the U.S., U.K., Europe, Middle East, and Asia, but none in Central or South America. Taking steps to address this regional hole, DLA has launched a Latin America Initiative led by two Dallas lawyers. Partner Michael Santa Maria and counsel Todd Bowers already do cross-border deals; what the initiative will do is to establish a network of “best-friend” firms in Latin America with which DLA will work closely. Using that network, the firm will build its business in the region and eventually be able to select locations for offices. The best-friend firms include six in Mexico, four in Brazil, and three in Argentina.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Hunton & Williams Gains 93 Texas Laterals
After Jenkens & Gilchrist officially closed, 93 of its attorneys were laterally hired by Hunton & Williams. Eighty-seven will be in Dallas, five in Austin, and one in Houston. The firm will open a new Austin office to accomodate the new hires. With the new additions, Hunton & Williams will become one of the largest non-Texas based firms in Dallas; the Dallas office will grow from 70 lawyers to 157. The new hires’ practice areas include financial institutions, corporate, financial services, real estate, litigation, bankruptcy, tax, and estate planning. Hunton & Williams now has almost 1,000 attorneys in 19 offices worldwide.
Source: www.home.businesswire.com
Schiff Hardin Expands Energy Practice
Schiff Hardin has expanded its Energy/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission practice with the addition of eight lawyers and one legislative affairs specialist, formerly with Sullivan & Worcester. Two of the attorneys are launching a Schiff Hardin office in Boston, while the rest are joining the D.C. office. Schiff Hardin has almost 400 attorneys practicing law in offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Lake Forest, New York, San Francisco, and Washington.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Morgan Lewis & Bockius Starts Associate Mentoring Program
Morgan Lewis & Bockius’s London office has established an associate mentoring scheme as a part of its associate engagment program. Each associate is paired with an advisor, and also is involved in biweekly knowledge seminars, and weekly meetings with the managing partner to discuss their experiences, ideas and problems. Response to the programs has been very positive, and the firm has seen regeneration and increased retention over the past two years.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Weil Bankruptcy Lawyers Depart for Cadwalader
Partner Andrew Troop and associate Chris Mirick have left Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Boston office for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York. Three other bankruptcy lawyers in New York also left for Cadwalader. With Troop’s departure, Weil now has no bankruptcy partners in Boston. Troop and Mirick’s move to NY partly stems from the fact that they conduct much of their business there. Weil plans to add about 12 bankruptcy lawyers over the next year.
Source: www.phoenix.bizjournals.com
Goodwin Proctor Expands in LA
Goodwin Proctor has recruited biotechnology lawyer Stephen Ferruolo from Heller Ehrman to launch an office in San Diego. Ferruolo is also vice president and general counsel for Biocom, the region’s biotechnology industry organization. Partner Ryan Murr, several associates and a paralegal are also leaving Heller Ehrman’s life sciences practice for Goodwin Proctor. The firm’s new San Diego office is a part of its “California initiative”; Goodwin now has two offices in LA, one in San Francisco, and one in San Diego.
Source: www.signonsandiego.com
Jenkens to Pay $76M and Shut Down
Dallas firm Jenkens & Gilchrist has finally reached the end of its rope, as it announced that it would close its last office and cease practicing law by the end of the month. The firm has entered into a nonprosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over its past involvement in illegal tax shelters. Between 1998 and 2003 the firm’s tax shelter practice wrote hundreds of legal opinion letters supporting illegal tax shelters; in return, Jenkens will pay a $76 million civil penalty to the IRS and the firm has agreed to continued cooperation with the investigation. Though at one time the firm had about 600 lawyers in offices nationwide, it has since then lost about two-thirds of the lawyers and has closed a number of offices.
Source: www.law.com
