Epstein, Becker & Green has recruited seven real estate lawyers from the New York office of Roseland, N.J.’s Lowenstein Sandler. Adrian Zuckerman, the former head of Lowenstein Sandler’s New York real estate practice and a former deputy general counsel of real estate management company Helmsley Spear Inc., heads the group. He also will become co-head of Epstein Becker’s national real estate practice. Ralph Berman and Linda Bielik are also joining Epstein Becker as partners while Brian L. Ullman, Andrew R. Tulloch and Steven M. Ziolkowski will become counsels. One associate is also joining the firm. Epstein Becker has 380 attorneys in 11 offices throughout the country.
Source: www.law.com

January’s pay raises increased first year associate pay essentially across the board for large firms. Despite the pay increases, smaller intellectual property specialty firms are still managing to compete in the salary race. For example, New York’s 70-lawyer IP firm Frommer Lawrence & Haug has been paying its first-year associates $150,000 since July, when most large national general practice firms were still paying their first years $135,000. Chicago’s McDonnell Boehnen Hulbert & Berghoff also pays above the market rate for associates, raising its first year annual salary to $145,000 in early 2006, and raising it again this January to $150,000. The two largest IP firms, Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner and Fish & Richardson have actually not only matched New York rates, but they have also made those rates effective nationwide. IP firms have always been ahead of the curve in terms of compensation because of their strong and steady income and low overhead pay.
Source: www.law.com

In preparation for an economic downturn NY firms are looking to expand their restructuring practices. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Cravath Swaine & Moore and Dewey Ballantine are just a few of the firms that will most likely refigure their practices to keep up with an increase in that type of work. Some firms will be encouraging corporate lawyers to move into restructuring work, while others will be looking outside to recruit. Cadwalader has actually already hired a team of four bankruptcy lawyers from Weil Gotshal & Manges earlier this month.
Source: www.legalweek.com

Day Pitney, a law firm resulting from a January merger of Florham Park, NJ’s Pitney Hardin and Hartford, CT-based Day, Berry & Howard, joined its New York offices at 7 Times Square last week. The joint firm occupies 53,000 square feet of the building’s 19th through 21st floors. There are about 50 lawyers and 50 support staff in the new office. The firms’ goal in merging was to establish a presence in New York and broaden their services to reach other northeastern cities between Boston and Washington, D.C. They also aimed to expand their practice in the areas of intellectual property, commercial litigation and energy and corporate investigations.
Source: www.nylawyer.com