International firm Reed Smith is in merger talks with Richards Butler’s Hong Kong partners. The Hong Kong practice was not a part of the merger between the two firms last year; it was treated as financially separate from the London and European partnership of Richards Butler. Partners from both firms are favorable towards a merger, and an agreement is expected to be reached by the end of the summer.
Source: www.legalweek.com
Cooley Godward Kronish has opened an office in Boston, launched by ten Boston-based partners from national firms. Considering that Boston is one of the leading technology and life sciences centers in the world and Cooley’s strength in these areas, expansion to the new market was natural. The new office will boast market-leading expertise in emerging and public companies, life sciences, venture and private equity fund representation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property and commercial litigation. The firm expects associates to join the partners in Boston in the next few weeks. The opening in Boston continues Cooley’s expansion on the East Coast, as last fall the firm merged with New York firm Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman.
Source: www.marketwire.com
Bingham McCutchen’s San Francisco office has named Geoffrey Howard to be its new managing partner; firm Vice Chairman Donn Pickett had been serving de facto in the position until now. Howard aims to rebuild the office that has seen six partners and several associates leave since the beginning of the year, most recently losing antitrust practice leader Alfred Pfeiffer Jr. Few attorneys left after Bingham’s merger with McCutchen, but departures have increased this year. The majority of those who have left were litigators, a significant loss to a firm that was before a litigation powerhouse.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Five lateral attorneys have joined D.C.’s Venable from Saul Ewing. Herbert D. Frerichs and George F. Ritchie are joining Venable as partners. Frerichs is a business lawyer, and Ritchie is a litigator who specializes in product, pharmaceutical and medical device defense work. Bernard Rhee will be of counsel, and Guido J. Galvez and Aida M. Lebbos join as associates. Rhee and Galvez are known for their expertise in life sciences.
Source: www.bizjournals.com
Technology boutique Daniels, Daniels & Verdonik has closed its doors and will be absorbed into Ward & Smith’s Raleigh office. DD&V specialized in corporate and tax law, structuring venture financing deals and patent and copyright work. Though always a small firm, when its numbers got down to only four attorneys, the firm leaders decided to combine with Ward & Smith in order to provide their clients with additional resources.
Source: www.triangle.bizjournals.com
Jones Day recruited Weston Loegering for its litigation practice in Dallas. Loegering joins the firm from Hughes & Luce as a partner. He has done work in civil and criminal litigation, as well as white collar crime defense, securities litigation, and class actions. Jones Day employs more than 2,200 lawyers in 30 offices around the world.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Philadelphia’s Duane Morris has recently opened two new offices in Vietnam. The offices in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi will specialize in energy, mergers and acquisitions, and project finance. They are intended to supplement the firm’s office in Singapore, which has become an up-and-coming hub of pharmaceutical development and international finance. The Singapore office opened in January with eight attorneys focusing primarily on finance and energy. Duane Morris has been growing over the past decade, opening offices in nine cities between 1997 and 2005, and more than doubling its size. The firm now has about 650 lawyers.
Source: www.philly.com
Bingham McCutchen has recently acquired two film finance partners for its Los Angeles office. Rose PeBenito Shiner and Ronald K. Sittler joined the firm’s financial institutions practice from Buchalter Nemer. Shiner represents financial institutions involved in motion picture lending, as well as clients in co-production arrangements, tax credits, and incentives for domestic production. Sittler focuses on litigation and represents financial institutions in motion picture finance and independent film finance.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart acquired labor and employment firm Lewis, Fisher, Henderson & Claxton on July 1. Ogletree gained two offices from the deal, one in Memphis and the other in Jackson, MS, as well as 19 attorneys. Ten lawyers work in the Memphis office, seven in Jackson, and two will join the firm’s L.A. office.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman has gained a tax partner in its D.C. office. Former assistant attorney general for the tax division of the DoJ, Eileen O’Connor, will head Pillsbury’s new federal tax controversy and tax policy team. As head of the DoJ’s tax division, she oversaw the litigation of approximately 350 attorneys. At Pillsbury, O’Connor aims to round out the firm’s tax practice by building the new team.
Source: www.washington.bizjournals.com
