Pittsburgh’s Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham and Seattle’s Preston Gates & Ellis are set to merge, effective Jan. 1. The new 1,400 attorney firm will be named Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis. Kirkpatrick & Lockhart, the larger of the two, has about 1,000 lawyers in offices in Pittsburgh, Washington D.C. and London, and New York. Preston Gates & Ellis has offices throughout the Northwest, in Asia and in Washington, D.C.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
A month after the announcement of the opening of a Hong Kong office, Bingham McCutchen plans to also open an office in Tokyo with 22 lawyers. The firm’s focus in Tokyo will be on its global restructuring practice. xJapan is the second-largest legal market in Asia for American attorneys, according to The National Law Journal. There are nearly twice as many attorneys there as there were in 2000 — but still remains much less than China — at 470 U.S.-based attorneys. The U.S. firm with the largest Japanese office is Morrison & Foerster, which opened in Tokyo in 1987 and now has more than 80 attorneys.
Source: www.law.com
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Mawe named 26 new partners effective Jan. 1. Six of the new partners are in New York. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison has also recently promoted three attorneys to the partnership.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
The Atlanta office of the intellectual property boutique, Cantor Colburn, has recently gained five associates, making a total of nine attorneys at that location. The new associates come from different places (Texas, Washington) and have varied backgrounds (examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, editor of IDEA: The Intellectual Property Law Review). To accomodate the increased numbers, the firm will move to a larger office on the same street in March.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Denver firm Brownstein Hyatt & Farber and Las Vegas’ Schreck Brignone will merge on Jan. 1, 2007. The new firm will be called Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck. After the merger, Brownstein Hyatt will have over 170 associates in seven different locations. The 25-attorney Schreck Brignone is known for its gaming practice, while Brownstein Hyatt has political, real estate, corporate and litigation practices. Bruce James of Brownstein Hyatt will remain CEO and managing partner of the new firm, and Schreck Brignone managing partner Ellen Schulhofer will join the executive committee.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
With the acquisition of litigation boutique Engel McCarney & Kenney, D.C. firm Howrey opened a New York office. Partners Thomas Engel and James McCarney will be managing this location which will include six associates. Once known primarily as an intellectual property boutique, Howrey has grown into a general-practice firm with 600 lawyers. The firm also recently announced it was opening an office in Munich, Germany.
Source: www.law.com
William M. Flynn joins the energy and telecommunications industry team as partner at the Albany, N.Y. office of Harris Beach. Moreover, LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae adds Yves Huygh de Mahenge as a partner in the financial restructuring practice of their Paris office. Lastly, previously partners at Dewey Ballantine, Earle H. O’Donnell and Donna M. Attanasio join the energy, infrastructure and project finance practice as partners in White & Case’s Washington office.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
On Jan 1. Seattle firm Davis Wright Tremaine will merge with Washington, D.C-based Cole, Raywid & Braverman. Through this merger, Davis Wright will gain a boutique firm with 35 cable and telecommunications lawyers. Cole Raywid’s attorneys will be added into Davis Wright’s communications, media and technology law practice, increasing that group’s numbers to 120 nationwide. Davis Wright ranked 115 in The American Lawyer’s latest Am Law 200 survey, with firmwide revenues of $186 million and profits per partner of $360,000. Cole Raywid’s revenues and profits are comparable to Davis Wright’s.
Source: www.law.com
Eight attorneys recently made partner at NY’s Sullivan & Cromwell. Baker & McKenzie also adds four new lawyers to its New York office as partners. Similarly, in firms across the country such as Winston & Strawn (Chicago) and Miller & Chevalier (Washington), attorneys are making lateral moves and joining new firms as partners.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe strengthened its China practice through its acquisition of structured-finance lawyer Michelle Taylor. Taylor joins the 23-lawyer Hong Kong office as a partner after leaving Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker’s Hong Kong office where she was a partner in the corporate group. Within the past couple months, Orrick has lost some lateral some lateral partners, so this addition comes at a good time.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
