King & Spalding has opened an office in Charlotte, NC. Launching the new office are four partners and one associate from the Charlotte office of 200-lawyer Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman. Opening in Charlotte was a wise move considering the city’s position as the second largest financial center in the country, and among the top five cities for Fortune 500 corporate headquarters. Jefferson Brown will serve as managing partner of the new office, and the other partners are George C. Covington, Cory Hohnbaum and Mark V. Thigpen. William O. L. Hutchinson joins as counsel. Their practice areas include land use, zoning, real estate, financial institutions and services, securities, and litigation.
Source: www.law.com

Atlanta firm, Gambrell & Stolz, has combined with Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, and Gambrell & Stolz’s 36 attorneys will join Baker Donelson’s Atlanta office. Linda Klein, the managing partner of Gambrell & Stolz, will become the co-managing shareholder of her new firm’s Atlanta office. Baker Donelson opened its Atlanta office in 2001; the acquisition of Gambrell & Stolz will build its base there for clients from Tennessee, Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi who are doing business in Georgia. For Klein, the deal was a way to better meet the needs of the firm’s clients; the Gambrell & Stolz lawyers also already were familiar with some Baker & Donelson attorneys.
Source: www.law.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