New York-based LeBoeuf Lamb Greene & MacRae has opened a Hong Kong office to serve as a hub for the firm’s Asian practices. Daniel Liew, formerly a parter with Simmons & Simmons, and Bill Marcoux, an insurance Partner out of London, will head the branch’s ten attorneys. Paul Chen from New York will join them later this year with several associates; LeBoeuf Lamb hopes to double the number of attorneys in Hong Kong by the end of the year.
Source: legalweek.com
Luce Forward Adds Orange County Branch
Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps LLP has announced that it will open an office in Irvine, California. The office will serve the firm’s growing Real Estate practice in the area, and will eventually house ten to fifteen attorneys. The firm’s sixth Californian office will be run by partners John C. Murphy, George C. Rudolph and Joseph S. Stuart.
Source: lawfuel.com
Foley & Larnder Gains IP Litigation Partner
Foley & Lardner LLP has announced that it will add IP Litigation partner John T. Gutkowski to its Boston office. Gutkoski joins Foley & Lardner after four years at Day Pitney. Gutkoski also has extensive patent law experience and spent some time with the District Attorney’s office of Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Source: lawfuel.com
Simpson Thacher Hikes First Year Salaries, Partner Billing Rates
Simpson Thacher has announced that it will raise its first-year associate salaries to $160,00, and is reputedly the first firm to do so. The firm has also announced that its top fees are $1000 an hour, and while other firms charge as much, this is the first time a firm has published rates this high. Partners Barry Ostrager, Richard Beattie and Kevin Arquit are said to be among those billing at this rate.
Source: nylwayer.com
Patent Group Leaves Greenberg Traurig for Dreier
Dreier’s New York office has recruited a five attorney patent group from Greenberg Traurig. The group, which consists of Albert Jacobs, Daniel Ladow, Gerard Diebner, Elizabeth Lapadula, and Michael Bauer, left Greenberg Traurig in large part because they were unsatisfied with the collegiality and morale at the firm. Ladow says that the move clears up some potential client conflict at Greenberg Traurig, although states that that was not the reason for the move.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
West Returns to Shearman & Sterling
Holland West is returning to Shearman & Sterling after 2 years of retirement. During the interim, he would as a consultant for the firm, and returns to the firm as a structured finance of counsel. This return to active duty coincides with an increase in demand for attorneys with his specializations, particularly because several high-profile hedge funds have gone under recently.
Source: www.financialnews-us.com
Lerach Retires Amid Controversy
William Lerach is set to retire this Friday. Currently the lead partner at Lerach, Coughlin, Stoia, Geller, Rudman & Robbins, Lerach says he’s ready to take some time off and travel. Unfortunately, that may not be possible, as Lerach is currently under investigation for his involvement with the Milberg Weiss scandal. There are rumors to the effect that Lerach has been forced to retire in order to properly handle the investigation, which he has publicly denied.
Source: law.com
Anderson Kill & Olick Acquire Four New Attorneys
Reynolds Richards lost four attorneys to Anderson Kill & Olick’s New York office. The attorneys, Herbert J. Hummers, dennis A Zagroba, Christopher C. Gerard and Patrick A Suarez have joined the firm’s trusts and estates practice.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Patton Boggs Acquires Transportation and Public Finance Attorney
Patton Boggs LLP has announced the hire of transportation and project finance specialist R. Jay Fortin, who will join the firm’s Manhattan office as a partner. Fortin has over two decades of experience in project finance, aircraft, and railcar leasing and financing, secured lending, structured trade and commodity finance, and cross-border investment. A representative for Patton Boggs says that the addition of Fortin is part of a larger growth plan for the firm’s New York branch.
Source: www.prnewswire.com
Fulbright Acquires London Partner
Fulbright & Jaworski has announced that it has hired Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer projects partner Andrew Hart for its London office. Hart is an energy and infrastructure attorney who has worked with such clients as the International Finance Corporation, ExxonMobil and Ashmore. The hire bumps Fulbright’s London projects team up to four partners and follows close on the heels of another recent partner addition, Chris Warren-Smith. The recent rush to add to Fulbright’s London office is in large part due to their acquisition of a new office, in the Reuters building in Fleet Street. The new building can house about 70 attorneys.
Source: legalweek.com
