Weil, Gotshal Top Grossing Out-of-State Firm in Texas

Thursday, May 3, 2007

New York-based Weil, Gotshal & Manges was the number one grossing out-of-state firm in Texas in 2006, according to Texas Lawyer’s ranking. With offices in Dallas, Austin, and Houston, the firm posted $62.9 million in net income last year. Weil, Gotshal was also the top firm in Texas profits per partner and revenue per lawyer. The NY firm has seen rising gross revenues in Texas ever since it opened in Dallas 19 years ago. Following Weil, Gotshal in the ranks were Jones Day of Cleveland, Atlanta-based King & Spalding, Chicago’s Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw and Washington, D.C.-based Howrey. Net income for these top five firms totaled $162.4 million, a 4.6 percent increase from 2005.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Tags:  Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP | Austin

Smaller Firms Enter China Market

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Until recently, most firms that have entered the China market have been large and either based out of D.C. or the West Coast. Things have changed however, as two smaller firms have established business in China. White & Williams has had a China business practice group since 2003, and has held an informal alliance with Chinsese firm Xue Law Firm since the summer of 2006. Last month, the two firms made an official strategic alliance which will hopefully create more work and facilitate its existing work. Ohio firm Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff is also developing its China practice, having received its license in Feb. to open in Shanghai. The firm will send partner Yanping Wang to head the office and recruit other attorneys; the firm hopes to build the office up to 10 to 15 lawyers.
Source: www.law.com

Tags:  Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP | Shanghai

Thompson Coburn Merges and Enters Chicago Market

Thursday, May 3, 2007

St. Louis firm Thompson Coburn is entering the Chicago market through its merger with FagelHaber. This merger is one of the biggest to be initiated by a St. Louis firm in several years; the combined firm will have over 330 lawyers. Thompson Coburn has been looking to break into Chicago for a while, though even without an office there the firm still has been making $4 to 5 million of work a year. The two firms seem compatible for a merger because they charge similar rates for work, and they both focus on large privately held companies and mid-sized public companies. Thompson Coburn’s practice focuses on litigation and corporate work, while FagelHaber mainly deals with corporate work, especially M&A, financial and real estate areas.
Source: www.stltoday.com

Tags:  Thompson Coburn LLP

FDA Partner Joins Reed Smith

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Reed Smith has added Frederick Branding to its Chicago Health Care Practice. Branding joins as a partner from the Chicago office of McGuire Woods. He is trained as a registered pharmacist and has practiced law for over 30 years. Branding’s work has focused on counseling and advising medical products companies on FDA regulatory issues, as well as providing civil and criminal defense counsel to companies and individuals facing government enforcement actions. Prior to working at McGuire Woods, Branding served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Illinois. Founded in 1877, 1,500-lawyer Reed Smith is one of the 15 largest law firms in the world.
Source: www.lawfuel.com

Tags:  Reed Smith LLP

Lateral Litigation Partner Joins Baker Botts

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Baker Botts Dallas has hired litigation partner and former Harris County prosecutor Victor Vital. Vital deals mostly with complex commercial matters and business disputes. His cases involve a wide range of claims including breach of contract, fraud, tortious interference, misappropriation of trade secrets, and defamation. Vital was previously a partner in the Dallas office of Haynes and Boone. Baker Botts has 750 attorneys practicing in offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Moscow, New York, Riyadh and Washington.
Source: www.sev.prnewswire.com

Tags:  Baker Botts L.L.P. | Austin

Faegre & Benson Media Lawyers Launch Denver Office for Levine, Sullivan

Thursday, May 3, 2007

Media attorneys Tom Kelley and Steve Zansberg are making a lateral move from Faegre & Benson to Levine, Sullivan, Koch & Schultz. Kelley and Zansberg, along with Chris Beall of Faegre & Benson and Ashley Kissinger of Levine, Sulliven will be opening a new Denver office for the national firm. Levine, Sullivan has offices in D.C., New York, and Philadelphia, and is considered one of the top media and First Amendment law firms in the U.S. The firm specializes in libel, privacy and other related First Amendment issues in defending news, entertainment and other media groups. Faegre & Benson most likely will not maintain a media practice without the three departing lawyers. The firm’s focus is now more on commercial litigation, corporate mergers and acquisitions and intellectual property.
Source: www.phoenix.bizjournals.com

Tags:  Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP | New York

Bingham McCutchen Acquires L.A. Firm Alschuler Grossman

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

This week Bingham McCutchen acquired 40-lawyer L.A. litigation firm Alschuler Grossman. Name partner and legal powerhouse, Marshall Grossman, had wanted to join up with a national firm for over a year, and discussions finally started in November. Alschuler’s former name partners Stanton Stein and Robert Kahan, on the other hand, did not want to go national, and so on Jan. 1 they left with 35 lawyers to form Dreier, Stein & Kahan. The merger is beneficial for both firms as Bingham was weak in litigation, and Alschuler found itself lacking a corporate componenet when Stein and Kahan departed. Bingham now has more resources for expansion in Southern California; with three acquistions in California over the past five years, the firm is growing significantly in the Sunshine State.
Source: www.law.com

Tags:  Los Angeles

Carter & Ansley and Smith Moore Join Forces

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Atlanta firm Carter & Ansley has joined with North Carolina firm Smith Moore. Thirteen lawyers from Carter & Ansley will join Smith Moore’s Atlanta office, putting its numbers up to 23 in that office. Carter & Ansley’s main practice is representing life, health and disability insurance companies in litigation. The firm represents between 50 and 75 life insurance companies in Georgia and sometimes other states. Smith Moore’s Atlanta branch focuses on health law and litigation. The merger will allow the firms’ lawyers to develop the insurance litigation practice in North Carolina. Smith Moore now has 128 attorneys firmwide, and offices in Atlanta, Greensboro, Raleigh, Wilmington, and Charlotte.
Source: www.law.com

WilmerHale NY Adds Corporate Partner from Proskauer Rose

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

Brian Margolis of Proskauer Rose will join WilmerHale’s New York office. The corporate partner specializes in equity offerings, including initial public offerings, for companies in the technology, media and life sciences industries. Margolis has been with Proskauer since 2003. WilmerHale now has about 150 of its 1,200 lawyers practicing in New York.
Source: www.law.com

Tags:  Proskauer Rose LLP | New York

Dreier Launches Matrimonial Practice with Lateral Hire

Wednesday, May 2, 2007

New York-based Dreier has started a matrimonial practice with the hire of Judith Poller, former partner with Bryan Cave. Poller’s practice deals with a variety of family law matters, including divorce, child custody and support arrangements. It is expected that Poller will work closely with Dreier’s trust and estates affiliate Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera. 100-lawyer Dreier focuses on litigation, bankruptcy, real estate, employment law and intellectual property.
Source: www.nylawyer.com

Tags:  New York