Florida firm Akerman Senterfitt has named its first-ever firm president. The firm nominated its chief operating shareholder and M&A partner, Robert Zinn, to be in charge of the firm’s day-to-day operations. The 500-lawyer firm functions like a corporation rather than a partnership, hence the presence of shareholders and a president rather than partners and a mangaging partner. In 2006, Akerman recorded the second highest revenue among Florida firms.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Dewey Ballantine welcomes three lateral partners to its London office. Lee Parker will work to develop the firm’s English law practice, along with being a senior partner in the capital markets group. He comes from Global Legal Search, a partner placement agency. Carlo Kostka joins from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, where he was a partner in the U.S. securities law group. Kostka will be a capital markets partner with Dewey and will provide valuable Italian connections and Italian language skills to the firm. Litigation partner Alastair Crawford also leaves Freshfields for Dewey, where he will work to develop the firm’s global arbitration practice.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
London firm Lovells has hired Christopher Donoho for its New York office. Donoho, a restructuring partner, comes from Stroock & Stroock & Lavan. He represents bondholders’ and creditors’ committees, and his past clients include Gentek, Northwestern Steel & Wire, and Glenoit. Many New York firms are bulking up their insolvency practices in preparation for an economic downturn. Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, for example, hired a four-partner bankruptcy team from Weil Gotshal & Manges in March.
Source: www.legalweek.com
A six-partner intellectual property team has left Hunton & Williams’ Washington, D.C. office for Goodwin Procter. Thomas Scott, the former chair of Hunton & Williams’ IP practice, will chair Goodwin’s national IP practice. Joining Scott are Scott Robertson, Jennifer Albert, Patrick Doody, David Young and Stephen Schreiner. Especially after its 2004 merger with Shea & Gardner, Goodwin has significantly strengthened its D.C. presence. On a hunt for high profile laterals, the firm recently hired Mark Heller to start a FDA practice in D.C.
Source: www.law.com
Another firm shows that it is never too late to implement pay raises for its first-year associates. Pepper Hamilton announced that it has increased its starting salary from $125,000 to $145,000, effective in its Philadelphia; Berwyn, PA; Pittsburgh; Princeton; Washington, D.C.; and Wilmington offices. No decisions have been made regarding pay increases for higher-level associates or for other offices. Pepper Hamilton, along with Drinker Biddle & Reath, will raise salaries on Sep. 1; Dechert and Morgan Lewis & Bockius are already at $145,000, making four Philadlephia firms to reach that level. Some firms, such as Cozen O’Connor are still resisting. The firm has no plans to raise its starting salary above $125,000, and sees the pay increses as detrimental to the clients.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett has opened a new office in Beijing. The firm recruited Douglas Markel, a partner from UK firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, to head the new office. Markel is a megers & acquistions lawyer, and he has practiced in Beijing for 16 years; he also headed Freshfields’ China practice last year. Simpson Thacher starting recruiting for the office last year, hiring Shearman & Sterling partner Leiming Chan and Shaolin Luo, a counsel from Chinese firm Fangda Partners. Corporate partner Chris Lin will also relocate from Simpson’s Hong Kong outfit to Beijing.
Source: www.law.com
Since last year, Pepper Hamilton has been working on building up its New York office. The firm moved to a larger space, moved partner James Rosener from Berwyn, PA to NY, and has recently hired two new partners for the office. Kenneth King and Samuel Abate Jr. will focus their work on pharmaceutical and medical device litigation as well as commercial litigation. King joins from Patterson Bellknap Webb & Tyler, and Abate comes from the New York office of McCarter & English. King and Abate previously worked together at Brown & Wood and Beatie King & Abate in New York.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Five litigation attorneys from Frost Brown Todd’s Louisville office have left to start their own firm. Robert Gwin, Robert Steinmetz, Donald Miller II and W. Bruce Baird were members with the firm, and William Donnell was an of-counsel. Frost Brown Todd was created from a merger between Ohio’s Frost & Jacobs and Kentucky’s Brown, Todd & Heyburn. The firm has eight offices in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, and Tennessee.
Source: www.louisville.bizjournals.com
Howrey has recruited the managing partner and co-chair of the IP litigation group of Dewey Ballantine’s Silicon Valley office. Jeannine Yoo Sano will join Howrey’s East Palo Alto office, leaving her former office with eight attorneys, including only one partner. Dewey’s shrinking numbers are largely attributed to the failed merger with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, after which many attorneys got offers elsewhere. Sano was drawn to Howrey because of the firm’s focus on IP, antitrust, and global litigation. The addition of Sano is a part of Howrey’s plan to expand in the Bay Area; accordingly, an antitrust partner was recently hired in San Francisco.
Source: www.law.com
Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton has added two lateral partners to its New York office. Kenneth King joins from Patterson, Belknap, Webb & Tyler, and Samuel Abate joins from the NY office of McCarter & English. Both lawyers will be partners in Pepper Hamilton’s health effects litigation practice, which represents pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability cases. About eight of the firm’s 450 lawyers are stationed in New York.
Source: www.law.com
