Schiff Hardin has expanded its Energy/Federal Energy Regulatory Commission practice with the addition of eight lawyers and one legislative affairs specialist, formerly with Sullivan & Worcester. Two of the attorneys are launching a Schiff Hardin office in Boston, while the rest are joining the D.C. office. Schiff Hardin has almost 400 attorneys practicing law in offices located in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Lake Forest, New York, San Francisco, and Washington.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Morgan Lewis & Bockius’s London office has established an associate mentoring scheme as a part of its associate engagment program. Each associate is paired with an advisor, and also is involved in biweekly knowledge seminars, and weekly meetings with the managing partner to discuss their experiences, ideas and problems. Response to the programs has been very positive, and the firm has seen regeneration and increased retention over the past two years.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Partner Andrew Troop and associate Chris Mirick have left Weil, Gotshal & Manges’ Boston office for Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft in New York. Three other bankruptcy lawyers in New York also left for Cadwalader. With Troop’s departure, Weil now has no bankruptcy partners in Boston. Troop and Mirick’s move to NY partly stems from the fact that they conduct much of their business there. Weil plans to add about 12 bankruptcy lawyers over the next year.
Source: www.phoenix.bizjournals.com
Goodwin Proctor has recruited biotechnology lawyer Stephen Ferruolo from Heller Ehrman to launch an office in San Diego. Ferruolo is also vice president and general counsel for Biocom, the region’s biotechnology industry organization. Partner Ryan Murr, several associates and a paralegal are also leaving Heller Ehrman’s life sciences practice for Goodwin Proctor. The firm’s new San Diego office is a part of its “California initiative”; Goodwin now has two offices in LA, one in San Francisco, and one in San Diego.
Source: www.signonsandiego.com
Dallas firm Jenkens & Gilchrist has finally reached the end of its rope, as it announced that it would close its last office and cease practicing law by the end of the month. The firm has entered into a nonprosecution agreement with federal prosecutors over its past involvement in illegal tax shelters. Between 1998 and 2003 the firm’s tax shelter practice wrote hundreds of legal opinion letters supporting illegal tax shelters; in return, Jenkens will pay a $76 million civil penalty to the IRS and the firm has agreed to continued cooperation with the investigation. Though at one time the firm had about 600 lawyers in offices nationwide, it has since then lost about two-thirds of the lawyers and has closed a number of offices.
Source: www.law.com
Dewey Ballantine has lost four more partners in the past two weeks. The firm has seen almost 20 partners leave over the past few months, during which it announced, and then cancelled its plans to merge with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Former litigation partners David J. Grais and Kathryn C. Ellsworth have started Grais & Ellsworth. The two partners, who specialize in insurance and reinsurance litigation, aim to boost efficiency and productivity for clients; they currently have one associate from Dewey, but hope to recruit more from elsewhere. Tax specialist Robert H. Frastai, also departed last week to Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Dewey’s D.C. intellectual property litigation co-chair, Cono A. Carrano, has left for Howrey.
Source: www.law.com
Peter Mostow, the head of the renewable energy practice at Stoel Rives, has left for Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, along with John Pierce, another partner in the practice. Mostow will work in Wilson Sonsini’s San Francisco office, while Pierce will be based in Seattle. The partners’ departure was a sound choice considering that Wilson Sonsini has close ties to the venture capital community and a tendency to jump into up-and-coming practice areas; moreover, San Francisco is ideal for Mostow since California boasts a booming renewable energy field. Last month five other partners left Stoel Rives’ San Francisco office; the firm now has 14 lawyers there.
Source: www.law.com
Taylor Wessing has recruited real estate finance lawyer, Antonia Raccat, from Jones Day for its Paris office. Becoming the firm’s nineteenth partner in Paris, Raccat will head the French finance practice. The firm hopes the French practice group will follow the example of its UK equivalent.
Source: www.thelawyer.com
Loeb & Loeb has hired Thomas Guida for its Intellectual Property and Entertainment group. Coming from Baker & Hostetler, Guida joins the New York office as a partner. His practice focuses on the development, licensing, financing and protection of intellectual property assets, with a particular emphasis on digital and interactive media, branded entertainment, entertainment technology and complex licensing transactions. Guida is the fourth lateral partner hire in the past two months for Loeb & Loeb’s IP group; the firm has plans to add two more soon. Loeb & Loeb is a national firm with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Nashville.
Source: www.lawfuel.com
Shearman & Sterling has enacted a new policy which will allow partners to stay on after the traditional retirement age of 65. In order to take advantage of the new policy, partners will have to apply to the policy committee; so far only heavyweight German managing partner Georg Thoma has signed up. The plan is not for all partners to stay on; rather it is for those exceptional cases who have a strong drive to continue working. Moreover, the firm’s generous pension plan that kicks in at 60 will most likely be enough for most so that they don’t need to work past 65.
Source: www.legalweek.com
