Chicago-based firm, Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, has de-equitizated 45 of its partners, or around 10 percent of its total. Sources report that most of the terminated partners were in the U.S., but the firm is remaining quiet on the details. The restructuring comes despite a strong financial year in 2006; according to the firm, the changes were made to “enhance the firm’s position among the world’s leading law firms.” Rival Chicago firm Sidley Austin’s decision to de-equitize 32 partners in 2000 is currently under scrutiny by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which claims the termination was a result of age-discrimination. Firms that downsize in this manner usually do so to increase profits per partner and attract and keep money-making partners.
Source: www.law.com

Baker & McKenzie named ten new partners in its Chicago office, bringing its total number of partners in the office to 109. Narendra Acharya and Tom Hurka are partners in the Employment and Compensation group; Michael DeFranco, Tomas Man, and Helen Mantel are Corporate and Securities attorneys; Erin Maus and Shima Roy are partners in the Litigation practice; Michael Donovan and Erika Schechter made partner in the firm’s Tax group; and Doug Sanders is a part of the Environmental team.
Source: www.lawfuel.com

Smith Moore has opened a new office in Charlotte, NC. As a leader in the Southeast, opening an office in North Carolina’s biggest city was of strategic importance to the firm. Attorneys from the firm’s Greensboro office will comprise the litigation practice, and two corporate lawyers from Morris Manning & Martin were laterally hired; there will be a total of eight lawyers for the office’s opening. Smith Moore has over 115 attorneys in four NC offices and one in Atlanta.
Source: www.carolinanewswire.com

Though there has been a booming market for corporate lawyers, a recent stock market fall provided a reality check for some. Memories of the lay-offs that occured after the demise of the dot-com have forced firms to consider their hiring practices more carefully. Firms are hiring with much more selectivity, and focusing on diversifying their corporate practices. For some this means adding new practices, for others it means adding firms or merging.
Source: www.law.com

After combining with mid-size Chicago firm Sachnoff & Weaver, Reed Smith has made Chicago the site of its 21st office. Sachnoff added 130 attorneys to the firm, pushing its numbers to 1,500 lawyers firmwide. Back in January, Reed Smith also combined with London-based Richards Butler, adding 300 and creating new practice groups in Shipping, Energy, and Trade & Commodities. Reed Smith is one of the largest 15 law firms in the world, and projects its annual revenues to be about $900 million.
Source: www.prnewswire.com

Jenner & Block has launched its new Climate and Clean Technology Law practice. Co-chaired by partners Robert L. Graham and Gabrielle Sigel, prominent environmental law attorneys, the practice will counsel clients on legal issues surrounding climate change and other energy-related matters. The firm already represents big-players in the energy and green technology industries, and is positioned to address the interests of large established companies, as well as start-ups.
Source: www.prnewswire.com

Stibbe has recruited finance partner Ivan Peeters from Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer to join its Brussels office. Peeters will be Stibbe’s first dedicated finance partner, with a practice focusing on securitization work. The firm’s Brussels office has made two other lateral hires within the past year, while Freshfields on the other hand, has lost several partners recently to other firms. In Germany, Haarmann has hired two new corporate partners, pushing its numbers up to 17 lawyers. Joern Hirschmann joins from Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, and former Allen & Overy (A&O) senior associate Holger Erwin has moved as well. Another independent German firm, Georg, recently acquired a five-lawyer public law team from Clifford Chance’s Frankfurt office.
Source: www.legalweek.com