Law firms Alston & Bird, Arnold & Porter, Nixon Peabody, Perkins Coie and Bingham McCutchen are among the best employers according to Fortune magazine’s 2007 list of the best 100 employers to work for. The same five were on last year’s list, but another from last year was missing this time – Morrison & Foerster, the only California-based firm to make the 2006 list, dropped off the chart. Making the list is cause for celebration for the selected firms because it is so important “from a recruiting and internal point of view” says Bingham’s chairman, Jay Zimmerman. To create the top 100 list, the Great Place to Work Institute collects nominations and invites companies to participate. It then narrows down the list and sends out surveys to randomly selected employees. Factors such as compensation, benefits, and diversity are also taken into consideration.
Source: www.law.com
Fox Rothschild’s New Boutique Acquisitions
On the first of the month, Fox Rothschild acquired six-attorney Young Moriwaki & Greenfader, which has offices in Manhattan and Tarrytown, Westchester County. The three name attorneys, Donald R. Young, Gary S. Moriwaki and Glenn J. Greenfader, joined the firm as partners along with three associates from their former firm. The new additions’ practice deals especially with estate planning and administration, corporate and nonprofit work. Fox Rothschild has another acquisition planned for April; the husband-and-wife duo of Miller Mitchell will join Fox Rothschild’s Princeton, N.J., office as partners. Miller and Mitchell focus their practice on counseling businesses on corporate matters, as well as litigation, technology, intellectual property and entertainment issues.
Source: www.law.com
No Merger for Dewey and Orrick
New York’s Dewey Ballantine and San Francisco’s Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe canceled a merger that would have resulted in a 1,500-lawyer firm. Morton A. Pierce, chairman of Dewey Ballantine, stated that the two firms were not able to overcome differences about a number of key issues, keeping them from completing the merger. Orrick chairman Ralph Baxter did not provide details and emphasized that the merger had never been a done deal. The recent departure of a number of partners from Dewey might have affected the merger discussions, though Pierce denies that as being the cause.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
NY Bankruptcy Lawyer Moves to Bingham McCutchen
Boston-based Bingham McCutchen recruited New York bankruptcy partner, Steven Wilamowsky, from Willkie Farr & Gallagher. Wilamowsky has focused on the representation of purchasers of assets of distressed companies, and has represented bidders and investors in the Chapter 11 bankruptcies of Polaroid, RCN Corp., and FAO Schwarz, among others. Out of Bingham’s 850 attorneys worldwide, 100 of them are located in the New York office.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Morgan Lewis Opens in Houston
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius opened a Houston office on Jan. 2 with the arrival of five new lawyers from litigation boutique Edwards, Burns & Krider. Brady Edwards, one of the five, commented that the team at Edwards Burns did a lot of products liability and toxic tort work, which was sometimes hard to do at a small firm, so they took the opportunity to move to 1,353-lawyer Morgan Lewis. Morgan Lewis first came to Texas in 2004, when it opened an office in Dallas. The firm was founded in Philadelphia, has 22 offices with the new Houston addition.
Tags: Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP | HoustonNew Additions to PA Firm
Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney recently gained three new additions to its Harrisburg, PA office. Led my David Sweet, the three-attorney government relations and public finance group come from the Harrisburg office of Pepper Hamilton and will serve in Buchanan’s state government relations practice. Sweet and Donna Kreiser joined the firm as shareholders and Eloise Frazier has joined as counsel.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Gardner Carton Lawyers Join Forces with Steptoe
In Chicago on Monday, nine attorneys from Chicago’s Gardner Carton & Douglas opened an office with D.C.’s Steptoe & Johnson. The group of lawyers was headed by Christopher Barber and Stephen O’Donnell, and specializes in litigation work for the financial services, insurance, and reinsurance industries. In total, the new office will likely be home to 15 to 20 lawyers and staff members. The former Gardner attorneys’ departure comes after Gardner Carton’s announcement this past November of its impending merger with Philadelphia’s Drinker Biddle & Reath.
Source: www.law.com
Philly Firms Discuss a Merger
High-power Philadelphia firms Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen and Cozen O’Connor have been discussing a merger for about six weeks. Combined, the firm would have over 370 attorneys in Pennsylvania, giving it the most lawyers in the state. 300-lawyer Wolf Block, ranked 147th on the 2005 AmLaw 200 and had gross revenues for 2005 of $145 million. Cozen O’Connor, with 500 attorneys, ranked 99th on the AmLaw 100 with gross revenues of $220.5 million. Cozen is interested in the real estate, tax and structured finance practices that Wolf Block would offer, and Wolf Block chairman, Mark Alderman, has shown interest in Cozen O’Connor’s insurance practice.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
NY Lawyers Make Partner
Daniel M. Bagatta, Richard H. Freeman and Jennifer A. McLaughlin were made partners of NY-firm Cullen and Dykman. Mr. Bagatta, a commercial lending attorney, is in the Manhattan office. Mr. Freeman, a trusts and estates attorney, practices in Brooklyn. Ms. McLaughlin, a commercial litigator, works on Long Island.
Source: www.nylawyer.com
Ogletree Deakins 2nd PA Acquisition
Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart is serious about its PA presence, acquiring six-attorney Polito & Smock in Pittsburgh just a day after announcing that it would acquire four-attorney Simon Moran in Philadelphia. Thomas A. Smock, Michael D. Glass, John C. Artz, and Jack Owen III will join the firm as shareholders and Jean M. Simmonds and John H. Riordan Jr. will join as an associate and of counsel, respectively. The Pittsburgh office will open Jan. 1, making for three office openings in one day as the firm has also announced the opening of Cleveland and Philadelphia offices on Jan. 1.
Source: www.law.com
