Bonovitz Steps Down as Duane Morris Chair
Sheldon Bonovitz, who oversaw Duane Morris the last 10 years as it tripled in size, is stepping down as chairman.
The 70-year-old Bonovitz will remain at the firm, focusing on client development, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. He will be replaced by his second-in-command, 56-year-old John Soroko, who has headed the firm’s litigation department since 2002, according to Pittsburgh Business Times and the Legal Intelligencer.
Soroko told the Legal Intelligencer he has no plans to make major changes in the way the firm will be run.
The ABA Journal described Bonovitz in a December 2006 article as has having “a slightly unruly mane suitable for a movie star or a rocket scientist, and he sometimes comes across like management guru Peter Drucker with some Elvis in him. A mover and a shaker, Bonovitz has managed to protect the 102-year-old firm’s Quaker-rooted culture in what is so far a successful sprint to the future.”
Duane Morris has grown under Bonovitz from 242 lawyers to more than 650, and annual profits have risen from $70 million to $375 million.
The Journal story says the firm has a culture of equality that means there is no up-or-out program for associates, and good lawyers who are not rainmakers are welcome to stay.
Peggy Dixon of Abelson Legal Search told the Intelligencer that it will be interesting to see whether the firm will retain its commitment to marketing. The firm’s marketing department, with more than 40 employees, is one of the biggest in the AmLaw 200.
