Partners

Latham IP Litigator Jumps to Boutique, one of Four Partners Exiting the Firm

After 20 years of practice at Latham & Watkins, intellectual property litigator Kenneth Fitzgerald says he figured he was at a point in his career where he had two choices: Stay at Latham and eventually retire, or move on to his own law firm. Fitzgerald chose something akin to the…

Jan 8, 2010 5:47 PM CST

Another Law Firm Opts for Co-Leaders

Foley Hoag is the latest law firm to deem two leaders better than one. Corporate transactions partner William Kolb, 48, and environmental/energy partner Adam Kahn, 45, will be co-managing partners of the firm, replacing Robby Sanoff, according to the Am Law Daily and a press release. Sanoff has served since…

Jan 8, 2010 5:18 PM CST

Meet Judith Corley, President Obama’s New Personal Lawyer

Robert Bauer’s new role as White House counsel resulted in a new job, as well, for one of his longtime colleagues at Perkins Coie. Judith Corley, a political law partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office will now serve as President Barack Obama’s personal lawyer, reports the Blog of Legal…

Jan 7, 2010 9:39 PM CST

Surviving Law School Buddy Gets 39-Month Term in $9M Insider-Trading Scheme

Stanko Grmovsek began his stock-trading career while he was still in law school, prosecutors say, turning a $30,000 student loan into $300,000. Then, in what he called “the worst decision in my life” in a court statement, he and a former roommate at Osgoode Hall School of Law began operating…

Jan 7, 2010 6:01 PM CST

Growing Midsize Firm Pays Big Bucks, Targets ‘Core Industries’

As a number of BigLaw firms have struggled over the past year to deal with the global economic downturn, one of their midsize competitors has been enjoying record revenue and expanding in selected markets. Loeb & Loeb, a five-office national firm with some 300 lawyers on its attorney roster, anticipates…

Jan 7, 2010 6:00 AM CST

Loeb & Loeb Lures Morgan Lewis Partner, an Outsourcing Expert, in Latest Expansion Effort

In a move offering yet another example both of a BigLaw attorney shifting to a smaller firm and continuing growth by some lesser-known law firms despite the difficult economy, a partner of Morgan Lewis & Bockius is jumping ship to the New York City office of Loeb & Loeb. The…

Jan 6, 2010 9:15 PM CST

Ex-Attorney Mulls Plea in Alleged $1.2B Scheme as Trustee Sues Firm Partner for $4M

Formerly high-flying Florida attorney Scott Rothstein is negotiating a guilty plea, his lawyer says, concerning the federal criminal charges he faces over an alleged $1.2 billion Ponzi scheme he is accused of operating while making use of the credibility conferred by his role as the managing partner of a Fort…

Jan 6, 2010 12:50 AM CST

BigLaw Partners May Be Worth Top Pay, But What About Associates?

Amongst those at the top of the BigLaw ladder, partners at the 10 highest-grossing law firms in Washington, D.C., have been earning seven-figure annual incomes and some of the top players are billing over $1,000 an hour. Are they worth it? The answer may be yes, according to a lengthy…

Jan 5, 2010 11:55 PM CST

10 Lawyers Exit Jeffer Mangels to Form New Elkins Kalt Firm

After practicing together for as much as two decades at a Los Angeles firm, 10 lawyers—including six partners—have departed Jeffer Mangels Butler & Marmaro to form their own firm. Their new legal partnership, Elkins Kalt Weintraub Reuben Gartside, opened its doors Jan. 1, reports the National Law Journal in an…

Jan 5, 2010 7:52 PM CST

‘Modest’ Isn’t a Word Used to Describe New S&C Chairman

The new leader of Sullivan & Cromwell is an ordained orthodox rabbi who pioneered securitization in the 1980s and gained a reputation for providing advice that helped his clients make money. Joseph Shenker’s good advice extended to his own law firm, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. During…

Jan 5, 2010 2:29 PM CST

Federal Judge Sanctions ‘Obsessed’ Lawyer $110K Over Recusal Claims

A federal judge has imposed nearly $110,000 in sanctions on a Florida lawyer and has suspended him from practice in the Southern District of Florida for 42 months over his efforts to persuade the judge to step down from overseeing three employment cases. “Obsessed” with his desire to win the…

Jan 4, 2010 9:22 PM CST

Will Client Demand For Greater Value Lead to Meaningful Change Inside Law Firms?

As law firms strive to provide more “value” to clients, legal industry insiders warn that without a permanent overhaul of business practices, firms will face decreased profitability in 2010. Cynics say the mass amounts of law firm layoffs last year – 12,196 people were laid off at 138 large law…

Jan 4, 2010 6:28 PM CST

Meet Art Block, General Counsel of Comcast

When Art Block gave up a partnership at Wolf Block Schorr & Solis-Cohen in 1988 to become the No. 2 attorney in a three-person corporate legal department, his friends told him he was crazy. But today the 54-year-old University of Michigan law graduate is general counsel in charge of a…

Jan 4, 2010 5:44 PM CST

Cozen’s Lateral Hiring Spree Includes Baker Hostetler’s Antitrust Chief

Cozen O’Connor has hired three lawyers from Baker Hostetler, including its antitrust chief, capping a year of frequent lateral hires. Cozen O’Connor made more than 100 high-level lateral hires last year, according to a press release. The latest acquisition includes Melissa Maxman, who led the antitrust and trade regulation practice…

Jan 4, 2010 3:25 PM CST

Legal Recruiters Expect 2010 Will Be a Busy Year

The new year could bring more lateral movement among law firm partners, according to legal recruiters. Partners were reluctant to make a move in 2009, two legal recruiters told the Recorder. They expect that to change in 2010. Recruiter Stacy Miller Azcarate told the Recorder she expects a busy month,…

Jan 4, 2010 2:01 PM CST