Partners

Kirkland & Ellis to Open 2nd Office in Asia

Kirkland & Ellis plans to open a second China office—which will also be its second office in Asia—in November. The new Shanghai outpost will complement the Chicago-based law firm’s existing Hong Kong office, which opened in 2006, and will be headed by Xiaoyang “XY” Li. Now a Hong Kong private…

Sep 1, 2009 6:12 PM CDT

Venable Partner Resigns, Lost Monitor Job Due to Texts With Ex-Detroit Mayor

A white-collar criminal defense partner has resigned from Venable after stepping down in July from her role as an independent monitor of court-mandated Detroit police reforms. Sheryl Robinson Wood resigned from the law firm effective yesterday, a spokeswoman tells the Detroit Free Press. Wood, who is a former federal prosecutor,…

Sep 1, 2009 5:10 PM CDT

Doing What Felt Right Put Lawyer, 33, at Helm of Own Practice

A little over seven years ago, Tony Jorgensen was getting ready to take the Pennsylvania bar exam after earning his law degree from Temple University in Philadelphia. But on a sudden impulse he hustled home to his native Connecticut on the last possible day to apply to take the bar…

Aug 31, 2009 6:28 PM CDT

New Morris Manning MP Plans Aggressive Lateral Recruiting

Atlanta-based Morris, Manning & Martin has elected its first female managing partner. Louise Wells, a senior real estate partner who has been with the law firm for more than 30 years, will replace Robert Saudek at the end of December, according to a press release. He has been managing partner…

Aug 31, 2009 3:22 PM CDT

Investors Sue Proskauer & Partner Over Alleged Conspiracy With Stanford

Investors who lost money in R. Allen Stanford’s alleged $7 billion Ponzi scheme run under the guise of a banking operation based in Antigua have reportedly filed a class action against Proskauer Rose and partner Thomas Sjoblom. Filed yesterday in federal court in Dallas, it alleges that the firm participated…

Aug 28, 2009 9:36 PM CDT

Antitrust Chair, 4 Other Partners Leaving Cooley Following Climan’s ‘Long Goodbye’

Craig Waldman, who chairs the antitrust practice at Cooley Godward Kronish is leaving the firm, along with another antitrust partner, Michael Knight, to join Jones Day. Meanwhile, the firm has also lost three other partners since the much-publicized “long goodbye” earlier this summer of mergers and acquisitions star Richard Climan,…

Aug 28, 2009 8:44 PM CDT

Obama’s ‘Pay Czar’ Made $5.76M Last Year as a Law Firm Partner

The Obama administration’s “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg knows a thing or two about big paychecks. Feinberg earned $5.76 million last year as a partner at the Washington, D.C., law firm Feinberg Rozen, Reuters reports. His assets, including two homes each worth more than $1.5 million, are valued at between $11…

Aug 28, 2009 6:43 PM CDT

Arnold & Porter Raids All 2 Partners from Brussels Office of Shearman

Arnold & Porter has raided the Brussels office of Shearman & Sterling, convincing both of the two partners based there, as well as a counsel, to join its own larger office there. All three of the lawyers making the leap to a new law firm in the Belgian capital—office chief…

Aug 27, 2009 11:58 PM CDT

N.Y. Judge Restores Lawyer’s $106K Pension, Nixes $605K Repayment Order

Ordered to repay more than $600,000 in pension benefits which he allegedly was improperly paid over the past seven years, a New York lawyer has won at least a temporary reprieve from a state-court judge. Because the state comptroller’s office didn’t give attorney Albert D’Agostino proper notice and an opportunity…

Aug 27, 2009 9:44 PM CDT

Chadbourne to Open 2nd Calif. Office, Hires Yahoo Patent Counsel

Chadbourne & Parke plans to open a northern California office in either San Francisco or Silicon Valley. And the New York City-based international law firm has already begun hiring, according to the Am Law Daily. Relying on a report from its sibling publication, the Recorder, the law blog says that…

Aug 26, 2009 10:34 PM CDT

Milbank Tweed Lures Restructuring Chief From Elite UK Firm

Known for its United States bankruptcy work, Milbank Tweed Hadley & McCloy is now launching a restructuring practice in London with the hire of the chief of the practice group from an elite United Kingdom-based law firm. Nick Angel will be leaving Ashurst this week to become the 14th partner…

Aug 26, 2009 8:48 PM CDT

4 New York Lawyers Indicted in Alleged $1.4M Equity-Stripping Scam

Four New York lawyers are among eight individuals indicted in an alleged $1.4 million equity-stripping scheme involving four homeowners in the New York City suburbs. They are accused of having defrauded four Westchester County homeowners and two lenders by purchasing homes from owners facing foreclosure at lowball prices, then taking…

Aug 26, 2009 7:49 PM CDT

2 Adorno Partners Defect With Most of Mortgage Default Practice Group

Two partners at Adorno & Yoss have defected along with most of the mortgage default practice group there to form their own firm. The new boutique, Rubin Lublin Suarez Serrano, is based in Norcross, Ga., and represents lenders and title companies, according to a Daily Report article reprinted in New…

Aug 26, 2009 7:25 PM CDT

Masry Estate Disputes Help Drive ‘Erin Brockovich’ Firm Into Chapter 11

A slew of expensive estate litigation following the death of founding partner Ed Masry in 2005 has helped drive the law firm that made its former paralegal, Erin Brockovich, a household name into voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization. A dozen lawsuits concerning Masry & Vititoe arose after Masry’s death from…

Aug 26, 2009 6:54 PM CDT

Where Are They Now? Ex-ABA Leaders Grey and Stein Take on New Roles

Two former ABA leaders are taking on leadership roles in organizations promoting a better legal profession and improved laws. Former ABA President Robert J. Grey Jr. has been appointed interim executive director of the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity, formed in May to promote diversity in the legal profession, according…

Aug 26, 2009 6:33 PM CDT