Skallawwag

That's all, folks!

2005-02-09T07:59:00.000-08:00

We've gotten a job outside the legal world, so this is our last post to Skallawwag. We wish we could have gotten rich off this site, but instead, we're content with the knowledge that we made lame puns about people's last names for a good... what... three, four months?

As Chris Marlowe once said, parting is such sweet sorrow. Take care, everyone!

A keen grasp of the obvious

2005-02-04T09:18:00.000-08:00

Richard Cieri has rejoined Kirkland & Ellis after just under two years at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Cieri had moved from Cleveland to New York to join the latter firm, to which he attributes his success. "This is clearly the center of the restructuring world. Moving my practice to New York was the best decision I ever made." He's right, you know.

Source:
NY Practice Leader Switches Firms
By Anthony Lin
New York Law Journal
As seen in New York Lawyer

Into Chicago like a LeBoeuf Lamb

2005-02-03T06:40:00.000-08:00

LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae is expanding into the Second City. Uh, the city of Chicago, not the comedy institution that launched the careers of most people you see on Saturday Night Live (including much of the audience). Although, who knows: maybe Neal Wolf, who is moving from San Francisco to Chicago to help start the new office, has a secret desire for life upon the wicked stage.

Joining Wolf in the new LeBoeuf location are four attorneys from McGuireWoods, led by partner Michael King.

Source:
Top NY Firm to Open Chicago Office
By Anthony Lin
New York Law Journal
As seen in New York Lawyer

Kirkpatrick &al now fortified with Testa

2005-02-02T11:57:00.000-08:00

Hey, speaking of Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham (and we were, right here), The offbeatly titled firm has added six Testa Hurwitz lawyers to its Boston office: labor attorney Mark Pomfret and IP attorneys Christine Vito, Thomas Turano, Deborah Peckham, David Byer, and Michael Brodowski.

Source:
Kirkpatrick profits from Testa Hurwitz dissolution
By Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

Mayfair attorneys grace your doorstep

2005-02-02T11:51:00.000-08:00

Forsters is thrilled to snag Carole Cook and Eliza Mellor from Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham. Said senior partner Sophie Hamilton, "We are confident that they will flourish at Forsters." They may even, dare we say it, thrive there as well.

Source:
Forsters bolsters private client team with Kirkpatrick hire
By Husnara Begum
The Lawywer

DLA orders up a Palmberger

2005-02-02T11:45:00.000-08:00

Did you know that Cologne is "often referred to as Germany’s insurance capital?" Well, good for Herbert Palmberger that DLA Piper German head Ulrich Jungst did, because now the ex-CC attorney has a job with the newest megafirm on the block.

Source:
DLA gains German insurance capability with CC hire
By Joanne O’Connor
The Lawyer

Our very first Kaye Scholer item!

2005-02-02T11:39:00.000-08:00

All this hundreds of posts and yet the only time we've mentioned Kaye Scholer before was in our AmLaw 100 post, which hardly counts.

We wish our first Kaye Scholer post was a happy one, but sadly, the firm is losing an associate. Jonnie Strong (the lost member of the Fantastic Four, you know) has joined Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera as an of counsel.

Source:
NY Lawyers Making Partner, Switching Firms
New York Lawyer

Mandil in at Sony

2005-02-02T11:34:00.000-08:00

Covington & Burling partner Daniel M. Mandil has been named the new global general counsel at Sony BMG Music Entertainment. He has also been named executive veep and secretary. With all those jobs, he may find it hard to find time to squeeze in a jam session with John Mayer.

Source:
NY Partner Named Sony Music Counsel
By Anthony Lin
New York Law Journal
As seen in New York Lawyer

M-m-m-m-my Sfregola

2005-02-02T11:32:00.000-08:00

Michael F. Sfregola. That is his name, and how could you wear it out when it looks so cool. Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher is with us on this: they hired this real estate lawyer away from Allen Matkins Leck Gamble & Mallory.

Source:
Partners Switching Firms
New York Lawyer

Crazy... for a Fox

2005-02-02T11:24:00.000-08:00

IP attorney Pamela Deese has left Dorsey & Whitney for Arent Fox. We're dying for someone to leave Arent Fox so we can say the attorney Arent Fox anymore. Then we'd laugh for a while, but later feel shame.

Source:
Partners Switching Firms
New York Lawyer

Morgan Lewis COULD lose!

2005-02-02T11:16:00.000-08:00

Dammit, we said we weren't going to do that anymore. Anyway, A judge in Philly okayed a suit against Morgan Lewis by former clients who claims the firm's advice landed them in hot water for violating the US trade embargo on Cuba.

Morgan Lewis argued that because Purolite owner Donald Brodie pleaded guilty to the violations, he "cannot state a claim against [us] for allegedly giving them incorrect legal advice about trading with Cuba." Somehow that makes no sense whatsoever. Judge Albert Sheppard Jr. responded that their claim is "inappropriate and unfair under the facts."

Source:
Judge: Contract Claim Against Morgan Lewis Can Go Forward
By Melissa Nann Burke
The Legal Intelligencer
As seen in Law.com

Tokyo Hirose

2005-02-01T08:49:00.000-08:00

Hisao Hirose has gone ecto-house at Citibank to join Latham & Watkins' Tokyo office. He is famous for advising Cable & Wireless' hostile takeover of IDC Corporation, the first such takeover in Japan's history. He also enjoys aircraft finance. (Incidentally, we are well aware that his name is not pronounced high-rohz. Just so you think better of us.)

Source:
Latham Tokyo hires ex-Citibank local law chief
By Sarah Gill
Legal Week

Choate gets in on the Testa fire sale

2005-02-01T08:43:00.000-08:00

Choate, Hall & Stewart have added nine former Testa Hurwitz attorneys: David Rickerby (IP); John Pitfield and Andrew Taylor Jr. (private equity); Louis Marett (tax); and William Asher Jr., Barbara Johnson, John Meltaus, William Simmons Jr., and Stephen A. Hurwitz (corporate & securities).

Source:
Movers
By George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Burns Kraft: a fun woodworking hobby!

2005-02-01T08:38:00.000-08:00

Two of the three new attorneys to join Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg are Jenner & Block's Timothy W. Burns and Sidley's Jeffrey G. Kraft. The third lawyer is Stephen S. Berkeley, who worked for Shaheen, Novoselsky, Staat, Filipowski & Shaheen, one of the most bad-assed firm names we've ever come across.

Source:
Movers
By George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Start spreading the news

2005-02-01T08:36:00.000-08:00

Rick Antonoff has left Greenberg Traurig for Pillsbury Winthrop. He will work his insolvency and restructuring magic in the firm's New York office.

Source:
Movers
By George Szamuely
National Law Journal

When a Drinker Biddles a Reath...

2005-02-01T08:33:00.000-08:00

We know it's not nice to make fun of anyone's name, but we can't help ourselves whenever we get a chance to mention Drinker Biddle & Reath. We promise to stop. Anyway, they've hired Kathryn R. Doyle away from Morgan Lewis, proving it can lose! (Yeah, we can't help ourselves on Morgan Lewis bits, too.)

Source:
Movers
By George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Griffin lands at King & Spalding

2005-02-01T08:28:00.000-08:00

King & Spalding has added James M. Griffin to its antitrust team in Washington, D.C. He used to be a deputy assistant attorney general in the DOJ's Antitrust Division, but a title like that could give a guy a complex. Now he's a partner, which is much more awesome sounding.

Source:
Movers
By George Szamuely
National Law Journal

The legal aspects of spore-laden tubas

2005-01-31T08:08:00.000-08:00

Stanley Sprager has accepted a veep/general counsel job at Levine School of Music. He had practiced environmental law at Weil Gotshal & Manges, but apparently decided he wanted to work in a more musical environment.

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Week

P.L.A.S.L.S.O.T.E.A.N.R.D.O.T.D.O.J.

2005-01-31T08:04:00.000-08:00

Ethan Schenkman has joined Wlmer Cutler Pickering Hale AND Door from the Policy, Legislation, and Special Litigation Section of the Environmental and National Resources Division of the Department of Justice. Try saying that each time you answer the phone!

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Civil litigation that's like a fine wine

2005-01-31T08:01:00.000-08:00

Venable. Venable. Venable has added Paul Kemp to its Rockville, MD office to do that complex civil litigation thing. He also practices white collar litigation.

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Maher makes MoFo move! Boffo!

2005-01-31T07:59:00.000-08:00

William Maher Jr. has joined Morrison & Foerster from the FCC's Wireline Competition Bureau, which sounds like an agency governing a very difficult gymnastics discipline.

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

The Talented Mr. Ripley

2005-01-31T07:55:00.000-08:00

Richard Ripley has left Howrey for Bingham McCutchen. He specializes in antitrust litigation. He got his J.D. at George Washington. He has never been portrayed in a movie by Matt Damon or by John Malkovich.

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

I'm Thomas McCormick and you're not

2005-01-31T07:48:00.000-08:00

Thomas McCormick has become the latest Shaw Pittman partner to leave the firm since the Pillsbury Winthrop merger story was leaked. He is going in-house at Chevy Chase Bank after he gets back from his vacation in Spain.

Source:
Inadmissible: Bank Vault
by Emma Schwartz
Legal Times

Gatti go to Greenberg

2005-01-31T07:45:00.000-08:00

John Gatti has heard enough jokes about the similiarity of his name to a certain Teflon Don, thank you. The ex-Alschuler Grossman Stein & Kahan partner is now co-chair of Greenberg Traurig entertainment and media lit team.

Source:
Lawyers Switching Firms, Making Partner
The Recorder
As seen in New York Lawyer

France finally invades England!

2005-01-31T07:36:00.000-08:00

Usually, the French are repelled by all things English. But not Gide Loyrette Nouel: the Parisian firm opened an office in London back in 2003, becoming the first French firm to do so. Gide's Ingerland expansion continues as tax guru Anthony Davis joins the firm from Cadwalader.

Source:
Cadwalader City tax head quits for Gide
By Tim Newbold
Legal Week

We got lost in the Boggs once

2005-01-28T12:01:00.000-08:00

Patton Boggs cares about its public policy practice. It feeds it a couple of times a day, and periodically replenishes it with new attorneys. Latham & Watkins' Nicholas Allard and Akin Gump's Roy Lessy Jr. are the latest additions to this Patton Boggs practice group.

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Yet another Fish & Neave departure

2005-01-28T11:55:00.000-08:00

Likely tired answering his phone with "The Fish & Neave IP Group of Ropes & Gray, this is Roderick," Roderick McKelvie has left for Covington & Burling.

Incidentally, we're back posting pertinent "On the Move" items separately. Each move has its own unique character that only individual posts can truly illustrate. Also, we didn't want you to start thinking, "Why the hell don't I just read Bethany Broida's column instead?"

Source:
On the Move
By Bethany Broida
Legal Times

A good man is hard to find

2005-01-28T11:46:00.000-08:00

Intellectual Property Today likes vivid headlines, as evidenced by the one below and the one in the previous post.

Anyway, New Dechert IP attorney Kevin Flannery used to work for Woodcock Washburn in Philly, and he's registered to practice before the U.S.P.T.O. He's also a member of the P.I.P.L.A., and has a B.S. from V.P.I. and a J.D. from V.I.L.L.A.N.O.V.A.

Source:
Moving Up & Moving Down: Kevin Flannery Joins Dechert as Intellectual Property Litigation Partner
Intellectual Property Today

Urban cowboy

2005-01-28T11:42:00.000-08:00

As the headline below says quite clearly, patent attorney Richard P. Gilly joins Fish & Richardson. Now, you may think we're going to make some sort of fish joke about the former Wolf, Block, Schorr and Solis-Cohen attorney, just because his last name is Gilly. And you're right, we are: What Fish & Richardson wasn't Gilly enough! OMG, ROTFL!

Source:
Moving Up & Moving Down: Patent Attorney Richard P. Gilly Joins Fish & Richardson
Intellectual Property Today

Re-Fried

2005-01-28T06:29:00.000-08:00

We haven't spent too much time at Skallawwag discussing leadership shake-ups, but it's high time we start. Paul Reinstein has been ousted as co-managing partner of Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson, as the firm has adopted a new management structure. In addition to the creation of a four-attorney team to oversee overseas operation in Europe, the firm voted to install Brit Justin Spendlove as managing partner. Spendlove has only been with Fried for roughly a year, but he used to be managing partner at Ashurst, so everyone figured he'd be right for the job.

The other managing partner, Valerie Ford Jacob, has been renamed the firm's chair. No one has been named the firm's ottoman, because that'd be silly.

Source:
Spendlove takes lead in Fried Frank shake-up
By Sarah Gill
Legal Week

LLP Cool J

2005-01-28T06:09:00.000-08:00

Limited liability partnerships are the taste sensation that's sweeping the nation of Great Britain. Magic Circle firm Allen & Overy and megaplex firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary are LLPs. Magic Circle firms Linklaters and Freshfields both want to be. And now wannabe players like Herbert "Herbies" Smith and Lovells are planning to protect their partners from "unlimited personal liability in the event of a firm-busting negligence claim." And what partner wouldn't want that?

Source:
Herbies partners back LLP move
By Charlie Wright
Legal Week

Hemann'll never win Wimbledon, you know

2005-01-28T06:01:00.000-08:00

John Hemann, the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted Enron CFO Andrew Fastow, has joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius as a partner. He was headhunted for the firm by Leslie Caldwell, the ex-Enron Task Force head who was hired by Morgan Lewis last autumn. And since we haven't mentioned Enron enough here, Hemann will be working with another former Enron prosecutor, Lisa Tenorio-Kutzkey (which is a totally awesome name, incidentally.)

Hemann said he joined the firm to work on cases outside the San Francisco area. "If you look at the lawyers defending the cases in Enron," he said, "they are from all over the country."

Source:
Morgan Lewis Collars Top Prosecutor
By Marie-Anne Hogarth
The Recorder
As seen in Law.com

Greenspan wants back span of green

2005-01-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

Former Brobeck trustee Ronald Greenspan is suing ex-chair Tower Snow and 224 former Brobeck partners for money they received while the firm was insolvent. Snow would be forced to pay back $2.7m in distributions and capital, while rainmaker Warren Lazarow would be soaked of $3.1m. Greenspan has a settlement offer available to all the partners, good 'til January 31. You better hurry, though, because supplies are limited.

Source:
Brobeck Trustee Sues Ex-Chairman Snow
By Brenda Sandburg
The Recorder
As seen in Law.com

Three amigos together again

2005-01-27T10:11:00.000-08:00

O'Melveny & Myers snagged two of the founding partners of Wilson Sonsini's San Francisco office, along with a third partner. Michael Kennedy and Steve Camahort came to Wilson from Brobeck, as did Michael Dorf. Before Brobeck, the trio worked together at Shearman & Sterling. Maybe they'll even start their own firm together someday. Kennedy Camahort & Dorf does have a certain ring to it, no?

Source:
O'Melveny Swipes Trio of Wilson M&A Partners
By Marie-Anne Hogarth
The Recorder
As seen in Law.com

Chadbourne & Parke is nothing in the dark

2005-01-27T10:04:00.000-08:00

It has always been tough to be in the insurance group at Denton Wilde Sapte. You're always butting heads with the corporate practice, and since the firm's lease is coming for renewal, the Dentons management is looking to save money by bunking you up with the other members of your team. So it's no surprise that five of the partners in Denton's insurance group have left for Chadbourne & Parke.

Virginia Glastonbury said of their departure, "They will be better able to avoid conflicts at Chadbourne & Parke."

Source:
Chadbourne & Parke in five-partner raid on Dentons
By Joanne O'Connor
The Lawyer

Arnold is pumping itself up

2005-01-27T09:58:00.000-08:00

Arnold & Porter doesn't want just one lateral: it wants them all! A few days after they snagged six securities partners from Fulbright, they've snatched eight corporate and litigation partners from Dorsey & Whitney. The defecting team consists of a number of current and former practice group heads. Dorsey was unavailable for comment in The Lawyer's story, but we have no doubt their reaction would be something along the lines of "ouch."

Source:
Arnold & Porter in eight-partner swoop on Dorsey NY
By Joanne O'Connor
The Lawyer

Our name is alive!

2005-01-27T09:47:00.000-08:00

We have a day job, and we sometimes get called upon to do it. So get ready for WAY too many posts in a row!

De Pardieu Brocas Maffei (original name Nahasapeemapetilon) has landed Jones Day's Emmanuel Chauve to lead its Parisian tax practice. After a year of departures, De Pardieu is on a hiring kick, which started with November's hiring of Yves-Ren Guillou.

Source:
De Pardieu boosts Paris tax practice
By Antony Collins
Legal Week

Linklaters Goes Dutch with Riemer

2005-01-24T12:37:00.000-08:00

Just the other day, Linklaters woke up, drank some coffee, and said, "Do you know what this firm needs? A Dutch corporate practice." Today, that daydream becomes a reality, as Pieter Riemer leaves Allen & Overy for Linklaters' Netherlands office.

Source:
Links secures Dutch M&A launch with A&O man
by Sarah Gill
Legal Week

Sacre Francais!

2005-01-24T12:34:00.000-08:00

Patrick Jais, M&A attorney extraordinaire, is leading an eight-lawyer team from the halls of Veil Jourde to the shores of Fried Frank.

Source:
Fried Frank bags eight-lawyer Paris team
By Antony Collins
Legal Week

Guess they don't want to work for Pillsbury

2005-01-24T12:30:00.000-08:00

Outsourcing heavyweights Akiba Stern and Ed Hansen have left Shaw Pittman to knock opponents to Morgan Lewis & Bockius' canvas.

Source:
Morgan Lewis bags heavyweight Shaw Pittman duo
By Anthony Collins
Legal Week

Awkward firm name update!

2005-01-21T11:01:00.000-08:00

Kirkpatrick & Lockhart merged with Nicholson Graham & Jones recently, and the resulting firm is called Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham. We would have gone with Kirkpatrick & Lockhart & Nicholson & Graham &.

Meanwhile, as previously mentioned, Fish & Neave merged with Ropes & Gray. Well, how's about this for not feeling completely at home: Fish & Neave is now called The Fish & Neave IP Group of Ropes & Gray. Why don't they just call them The Red-headed Step-child IP Group of Ropes & Gray?

'Movers' round-up: January 17 issue

2005-01-21T10:36:00.000-08:00

We're testing out how much we like doing summaries of the big comings and goings columns, so here goes another round-up of the National Law Journal's "Movers" column, this time from the January 17 issue.

Kilpatrick Stockon hired Armand DeKeyser, so say George Szamuely. DeKeyser is the former chief of staff for Sen. Jeff Sessions.
Holland & Knight have added three new senior counsel to its New York office. Victor Guaglianone is a former GE Capital veep, while Kenneth Stuart is ex-exec veep at ORIX USA. No one knows where George F.A. Parnell came from, but we bet he too was a veep.
White & Case has picked up Delbert Terrill from the U.S. International Trade Commission. He will be practicing... wait for it... international trade.
Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft has expanded its Washington, D.C. business fraud team. Not with the Montreal Expos, but with Peter Clark (ex-DOJ), Philip Urofsky (ex-DOJ), H. Lowell Brown (ex-Northrop Grumman), and Stephanie Meltzer (ex-assisant U.S. attorney).
Joining Dan Troy at Sidley Austin is Coleen Klasmeier, his former special, so very special assistant.
Fish & Richardson has just opened an office in Austin, TX, and they need a couple of pardners. Do they go looking in New York City? No, they go looking at Gray Cary of DLA Piper Rudnick fame for none other than Alan Albright and Barry Shelton.
King & Spalding have added two more attorneys to its New York office: Dominick DeChiara, former M&A partner at O'Melveny & Myers, and H. Slayton Dabney Jr., ex-McGuireWoods partner.
Who has Winston & Strawn hired? Could it be... Gregory Shatan? Yes. Yes, it could. Shatan joins the IP practice from Morgan Lewis & Bockius.

Sidley Austin charged with age discrimination

2005-01-20T13:17:00.000-08:00

The EEOC is suing Sidley Austin Brown & Wood on charges of age discrimination. If found guilty, the firm would be forced to pay millions to partners it demoted and/or forced to retire.

Source:
EEOC Charges Sidley Austin With Age Discrimination Toward Partners
by Anthony Lin
New York Law Journal
as seen in Law.com

"In Brief: Moves" round-up

2005-01-20T13:07:00.000-08:00

In keeping with the round-up theme for today, we've wrapped up Managing Intellectual Property's "In Brief: Moves" column.

Weil Gotshal & Manages have added Catherine Sun to shine in their Shanghai office. She leaves Deacons' Hong Kong office to join Weil Gotshal's IP practice.
Paul Hastings is another firm adding a former Deacons IP attorney to its roster. Gordon Gao has signed on as an of counsel.
LeBoeuf Lamb aimed big for its latest lateral hire. Marija Danilunas is the former head of Hammonds' biotech and international IP practice.
Ex-Willoughby & Partners attorney Angus Phang put his stake down at the London office of Mintz Levin.
Morgan Lewis picked up Craig Opperman from the Health Hero Network, which apparently has no affiliation with Slim Goodbody. The firm also added for Gray Cary lawyer Nan Wu.

"Movers" round-up

2005-01-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Our "On the Move" round-up went so well, we're going to do it with George Szamuely's "Movers" column at the ol' National Law Journal.

Goodwin Procter picked up Anthony R.G. Nolan from Shearman & Sterling. The "R.G." stands for Really Good.
MoFo has added for U.S. Attorney Office for the Eastern District of New York deputy chief of business and securities fraud Ronald White to its New York white collar and securities lit group. His business cards were two pages long.
Reed Smith bolstered its New York products liability practice with aviation defense attorney Patricia Moores, who previously worked for Biedermann, Hoening, Massamillo & Ruff. We would totally work there just for the name.
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips has picked up a couple of attorneys from AmLaw 100 firms: Jay Rand, late of MoFo, and Bart Greenberg, formerly of Preston Gates & Ellis.
Nixon Peabody can now see the woods through Forrest David Milder, who leaves Brown Rudnick Berlack Israels to join Nixon's syndication team.
Proskauer Rose is another firm to benefit from Testa Hurwitz's dissolution. It adds seven attorneys from the late Boston firm. (Well, they're not quite dead yet, but they're not getting better.)

Arnold has a Fulbright day

2005-01-20T12:36:00.000-08:00

Arnold & Porter has landed six securities lit attorneys from Fulbright & Jaworski. Michael Trager, Richard Jacobson and Charles Wenner, the three partners coming over to A&P, have all worked at the SEC.

Source:
Arnold & Porter bags securities team
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

This fog is getting thicker...

2005-01-20T12:26:00.000-08:00

...and Foley Lardner is getting larger!

The firm snapped up Epstein Becker & Green's Boston office, giving Foley a vibrant life sciences practice. The office's managing partner, Susan Pravda, will retain her position, in which she leads the urban proletariat in a political struggle to control the means of production.

Source:
Foley secures Boston biotech launch
by Antony Collins
Legal Week

MoFo-ra loose in Tokyo!!

2005-01-20T12:22:00.000-08:00

What is up with all these founders of offices bailing out on their firms? Keisuke Mochizuki is the latest starter-upper to ditch his start-up, leaving Paul Hastings' Japanese affiliate Taiyo Law Office for the friendly confines of MoFo.

Source:
MoFo hires senior Tokyo partner
by Antony Collins
Legal Week

Don't act all Coie

2005-01-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

Perkins Coie's Hong Kong office closes down at the end of March, but Julian Chung and his team of corporate finance attorneys aren't waiting until then to move. The group is setting up shop at Norton Rose.

Source:
Norton Rose boosts HK with Perkins Coie team
by Sarah Gill
Legal Week

"On the Move" round-up

2005-01-20T09:42:00.000-08:00

Blogger has up and down for the past couple of days, thwarting our attempts to let you know that Garland Stillwell has joined Shaw Pittman's legal team from Linowes and Blocher. Believe it or not (and if you don't believe it, you're spending too much time sorting out your beliefs), we're typing this post up in MS Word right now and hoping we'll have a chance to post it later.

So, if you're reading this, then it's later.

Anyway, we're just going to summarize the Legal Times' "On the Move" column here, written by Bethany Broida for the January 17, 2005 issue:

Akin Gump has added six attorneys from Clifford Chance (so much for that one attorney gain): Michael O'Shea, Frank Cimino, John Caracappa, Jin-Suk Park, Paul Gennari, and Rashida Lockhart.
Bryan Cave has hired Thomas Zehnle away from the DOJ Tax Division's Criminal Enforcement Section for the Southern Region. We're pretty sure he’s not the guy who caught Richard Hatch.
Shaw Pittman lost Jason Zuckerman to Clifford & Garde. He does employment litigation, not that there’s an irony in an employment attorney quitting his job or anything.
Finnegan, Henderson [et al] has snagged Richard Rainey away from Fish & Neave, like that's a challenge.
Womble has added former Kaufman & Canoles associate to its Tysons Corner, VA office as senior associate. You know it may kill us if we don't make an Our Town reference here.

Goodwin gets Testa

2005-01-19T14:18:00.000-08:00

Goodwin Procter is adding 24 partners to its Boston office, 19 of whom come from the recently disbanded Testa Hurwitz. The other five are from McDermott Will & Emery. They all do tech work, and they'll be working together to find out what happens when attorneys stop being Testa and start getting Goodwin.

Source:
Goodwin Procter Adds 24 Partners
Law.com

Hot Topics: Testa Hurwitz

2005-01-19T14:17:00.000-08:00

Shortened HRK, we suppose

2005-01-19T14:12:00.000-08:00

Markus Strelow has left the office he co-founded (Ashurst's Frankfurt practice, doncha know?) to join Mayer Brown. He remains in Frankfurt, where he will practice LBOs and venture capital transactions. In German, that's Verhandlungen der Hebelkraft Rückkäufe und des Risikokapitals.

Source:
Mayer Brown hires Ashurst Frankfurt partner
by Sarah Gill
Legal Week

Want some King & Wood?

2005-01-19T14:11:00.000-08:00

Li Xiaoming has left King & Wood for White & Case. Or was it King & Case for White & Wood... or King & White for Wood & Case... Anyway, he'll be either the second or third attorney to join White & Case's Beijing office. (No, we won't look it up! What do you think we are, a librarian? Oh... uh... yeah, he'll be the second attorney.)

Source:
White & Case hires Chinese M&A partner
by Sarah Gill
Legal Week

Goth shawl... never mind...

2005-01-19T13:52:00.000-08:00

Paul Claydon and James Gubbinsa have left Weil Gotshal & Manges to join MoFo. We keep misspelling Gotshal as Gothsal, which sort of looks like a wrap worn by a My Bloody Valentine fan.

Source:
MoFo taps Gotshal for City corporate duo
by Tim Newbold
Legal Week

Rogovin joins [CENSORED]

2005-01-19T13:49:00.000-08:00

Sometimes you get tired of advising Michael Powell to fine Viacom. So it's no surprise John Rogovin has left his job as general counsel to the FCC to join Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale AND Dorr. We're guessing he'll be joining the communications group, but we're stabbing in the dark here.

Source:
Wilmer Cutler boosts Washington with senior government hire
by Antony Collins
Legal Week

CC actually hires someone!!!

2005-01-19T13:46:00.000-08:00

Clifford Chance has hired... whoa... weird... anyway... CC has hired Joel Cohen away from Greenberg Traurig. Cohen was once the first liaison of the United States Department of Justice to the French Ministry of Justice, before he fell into the white collar litigation crowd, with a little securities on the side. Or vice versa.

Source:
CC boosts New York with litigation partner hire
by Antony Collins
Legal Week

Shaw Pittman goes for the dough

2005-01-18T11:44:00.000-08:00

A Shaw Pittman partner has told Legal Week that his firm is in merger talks with Pillsbury Winthrop. If the unification goes through, the new firm would have 1050 attorneys worldwide.

Source:
Pillsbury and Shaw Pittman in US merger bid
by Tim Newbold
Legal Week

Testa Hurwitz closes up shop

2005-01-17T07:28:00.000-08:00

Partners at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault voted on January 14th to dissolve the firm as of March 15. Co-founder Stephen Hurwitz is heading to Choate, Hall & Stewart. Said former Testa attorney John Hession, who left in 2003, the dissolution "is like the death of a parent who's ill. You may know it's coming, but when it hits it's a shock."

Source:
Boston high-tech law giant dissolves
by Kimberly Blanton
Boston Globe

DLA invades France

2005-01-12T11:31:00.000-08:00

DLA Piper is kicking of its new era by snaring three attorneys from Herbert Smith's Paris office. Anne Maréchal and two associates will help develop a securites practice for the super-sized firm, which had a mere seven partners in the City of Light before the hire.

Source:
DLA Piper raids Herbert Smith to kickstart French securities practice
by Joanne Harris
The Lawyer

Orrick turning Taiwanese, I really think so

2005-01-12T11:26:00.000-08:00

Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe has opened up an IP/securitization firm in Taiwan, which they have christened Orrick Foreign Legal Affairs Attorneys at Law. Yeah, that's much better than Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe.

Source:
Orrick launches Taiwan operation
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

Steptoe out with my baby

2005-01-12T11:21:00.000-08:00

Steptoe & Johnson has opened an office in New York City... New York City?!

Helping to pass out the Pace salsa are former McDermott Will & Emery partner John Lovi; returning Steptoe attorney Evan Barr; and Greg Yates, a Steptoe bankruptcy attorney relocating to Le Pomme Huge. Reid Weingarten, head of the firm's white collar crime team, will work in New York part-time.

Source:
Steptoe & Johnson opens in New York
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

The Hot 100

2005-01-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

It's better than Blackwell's Worst-Dressed List, and hotter than People's Sexiest Man Alive: It's The Lawyer's Hot 100. Let's let Cat & Matt explain:

The Hot 100 is a rare thing. It manages to be both elitist and eclectic at the same time. Elitist, because we recognise excellence - and there's plenty of that in these pages. Eclectic, because we recognise excellence from all sectors of the commercial legal profession - the magic circle, in-house, the bar, legal education and overseas.

So all the girls want to know, who's in the Hot 100 that we know?

Allen & Overy: Jeremy Hunt, Mike Duncan, David Lee
Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft: Justin Bickle
Clifford Chance: David Childs, Geraint Hughes, Mark Campbell, James Johnson, Mario Schmidt
DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary: Nigel Knowles
Freshfields: Brian Gray
Dewey Ballantine: Fred Gander
Fulbright & Jaworski: Lista Cannon
Latham & Watkins: Bryant Edwards
Linklaters: Simon Davies, Stuart Bedford
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy: Ulrike Dormann, Sean Keaton, Rolf Füger, Peter Nussbaum, Norbert Rieger
Slaughter and May: Nigel Boardman, Sarah Lee, Andy Ryde, Claire Jeffs
Sullivan & Cromwell: Dominique Bompoint
Weil Gotshal & Manges: Mark Soundy
White & Case: Tim Jeveons

Source:
Hot 100

by Catrin Griffiths & Matheu Swallow
The Lawyer

Latham rains over London

2005-01-10T11:55:00.000-08:00

Latham & Watkins has snagged litigation rainmaker John Hull from Richards Butler. According to Latham's London managing partner, "It’s all part of our strategy of taking top talent and building the platform out across Europe." Then he laughed maniacally.

Richards Butler's rainmakers are drying up, as Lista Cannon has also recently left the firm for elsewhere.

Source:
Richards Butler loses second top litigator as Latham swoops
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

Breezin' Easy

2005-01-10T09:24:00.000-08:00

Tom Scott is changing his tune: the former Linklaters tax attorney is heading to KPMG, joining Tom Wethered, another ex-Links lawyer. Scott's departure is yet another loss to Linklaters' London tax group, which is beginning to look like a Gino Vanelli concert.

Source:
Ex-Linklaters partner joins KPMG
by Charlie Wright
Legal Week

From Joe Cabot's address book

2005-01-10T07:36:00.000-08:00

Jenny Wu has left Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker to serve as associate general counsel in the DOJ's Community Oriented Policing Services Office. That's right, the COPS Office. It's a long way to go for an acronym, although it's better than the original name: Patrolling Of Lots In Communities Everywhere.

Source:
On the Move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Baker Botts beans

2005-01-10T07:28:00.000-08:00

James Baker IV, the sequel to James Baker III, has been named managing partner of Baker Botts' office in Washington, D.C. But don't think it's because the firm is named after one of the five generations of Baker family members who've worked at the firm. According to JBIV, "...it stopped being a family firm many generations ago."

Source:
Inadmissible: Baker Boys
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Sidley puts Troy on its label

2005-01-10T07:25:00.000-08:00

Ex-FDA counsel Daniel Troy has joined Sidley Austin Brown & Wood, focusing on food and drugs. No, not gorging and toking: food and drug law.

Source:
Inadmissible: Tracking Troy
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Ferrara hungry for LeBoeuf, Lamb

2005-01-10T07:22:00.000-08:00

Ralph Ferrara has left Debvoise & Plimpton for LeBoeuf, Lamb, Green & MacRae. No hard feelings between the securities litigation rainmaker and the firm he worked for these past 20 years. In fact, they were so nice about his departure that it almost sounded like they had just hired him!

Source:
Inadmissible: Ferrara's Flight
by Lily Henning
Legal Times

Swift Boat Veterans for Howrey

2005-01-10T06:53:00.000-08:00

Howrey Simon Arnold & White have merged with Houston's Clements, O'Neill, Pierce, Wilson & Fulkerson, whose partner John E. O'Neill, who you may remember as a Swift Boat Veteran for Truth.

Not all of Clements O'Neill's attorneys made the move: Michael Wilson and Thomas Fulkerson formed their own firm, Wilson Fulkerson (whose single "Hold On" will be out in stores soon), while Ralph Midkiff joined Zummo, Mitchell & Perry, which then changed its name to Zummo, Mitchell & Midkiff. To make it sound more distinctive, we figure.

Source:
Howrey Corrals 22 Lawyers From Clements O'Neill
by Brenda Sapino Jeffreys
Texas Lawyer
as seen in Law.com

There's a Linklaters-Yankees analogy here

2005-01-07T10:47:00.000-08:00

Linklaters, in lieu of merging with a small New York firm, has been increasing its presence in Le Pomme Huge by hiring other firms' attorneys. Their latest addition to their cast of free agents is one Michael Bassett, a LBO attorney formerly of the Arizona Diamondbacks... er... Jones Day.

Source:
Linklaters hires NY finance man
by Antony Collins
Legal Week

Goodman sails to Pacific

2005-01-06T12:24:00.000-08:00

Steven Goodman is going in-house at Pacific Media, the Asian telecom company. He had been with Jones Day a scant 18ish months, joining the firm's Hong Kong office after Denton Wilde Sapte closed its Hong Kong office. However, don't thinking of ol' Steve as a fairweather friend: his move is expected to strengthen ties between Pacific Media and Jones Day.

Source:
Jones Day Hong Kong partner quits for Pacific Media
by Husnara Begum
The Lawyer

McKinney is my Sheppard

2005-01-06T11:27:00.000-08:00

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton have added Jeff McKinney to its S.F. I.P. group. He departs Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis's Redwood Shores, CA office to do so.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Flailing like a Fish & Neave

2005-01-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

Fish & Neave is so provincial CC. Its latest partner departures are Daniel M. Gannt, who has been awarded a Fulbright partnership, and John M. Hints, who's dropping in on Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale AND Dorr.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Just the facts, man

2005-01-06T11:21:00.000-08:00

Jonathan N. Halpern as left his position as major crimes unit chief at the U.S. Attorney's Office in New York's Southern District to join Winston & Strawn.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

G-Rod's counsel goes to McDermott

2005-01-06T11:18:00.000-08:00

Susan R. Lichtenstein has left her post as chief legal counsel to Illinois Guv Rod Blagojevich to become a partner at McDermott Will & Emery's Chi-town office. She'll be doing all sorts of corporate stuff. We'd go into more detail, but it's just too complex...

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

S'Wonderful, S'Marvelous, S'Murphy!

2005-01-06T11:13:00.000-08:00

Frank J. Murphy Jr. has gone ecto-house at the blandly-monikered B of A division Global Corporate and Investment Bank to join Hunton & Williams. He'll be a partner in Charlotte, NC, who have to be glad the Hornets left, since their new team is doing much better. (They're 8-21, but at least they're not 2-28.)

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Everybody Hurwitz sometimes

2005-01-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

We know a lot of people have been hitting Skallawwag while searching for news about Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, so we've thoughtfully linked to a Boston Herald article about the firm's troubles. (How do we know this? We are magical beings.)

The best part: while the firm's spokesperson Steve Barrett concedes that the firm may need to downsize or merge (and no one's merged with DLA Piper in at least a month, hint hint), he says that Testa is still "viable."

The article also notes that Bill Schnoor will be leaving the firm in March, reportedly for Goodwin Procter (see how we eventually tied this in to the AmLaw 100?)

Source:
Legal eagles clip wings: Downsizing, sale among Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault's options
by Brett Arends
Boston Herald

A Nighthorse in shining armor

2005-01-06T08:15:00.000-08:00

Holland & Knight has added former senator Ben Nighthorse Campbell as a senior policy adviser. He told the WaPo, "I'm going to be a conduit for Indian issues. I've always encouraged tribes to be active in public policy." And we thought that he was just going to return to jewelry making in his retirement.

Source:
Law Firm Gains Indian Affairs Powerhouse
by Judy Sarasohn
Washington Post

All purpose CC update

2005-01-05T08:08:00.000-08:00

Clifford Chance's managing partner Peter Cornell is relocating to the firm's New York office. The move is seen (by The Lawyer's editor Catrin Griffiths, at least) as an attempt to forcibly integrate the US operations into the UK operations, which has been a bit problematic, to say the least.

Meanwhile, CC has at long last snagged a new finance director to replace Christopher Merry (who left in November 2003). Stephen Purse is late of Management Consulting PLC, a firm that got its name from a generic business nomenclature program apparently.

But it wouldn't be like CC to kick off the New Year without losing an attorney. Martin Gibbs is leaving, not to replace Maurice in the Bee Gees, but to do his M&A thang at White & Case's N.Y. office.

Source:
CC ups ante on US practice as Cornell moves to New York
by Joanne O'Connor
The Lawyer

AND

Clifford Chance Finally Finds FD
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

AND

CC loses first US Partner of 2005
by Steve Hoare
The Lawyer

Legal hands across America

2005-01-04T07:07:00.000-08:00

Two coasts, two lives, two practices, one law firm. Evan M. Drutman has joined Greenberg Traurig's New York office as a corporate and securities partner, while Peter Gluck has joined Greenberg Traurig's Costa Mesa, CA office as an IP counsel.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

No longer in the news

2005-01-04T07:03:00.000-08:00

Jay Holtmeier has left his post as principal legal counsel for Reuters to become a counsel in Wilmer Cutler's New York office. He probably got tired of that news ticker scrolling outside his office all day.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Ooo, social commentary! Provocative!

2005-01-04T06:57:00.000-08:00

We bet that the Japanese House leadership never had to arbitrarily change ethics rules to keep Shinji Sato in power. Nevertheless, Sato's former executive assistant has joined the Paul, Weiss corporate and litigation group in Tokyo.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

All's well that Birtwell

2005-01-04T06:45:00.000-08:00

We may or may not have mentioned this before, but tax attorneys are an excitable sort. We're not kidding. We have a good friend who is very enthusiastic about practicing tax law. It's almost disconcerting how enthusiastic our friend is. So we can only imagine that Jan Birtwell is positively quivering with excited joy that she's now a tax partner in O'Melveny & Myers' M&A and private equity group. Although we're sure she's also quivering with melancholy fondness that she's leaving Linklaters.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

I'll take Manhattan

2005-01-04T06:35:00.000-08:00

Dechert couldn't decide which one of Swidler Berlin Shereff & Friedman's 65 New York-based attorneys they wanted, so they just took all of them. Looks like there'll be some decent office furniture at the East 23rd Street Salvation Army Thrift Store pretty soon.

Source:
Dechert Adds 65 Lawyers From Swidler
by Anthony Lin
New York Law Journal
as seen at Law.com

dpiperg.com tantalizingly unregistered

2005-01-03T12:02:00.000-08:00

DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary's new website is online. We are desperately trying to find something snarky to say about it, but the best we can come up with is "Nice use of Disney's 360 movie technology," which isn't all that funny. Ah well, we can't be brilliant every day of the year.

Crossing over with Pillsbury Winthrop

2005-01-03T11:56:00.000-08:00

Pillsbury Winthrop has added to its Silicon Valley ranks Gary L. Benton and Sylvia K. Burks. These two former Coudert Brothers attorneys, like recent Pillsbury hire Lior Nuchi, specialize in that most mysterious of legal practices: cross-border technology transactions.

We swear, by the way, that we will never ever make a Dough Boy reference when reporting on Pillsbury. They hear it all the time, we're sure.

Source:
Pillsbury Winthrop Broadens Its Global Capabilities with International Lawyers Gary L. Benton and Sylvia K. Burks
Pillsbury pr

Sonnenschein on my shoulders makes me happy

2005-01-03T07:28:00.000-08:00

Former AOL veep and associate general counsel Karen Litsinger is now a corporate and securities partner at Sonnenschein. She also switched to NetZero.

Source:
On the move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Julian needs a little controversy

2005-01-03T07:25:00.000-08:00

Julian Kim has returned to Latham & Watkins as a tax controversy attorney. We could have sworn we reported this earlier, but can't find proof in the archives. As we said, we drank a lot on New Year's Eve. In fact, you may have received a drunken phone call from us at one point. Sorry about that. Our friends took our phone away from us soon after, though.

Source:
On the move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

HK: so real!

2005-01-03T07:22:00.000-08:00

Thomas Hart Jr., tired of shaking rugged fatty pork products, has left Shook, Hardy & Bacon for Holland & Knight. He will be joined by Amy Starzynski, who has never worked with him before, but has worked as COO at the Georgia Department of Education.

Source:
On the move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Venable beefs up

2005-01-03T07:19:00.000-08:00

Venable. Venable. Venable has added Todd Harrison, late of Buchanan Ingersoll, as a partner. Harrison's specialty is representing companies that produce drugs, cosmetics, and dietary supplements, and counseling manufacturers on FDA labeling issues. Why, he must have the easiest job in the world!

Source:
On the move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Great Law Firms of Plato

2005-01-03T07:07:00.000-08:00

Plato Cacheris knows how to make himself at home. The former Baker & McKenzie attorney, who you may remember once represented Monica Lewinsky and Aldrich Ames (or maybe you don't. You should mark this down), has joined the white-collar litigation firm Trout & Richards, which will now be called Trout Cacheris, probably because of the name's punny quality. Cacheris also hooked Baker's John Hundley onto the idea of swimming downstream to Trout. (See, because Baker & McKenzie is the second largest firm in the US, and Trout Cacheris only has six attorneys...)

Source:
Inadmissible: Plato's new digs
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Reed rejiggers

2005-01-03T06:56:00.000-08:00

Reed Smith is doing a little do-se-do at its two DC Metro Area offices. Judith Harris has stepped down as the D.C. office managing partner to spend more time with her telecom & antitrust group families. Virginia office managing partner James Gallatin Jr. will replace Harris in D.C., while Karen Fagelson will replace him in Virginia. Got all that? Good!

Also, Matthew Schlesinger has left McKenna Long to practice insurance coverage law at Reed Smith's D.C. office. Who knows? He may find himself a managing partner before he knows it!

Source:
On the move
by Bethany Broida
Legal Times

Happy New Year!

2005-01-03T06:37:00.000-08:00

Skallawwag: back from the dead with a shaved head (knew we shouldn't have drunk so much on New Year's Eve)!

Speaking of shaved heads, former U.S. Marine Corps advisor Peter Murphy (not the one who recorded "Cuts You Up," although he may have an MP3 of that song in his iPod) is now working for Holland & Knight. Murphy told the Legal Times that Holland & Knight is similar to the Marines, in that they emphasis teamwork and also hose down first-years.

Source:
Inadmissible: the few, the proud
by Lily Henning
Legal Times

Skallawwag: like Teen Beat for lawyers!

2004-12-29T13:36:00.000-08:00

We're not officially back from vacation yet, but is it wrong for us to admit that we have developed a huge crush on ex-Jones Day partner and present FTC Chair Deborah Majoras?

It is, isn't it? Pretend you didn't see this post.

Source:
As '05 Dawns, Companies Grab Antitrust Edge
The Deal
As seen at Law.com

Stupid day jobs

2004-12-20T09:55:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately, we've actually been busy at work and haven't had a chance to update the site for awhile. Suffice to say, you haven't missed ALL that much; just an odd Clifford Chance story here and there. Anyway, we're going to be taking the next couple of weeks off to celebrate Christmas and New Year's. It actually only takes us two seperate days to celebrate these two holidays, but it also takes us a couple of weeks to recover. See you next year!

Source:
Clifford Chance Settles Brobeck Collapse Claims
by Brenda Sandburg
The Recorder
as seen at Law.com

The call of the wild

2004-12-15T08:39:00.000-08:00

W. David Osborne used to be a counsel at San Diego, CA's Moose Restaurant Group, owner of Moose McGillycuddy's, which features beautiful people serving beautiful food. Osborne fit in, of course, because he's a beautiful person serving up beautiful legal advice. But you can only take so much neon and props nailed to the walls for so long, so he's signed on to e a labort and employment partner for Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.

By the way, wouldn't it be awesome if the firm's name partners were Cybill Sheppard, Chris Mullin, Andy Richter and Lionel Hampton?

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

P.S. We realize Cybill Shepherd doesn't spell her name that way...

Metge in Mintz Levin

2004-12-15T08:36:00.000-08:00

Bruce Metge is back at Mintz Levin, apparently worn out from all the counseling Digex Inc. needed.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Traurig fishing for Hudson

2004-12-15T08:34:00.000-08:00

You gotta love these guys who just come in and take over a place. Larry Hudson isn't just a new Greenberg Traurig partner. He's also the new head of the firm's government affairs group.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal

Mr. Roberts goes to Washington

2004-12-15T08:29:00.000-08:00

Venable. Venable. Venable has added Michael G. Roberts to its D.C. office. At one point in his career, he worked as Crowley Maritime's corporate counsel, where he offered legal opinions on plundering insurance.

Source:
Movers
by George Szamuely
National Law Journal