Duane Morris announced recently David A. Charapp has joined the firm as a partner in its San Diego office, in its Corporate Practice Group. In addition, the firm is also pleased to welcome Jarrett Fugh as a partner in its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices. Fugh joins the Real Estate Practice Group.

The addition of Charapp reflects the firm’s growing corporate practice group on the West Coast and nationally, especially in the areas of life sciences and technology. He joins Duane Morris from Foley & Lardner LLP. There, he served as chair of the firm’s Life Sciences Collaborations & Licensing Practice.

Charapp assists life sciences and technology companies with their critical partnering, licensing and financing transactions, as well as significant operational agreements such as those for manufacturing and supply, distribution, and pre-clinical and clinical research. Charapp has significant experience as an in-house attorney, having been associate general counsel at Kosan Biosciences, a biotechnology company acquired by Bristol-Myers Squibb, and associate general counsel at Santarus, a specialty biopharmaceutical company.

Charapp earned his J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, from Boston College Law School.

Duane Morris’ Life Sciences and Biotechnology Group offers clients a wide range of legal services, including intellectual property counsel, securities counsel in connection with private and public equity funding, international trade and tax advice, labor and employment guidance, dispute resolution and litigation service. These are all provided within the framework of their business to address each client’s specific needs.

The addition of Jarrett Fugh reflects the firm’s growing Real Estate Practice Group on the West Coast and nationally. He joins Duane Morris from Winston & Strawn.

Fugh concentrates his practice on real estate and corporate matters, representing clients in the acquisition, financing, development and leasing of real property, with an emphasis on hospitality and resorts. He helps clients in the origination and restructuring of syndicated, mezzanine and securitized loans, as well as in the construction financing of major commercial, residential and hospitality properties. In addition, Fugh advises clients on the formation and structuring of joint ventures for both developers and institutional investors in real estate projects. He also counsels clients on a range of general corporate matters, including mergers and acquisitions and financings.

Local and national media have interviewed Fugh with regard to economic trends in the real estate market, particularly those concerning Asian investment in the U.S. real estate markets.

Fugh earned his J.D., cum laude from The George Washington University Law School, where he was a staff member of The George Washington Journal of International Law and Economics.

Duane Morris LLP is a full-service law firm with over 700 attorneys in 24 offices across the United States and around the world. Founded in 1904, the firm is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 2011, the Am Law 100 ranked Duane Morris as the 67th largest law firm in the U.S. based on gross revenue.

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• Winston & Strawn LLP Adds Two Partners to Los Angeles Office
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Gregory Jordan, Reed Smith global managing partner, said that their firm has nothing but good words for Thompson & Knight.  However, today is not yet the best time for a merger. “We are very impressed with Thompson & Knight’s lawyers, practices, and clients. Both firms are coming off record years in terms of profitability, but we cannot get all of the pieces in the right place now.” Jordan assured that their firm would continue to be a partner in other means. “Reed Smith would continue to partner with Thompson & Knight “on shared work” as his firm pursues its strategic initiatives and serves its clients.”

Jeffrey Zlotky, Thompson & Knight global managing partner, noted that merging with another law firm is not an easy task. “A large number of issues have to align to make a merger work.”

Based on the Am Law 100 financial data in 2009, Reed Smith registered gross revenue of $942 million. The firm’s profits per equity partner reached $1 million. Meanwhile, AM Law 200 record showed that Thompson & Knight’s gross revenue was $224 million. Its profits per partner were $855,000.

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Former Texas solicitor general Gregory Coleman died in a plane crash…

Milbank will pay associate bonuses on what is rapidly becoming known as the Cravath scale…

Skadden matched the associate bonus scale announced earlier this week by Cravath…

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The numbers range from $7,500 for first-year associates to $35,000 for more senior associates.

Skadden is the second Am Law 100 firm to announce its year-end bonuses, and, according to the article at amlawdaily.com, as Nate Raymond at the New York Law Journal reports, this suggests the market is solidifying around Cravath’s scale.

Recruiters and partners at rival firms told the New York Law Journal on Monday that they expect other firms to match the scale, too.

For the last three years, Cravath has set the market rate for associate bonuses, the NYLJ reports. The firm is seen as a rate leader, especially among New York’s white shoe firms.

With over 2,000 attorneys, Skadden is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world.

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Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione, one of the largest intellectual property law firms in the U.S., promoted four attorneys to shareholder…

Ulmer & Berne LLP was recognized for strategic growth…

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• Brinks Hofer Promotes Four to Shareholder
• Ulmer & Berne LLP Recognized for Strategic Growth
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Cleary managing partner Mark Walker said in a statement from the firm: “Brazil is a significant part of our Latin America practice, which began over 50 years ago and includes more than 100 lawyers.”

New York partner Juan Giráldez and Rome partner Francisco Cestero will manage the Brazil office. Both will relocate to São Paulo. Giráldez focuses on international financing and business transactions, in particular capital markets transactions, M&A, cross-border financings, joint ventures and privatizations. Cestero has assisted América Móvil, the largest wireless operator in Latin America, in over 10 international acquisitions and joint ventures.

Cleary plans to staff the São Paul office with around 10 lawyers who will focus on capital markets, project finance and restructuring, cross-border mergers and acquisitions, regulatory issues, corporate governance, and litigation.

Cleary’s planned move into the market is the latest in a string of Brazil entries over the past two years by Am Law 100 and Magic Circle law firms, includeing Skadden, DLA Piper and Chadbourne & Parke. The market is appealing to firms with strong cross-border capital markets and infrastructure practices.

A leading international law firm with 12 offices located in major financial centers around the world, Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP has helped shape the globalization of the legal profession for more than 60 years. Organized and operated as a single, integrated global partnership, Cleary Gottlieb employs approximately 1,100 lawyers.

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Dinsmore & Shohl Welcomes New Partner Michael DiSanto to Corporate Department…

The publisher of The American Lawyer, Corporate Counsel and other legal and business titles, is consolidating its legal research functions into a single organization…

Butzel Long Shareholder was named a recipient of the 2^nd Annual International Mergers & Acquisitions Advisor Award…

London-based firm Kennedy’s opened an office in Miami…

Poll conducted earlier this week by the New York State Bar Association revealed guarded optimism about hiring trends and demand for legal services in 2011…

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• Kennedy’s Opens First U.S. Office in Miami
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• Media Company ALM Alters Operations

According to a press release, the group will be responsible for conducting all current company market research activities, including the AM Law 100/200, NLJ 250 and Global 100 rankings.

The group will be headed by Aric Press, who was recently promoted to vice president and editor in chief of ALM, and Kevin Iredell, currently vice president of ALM Legal Intelligence. The pair will be jointly responsible for developing strategy and new products, including custom and client-sponsored research studies.

“Current and potential clients, including many of the nation’s largest law firms, are seeking targeted and more granular industry data to benchmark their competitive position and improve management of many aspects of their businesses,” Press said. “This new structure will enable us to respond to these needs through new products and expansion of existing research and survey efforts.”

Press joined ALM in 1998 as editor in chief of The American Lawyer, from Newsweek, where he had worked for nearly 19 years.

Iredell joined ALM in 2006 as director of marketing for its national publications and was promoted to head the company’s legal research group in 2009. Prior to joining ALM, he spent five years at LexisNexis/Martindale-Hubbell.

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American Lawyer

Taking a closer look at the four categories we find that Baker & McKenzie was the highest revenue-grossing firm last year with just over $2.1 billion. It supplants Skadden to take the top spot for the first time since 1994. Eleven firms topped $1 billion in gross revenue, including K&L Gates, which reached the level for the first time.

Overall, total revenue was off by 3.4 percent, with the firms grossing a total of $64.8 billion, down roughly $2.3 billion from the prior year.

More than half, 56 firms, showed drops in revenue per lawyer, which the report notes is “our best measure of a firm’s financial health.” Debevoise & Plimpton had the biggest decline at 19.1 percent, which dropped them out of the top 10.

Revenue per lawyer was down $15,697, to $802,381, a 2 percent fall. This was the second consecutive year in which RPL fell.

A total of 54 firms reduced their head counts last year, cutting more than 3,000 lawyers overall.

As for profits per partner, 16 firms had PPP exceeding $2 million in 2009. That is the same number as 2008, though that group has seen some changes. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft and Davis Polk & Wardwell replaced Debevoise & Plimpton and Dechert in that group.

The Top 10 firms based on revenue:

Baker & McKenzie, $2.11 billion

Skadden, $2.10 billion

Latham & Watkins, $1.82 billion

Jones Day $1.52 billion

Kirkland & Ellis $1.43 billion

Sidley Austin, $1.35 billion

White & Case, $1.3 billion

Weil Gotshal, $1.23 billion

Greenberg Traurig $1.17 billion

Mayer Brown, $1.12 billion

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As noted in the report, although it’s a small sample, the results are substantially better than most analysts had predicted.

“The combination of the relatively soft drop in PPEP and 3.8 percent drop in (gross revenue) indicates that many of the firm’s managed to produce better-than-expected PPEP by cutting costs deeply, principally by reducing headcount. Notably, some firms are bringing on first-year- associates whose start dates had been deferred earlier than expected,” the report said.

It goes on to state that the lateral market is entering “a state of hyperactivity” because of “inexorable pressure to grow the top line in the face of continued rate pressure.”

The report also touches on the narrowing profitability gap between the biggest law firms and the rest of the market. It notes the gap has closed the past two years, but it likely isn’t sustainable in the long-term.

“We believe this is a temporary phenomenon, and that the top firms will resume their pace-setting profitability trajectory as the economy strengthens,” the report notes.

While BigLaw appears to have weathered last year’s economic storm, the study warns circumstances are likely to remain difficult.

“Market conditions are forcing firms that had two consecutive years of weak performance to take a fast and sharp knife to expenses, including continuing to counsel out chronically under-performing lawyers at all levels,” the report reads. “Under-performing non-equity partners will continue to be at risk through 2010. Firms in the lateral market need to place greater emphasis on vetting laterals than ever before.”

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William Urquhart believes the declines can be attributed to a lagging first quarter. After a packed final half of 2008, the firm saw billable hours suddenly drop as important cases were settled or concluded. Urquhart says the workload began to pick up in the second quarter of 2009.

Quinn Emanuel was founded in 1986 by John B. Quinn. It is headquartered in Los Angeles with other offices in San Francisco, Silicon Valley, New York, Chicago, Tokyo and London. The firm has 400 lawyers and focuses on business litigation. In 2008 Quinn Emanuel had the third highest profits per partner in the Am Law 100.

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The survey polls managing partners at 175 law firms.

According to Citi, revenues in Q1 2009 at the 175 firms were down 3.7% from Q1 2008.

Each quarter, Citi Private Bank confidentially surveys firms in The Am Law 100 and the Second Hundred, along with smaller firms. In addition, it conducts a more detailed financial survey.

Citi Private Bank provides personalized wealth management services for affluent clients who include many entrepreneurs, families, and senior corporate executives. With 90 offices in 58 cities in 31 countries, it is one of the world’s most global private banks.

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In January, the firm laid off an undisclosed number of attorneys and staff members.

And the firm announced a week ago that it is opening an office in Los Angeles with five new partners.

If you know anything about layoffs at Blank Rome, let us know!

Blank Rome LLP is the 84th largest law firm in the US according to the AmLaw 100. It employs about 500 at its eight offices in the US and Kong Kong.

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From the official announcement:

Following a thorough, strategic review of its business, White & Case LLP announced today a number of measures that will allow the Firm to respond to changing demand in the market for legal services.

These actions include an evaluation of its partnership, which will result in a reduction in the number of partners, commensurate with current and anticipated business needs.

The Firm is also implementing a global workforce reduction of about 200 associates and 200 administrative and business support staff. These reductions will vary by region and practice, based upon the needs of the business. In accordance with local labor laws, the Firm will follow a consultative process in some offices. Those affected will be offered a competitive severance package, as well as other support services to assist them through this transition.

In addition, the Firm is deferring the start date of approximately 60% of this year’s incoming associate class in the US until 2010. Incoming associates who are not deferred will join the Firm on November 2, 2009.

White & Case LLP is a leading global law firm with 2,300 lawyers in 38 offices in 25 countries, and a total staff of more than 4,800. It was founded in New York in 1901.

The American Lawyer ranked the firm sixth by revenue in the US in its annual Am Law 100 financial survey for 2007.

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Revenue rose 7% to $1.4 billion, and profit per partner was flat at $2.47 million. Revenue per lawyer fell 3% to $1.05 million.

Business for the firm’s large private equity group was down, but that was balanced by its strong practices in litigation, bankruptcy, and intellectual property.

The firm saw an 11% jump in head count, bringing its lawyer headcount to more than 1,300.

The firm increased its number of partners last year by 7%, from 509 to 545.

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Stroock’s gross revenue dropped 6.7% to $270 million, a larger drop than most firms.

Stroock has added several recent laterals, including a four-lawyer intellectual property group from Jenner & Block.

The firm has carefully managed expenses, canceling its holiday party, limiting travel when possible, and trimming head count from 369 to 350. The firm is not ruling out layoffs or salary freezes for 2009.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP is based in New York City, with approximately 350 lawyers in three offices, the other two being Miami and Los Angeles. It was founded in 1876.

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At yesterday’s meeting of the Sheppard Mullin Associates’ Forum, firm management announced that by the end of this week about 25 attorneys firmwide will have been let go since the beginning of the year. Some of these terminations were performance-related; others were true “lay-offs,” done in order to adjust professional staff levels in practice groups whose level of business has been adversely affected by the economic downturn.

The terminations have been carried out incrementally over the last two months, because firm management has very carefully assessed each associate’s performance in the context of the level of work projected for the associate’s practice group.

Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP is an Am Law 100 law firm with over 520 attorneys in 10 offices in the United States and one in Shanghai. Its first office was founded in Los Angeles, California in 1927.

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Profits per equity partner fell by 9% to $2.14 million. Gross revenue dipped 2% to $816 million.

The firm lost 30 attorneys in 2008, with a total of 892 lawyers. Revenue per lawyer rose slightly, hitting $915,000. Equity partnership fell 163 to 152.

The firm moved to reduce its cost base with layoffs in 2008 and early this year. In February 2008, the firm let go of 13 associates. That was followed in December by a reduction of 72 staff; the firm also said that 15 attorneys were under review in London. On February 12 of this year, another 19 lawyers were laid off.

The firm brought on a number of high-profile laterals in 2008 and added an office in Beijing. Former Heller Ehrman chairman Matthew Larrabee joined the San Francisco office shortly after Heller’s dissolution.

In 2006, Dechert was ranked 37th largest law firm in the world based on revenue. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked the firm 25th largest in the United States based on number of attorneys.

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The firm also saw a dip in revenues, a 4% decrease to $1.9 billion has knocked the firm back below the $2 billion mark. Last year, Latham and Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom became the first two firms of The Am Law 100 to break past the $2 billion level in gross revenue.

The firm continued its international expansion in 2008, with new offices in Dubai and Qatar.

Latham also grew in Asia with a seven partner corporate team in Hong Kong, hired from Allen & Overy. In November, the firm announced 30 partner promotions worldwide, one more than in 2007.

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But the addition of 25 new lawyers, including five equity partners, meant revenue per lawyer and profits per equity partner took significant hits. Revenue per lawyer fell by 7.5% to $575,000, and profits per equity partner dropped 14.5% to $805,000.

Firm chair Ernie Reigel says Moore & Van Allen’s finance and mergers & acquisitions practices have been hit hard by the economic downturn

Moore & Van Allen also laid off lawyers, as well as staff, between 5 and 10% from each group.

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Profits jumped 10% to $260 million last year. Profits per partner, already near the top of the Am Law 100 in 2007, rose 11% to $3.3 million.

Quinn Emanuel has 78 equity partners.

According to managing partner John Quinn, the firm was working flat-out for the first seven months of the year. Between May 1st and August 1st, Quinn lawyers racked up hours in 11 cases on trial. During that stretch, lawyers at the firm averaged 200 hours a month.

Among the firm’s major cases in 2008 were the Bratz copyright trial, in which Quinn Emanuel won a sweeping injunction on behalf of Mattel against MGA Entertainment; and a loss for the Italian company Parmalat, which had sought damages from Citigroup for its alleged role in a financial scandal. The firm also represented cell phone maker Nokia in a broad IP settlement with chip manufacturer Qualcomm.

Quinn says activity at the firm slowed during Q4 of 2008, as trials concluded.

Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges LLP was founded in 1986 by John B. Quinn. It is headquartered in Los Angeles, California with major offices in San Francisco, the Silicon Valley, and New York.

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Holder, Obama’s nominee for attorney general, made $3.3 million at Covington & Burling last year… [he] stands to earn between $1 million and $5 million from Covington as part of a separation agreement with the firm. Holder also will receive a repayment of anywhere between $500,000 and $1 million from Covington’s capital account… If confirmed as AG, Holder’s annual salary would be $196,700…

…prospective Defense Department general counsel Jeh Johnson of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, earned $2.6 million last year as a litigation partner at the firm. Like Holder, Johnson will receive severance of between $1 million and $5 million…

Obama’s nominee for U.S. trade representative, former… Vinson & Elkins partner Ronald Kirk, received $556,740 from his firm last year… the firm will pay him a $150,000 bonus and other accrued benefits, which… includes an outstanding $80,000 partnership share.

…Vilsack, who made partner at Dorsey & Whitney shortly before [becoming] Obama’s nominee for secretary of agriculture… earned $300,000 from his firm last year.

Looks like everyone’s going down a pay grade.

Read the complete story. Also here.

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Gross revenue reached $692 million, up 6.3% from 2007; and profits per equity partner climbed to $2.65 million, up 2.3%. At $1.07 million, revenue per lawyer was flat. Head count at the firm, a traditional one-tier partnership, grew by 6% to almost 650 lawyers.

In 2008, the firm handled several high-profile matters, most notably its successful defense of Citigroup in a $2 billion lawsuit in which Italian dairy giant Parmalat charged that the bank contributed to the fraud that led to its bankruptcy. Jurors awarded Citigroup $364.2 million; Parmalat got nothing.

Paul Weiss is representing Bear Stearns in securities suits arising from the investment bank’s failure, and also counts two of Bernard Madoff’s sons as clients.

Recent lateral hires, including Beth Wilkinson, the former general counsel of Fannie Mae, and Walter Ricciardi, a deputy director of the SEC, should prove to be client magnets.

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The Am Law 100 firm, founded in 1875, occupies the fourth floor, and floors nine through 14. Nixon Peabody plans to renovate the space, eliminating some legal libraries and allowing for 20 new employees over three years.

The building will also be the site for the law firm’s global operations center. The firm has 825 employees in 19 locations worldwide. In Rochester, the firm employs 373 people.

On Tuesday, the COMIDA board approved about $1 million in property-tax and sales-tax abatements for the project. Contingent upon lease negotiations and closing on COMIDA incentives, the law firm could sign a new deal with Broadstone Real Estate possibly in February, said Scott Turner, managing partner.

The project had the backing of Rochester city government, which is supporting its own payment-in-lieu-of-taxes program.

Judy Seil, COMIDA executive director, said she expects the abatements will produce $5 million in taxpayer benefits, including the new jobs. Seil said the average job could pay at least $40,000 annually.

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The numbers include lawyers, paralegals, public relations specialists, secretaries and other positions; and reflect layoffs by firms nationwide over the last few months, and the dissolutions of Am Law 100 firms Heller Ehrman, Thelen, and Thacher Proffitt & Wood.

In all, 2.6 million US jobs were lost in 2008, the biggest fall in more than six decades.

But the number of legal services jobs actually increased in December by 1,300.

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Each of you is aware of what is going on in the world economy in general, and in the legal market in particular. The Executive Committee and our Firm’s senior managerial and financial officers, Bob Zuber and Kevin Combs, have been working hard over the past several months to ensure Sheppard Mullin’s continued financial strength through the current economic downturn. We feel it is critical to rigorously control expenses during these times. As part of our management of expenses, we have decided to “freeze” Associate compensation for 2009. This means your base compensation will be the same as in 2008. Special Counsel and Senior Attorney compensation will also be frozen, with minor exceptions.

We trust you understand this decision is a reflection of the market and not how we value any of you. We are very proud of our attorneys and the superior service, quality and value you provide to our clients.

Bob Zuber and I will be making our annual State of the Firm presentations in each office at the end of January and beginning of February. As usual, we will have an open forum to address any questions you have. Should you have any questions in the meantime, please direct them to Robert Beall, Bob Neufeld, Bob Zuber or me.

Thank you for your hard work and many contributions in 2008 and best wishes to all of you for 2009.

-Guy [N. Halgren] and The Executive Committee

I’m not sure why “Guy” felt the “need” to place the “word” “freeze” in “quotes.” But I’m sure associates will “love” his “friendly” and “avuncular” “style” as they sell off their home gym equipment to “pay” “off” their student loans.

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…associates in the U.S. and Europe, and associates, senior consultants and consultants in Asia, will receive the same salary in 2009 as you received in 2008… of counsel salaries will be determined on an individual basis and generally will remain the same as 2008. We will ensure that our 2009 bonus program gives us additional flexibility to reward outstanding performance and remain competitive in the marketplace.

The firm blames the economic meltdown for the decision. As for bonuses:

We will pay full 2008 bonuses according to the terms of the program we announced earlier this year. These bonuses will be paid by the February 15 payroll in the U.S. and on or around that date in Europe and Asia, consistent with regional practices.

Orrick reported gross revenue of $772 million in this year’s Am Law 100, and profits per partner of $1.66 million.

The firm has over 1,100 lawyers worldwide in 21 offices, with more than 200 attorneys in each of its two largest offices in San Francisco and New York. The firm’s day-to-day administrative operations are centralized at a Global Operations Center in Wheeling, West Virginia.

Latham & Watkins announced pay freezes two weeks ago.

Via The BLT.

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Brooklyn-born Mos Def, whose real name is Dante Smith, split from Maria Yepes Smith after 10 years of marriage.

Blank Rome claims the actor, who portrayed Ford Prefect in the 2005 film of The HItchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, owes unpaid fees and retainers.

The 500-lawyer firm, which had gross revenues of $314.5 million in 2007, is one of the few Am Law 100 firms to have a dedicated matrimonial practice group. The firm has handled divorce proceedings for Donald Trump (twice), shock jock Howard Stern, TV “news” personality Geraldo Rivera, and stock broker Al Reynolds, the ex-husband of lawyer/TV host Star Jones.

The same year Mos Def divorced Yepes, the musician wed former Toronto stripper Alana Wyatt, whom he’d known for only three days. After those nuptials ended with Mos Def allegedly denying Wyatt a divorce, she wrote about her ill-fated marriage to Mos Def in a book published in April.

The rapper was also involved in an August incident in Las Vegas in which a photographer claimed Mos Def tore a camera off his neck, smashed it to the ground, and then took off with it during a confrontation.

An arrest warrant was issued for the artist by Las Vegas police in November. Police say they expect Mos Def, who faces charges of felony robbery and malicious destruction of private property, to turn himself in.

Via Am Law Daily.

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