JD Journal » Am Law 200

Since Howrey has Shutdown, it’s Revenues Have Decreased by Half

EmploymentCrossing — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 23:28:33 +0000

The data released by the AmLaw 200 list in the American Lawyer magazine states that in its final year the revenues of almost non-operational firm Howrey LLP decreased by nearly half of its original. Howrey with $480 million was at position 58 last year and now has moved down to 108th position with $262 million. The AmLaw list includes data from the top 200 law firms.

Read the full article here:

Post-mortem, Howrey plummets in AmLaw lists

Reed Smith and Thompson & Knight Merger Called Off

marvins — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 22:11:38 +0000

The much awaited merger between Reed Smith LLP, a global law firm with over 1,600 lawyers, and Thompson & Knight LLP, a US-based firm with around 350 lawyers, was called off. Talks of merger have been circulating the legal industry over the recent months until the management of both firms announced that the potential merger was dismissed. Based on the statement released on Thursday, the merger plan was cancelled even before the proposal was submitted to the partnership of both firms for a vote. However, both firms asserted that they will continue to have good working relationship.

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.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 02 Jun 2010 10:19:41 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, June 2. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Fish & Richardson nabbed the communications team from McDermott…

A recent poll found nearly two-thirds of Americans are unable to name a single member of the U.S. Supreme Court…

U.S.–based Kirkland Ellis bolstered its London office with the addition of two highly-regarded private equity partners…

Three more partners left Nixon Peabody for rival DLA Piper…

AM Law’s second Hundred also took a hit in ‘09…

Littler Mendelson added a partner to its Philadelphia Office…

A former Kirkland IP Partner launched hiw own IP firm…

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati added an expert patent litigation partner to its IP Practice…

AmLaw: Cadwalader Still #1 for Layoffs

Erik Even — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 22:20:22 +0000

The American Lawyer has updated its list of AmLaw 200 law firms by percentage layoffs since January, 2008. More than 3,067 attorney jobs have been cut, or 2.75%.

Here are the top five, as of today:

Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft: 36.3%
Dechert LLP: 14.6%
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe: 14.3%
McKee Nelson: 13.3%
White & Case: 13.0%

Study: Lateral Partners Moving “Downstream”

Erik Even — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 16:48:09 +0000

A new study by management consultant firm KermaPartners reveals that increasingly, law firm partners are taking jobs with less profitable firms in search of job security.

KermaPartners examined 240 lateral partner moves at Am Law 200 law firms in Q1 2009. Seventy percent moved to firms with lower profits-per-partner.

In Q1 2008, 46% of lateral partners moved to firms with significantly higher profits-per-partner, the study showed.

Management consultancy firm KermaPartners is based in London, with offices in New York City and Toronto.

Chicago’s Cozen O’Connor is Recruiting

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:52:28 +0000

The Chicago office of Philadelphia’s Cozen O’Connor is recruiting, seeking to double its attorney workforce.

Next year the office will move into a new, much larger space vacated by Skadden.

The firm is recruiting corporate lawyers and commercial litigators.

Cozen O’Connor PC is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm was ranked 114th on the AmLaw 200 Survey in 2008, and ranked 89th on the National Law Journal’s list of the 250 Largest American Law Firms in 2007. It has expanded to 23 offices employing over 500 lawyers.

Cozen O’Connor is one of many large law firms providing counsel to the detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

AmLaw: Cadwalader #1 for Layoffs

Erik Even — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:58:17 +0000

The American Lawyer has assembled a list of AmLaw 200 law firms by percentage layoffs since January, 2008. More than 2,900 attorney jobs have been cut, or 2.62%.

Here are the top five, as of today:

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft: 29.8%
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe: 14.3%
McKee Nelson: 13.3%
White & Case: 13.0%
Dechert LLP: 11.8%

Quarles & Brady Launches Sustainability Practice

Erik Even — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 21:02:54 +0000

Quarles & Brady LLP is launching a new practice group specializing in clean energy, climate change and sustainability law.

Over 50 attorneys from the firm’s offices in Wisconsin, Arizona and Illinois will form the new practice.

Quarles & Brady LLP is based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. According to the National Law Journal’s 2007 rankings, it is the 90th largest law firm in the United States, and the second-largest firm in the state of Wisconsin. The firm also ranked 137th in profit per attorney on the 2007 AmLaw 200 survey.

The firm was formed in 1974 by the merger of two older firms, Brady Tyrrell Cotter & Cutler and Quarles Herriott Clemons Teschner & Noelke.

Wolf Block Groups Join Nelson Mullins

Erik Even — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 22:15:24 +0000

Lawyers from the Washington, DC and Boston offices of now-defunct Wolf Block will join the Columbia, South Carolina office of Nelson Mullins.

Those resurfacing at Nelson Mullins include five Boston partners, including Wolf Block Public Strategies CEO Robert Crow; two associates and two lobbyists from Boston; and a lobbyist from Washington.

Crowe was co-chairperson for finance for the Democratic National Committee during the 2004 presidential campaign, and is co-chairperson of Senator John Kerry’s finance committee and political action committee.

Wolf Block’s partnership dissolved the 106-year-old firm on March 23th.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough LLP is a large US law firm and lobbying group based in Columbia, South Carolina. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked the firm the the largest in South Carolina and 111th largest in the United States. The firm also ranked 127th in profit per attorney on the 2007 Am Law 200 survey.

Townsend and Townsend Lays Off 16 Lawyers, 45 Staff

Erik Even — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 16:11:22 +0000

San Francisco-based intellectual property firm Townsend and Townsend and Crew has laid off 16 attorneys, 45 staff.

From the memo:

…Townsend today has joined so many other AmLaw 200 firms and implemented a reduction in force. This is the most painful decision any of us has ever had to make at this firm…

As a result, today we have informed sixteen attorneys and forty-five members of our staff that their positions are being eliminated. Individuals in all seven of our U.S. offices are included. All have been offered severance benefits and outplacement services…

Townsend and Townsend and Crew has offices in San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Palo Alto, and San Diego, California; Denver, Seattle, Washington DC and Tokyo.

Confirmed: Cozen O’Connor Hires 30 from Wolf Block

Erik Even — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 23:03:53 +0000

The rumors were confirmed today: Cozen O’Connor announced it will bring on 30 attorneys from dissolving Wolf Block.

The Wolf Block attorneys will add to the more than 60 lawyers Cozen O’Connor already has in the Big Apple.

Cozen O’Connor PC is based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The firm was ranked 114th on the AmLaw 200 Survey in 2008; and ranked 89th on the National Law Journal’s list of the 250 Largest American Law Firms in 2007. The firm has expanded to 23 offices, employing over 500 lawyers.

Cozen O’Connor is one of many large law firms providing counsel to the detainees at the Guantanamo Bay detention camp.

Judge: Defunct Firm Can Sue Lowenstein Sandler Over Defections

Erik Even — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:43:38 +0000

Essex County, New Jersey Superior Court Judge Donald Goldman has ruled that defunct law firm Ravin Sarasohn may sue Lowenstein Sandler over partner defections that killed the firm.

The judge rejected Lowenstein Sandler’s argument that a ruling in a related arbitration mandated dismissal of the claim.

Ravin Sarasohn, a Roseland, New Jersey firm that had more than 40 lawyers at its height in the 1990s, went out of business in 2000 after lawyer Kenneth Rosen led a group of partners and associates to Lowenstein Sandler.

Ravin Sarasohn says Lowenstein Sandler used confidential information to lure the group away and put the smaller firm out of business. Lowenstein Sandler says it didn’t ask for some of the financial information it received, and had nothing to do with theft of secrets.

Lowenstein Sandler, formerly Lowenstein, Sandler, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, is a corporate law firm ranked 161st largest in the US in terms of attorney headcount by the National Law Journal, and 84th in profit per attorney by the AmLaw 200 survey.

Akin Gump Wins Big in Lobbying Revenues

Erik Even — Mon, 23 Mar 2009 22:41:34 +0000

Am Law 200 firms Covington & Burling, K&L Gates, Dickstein Shapiro, and McGuireWoods were among the law firms that made the most cash from lobbying in 2008, according to Legal Times’ annual listing of the “Influence 50.”

But Akin Gump came in first place, with $98 million in lobbying revenues in 2008, up 9% from 2007.

Covington saw a 36.6% increase in lobbying revenue, to $55.2 million in 2008.

The law firm with the biggest loss in lobbying revenues was Washington, DC’s Williams & Jensen, whose revenues fell 16.5% to $16.7 million.

In 2009, firms are scrambling to hire lobbyists to win federal stimulus package dollars for clients.

Buchanan Ingersoll’s Revenue Down for 2008

Erik Even — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 16:33:32 +0000

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney saw its 2008 gross revenue fall by 3.3%, from $282.1 million in 2007.

The Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based firm increased its revenue per lawyer by 2% from $554,000. The profits per equity partner fell 1.2% dip from $570,000. The average compensation for all partners decreased by 3.6% from $445,000 to $429,000.

The firm expects a lower attorney headcount by the end of March after the annual performance review process. It is also leaving vacancies open. They cut 25 staff positions in November, and 30 in February.

The firm saw a 5% drop in headcount in 2008, to 481 lawyers. Buchanan’s equity partner tier grew by one from 108 to 109, and the non-equity tier increased by 11.8% from 85 to 95.

The firm did not cut salaries in 2008 or so far in 2009, and paid bonuses — but salaries are frozen. Buchanan Ingersoll will have a smaller summer class in 2009, and the firm’s starting associates will start on the normal date.

Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney PC is a law firm and lobbying group. The firm has over 500 lawyers in sixteen offices nationwide, and was ranked 82nd on the National Law Journal’s 2008 list of the 250 largest law firms in the United States.

McKenna Long Adds 17 Attorneys to LA Office

Erik Even — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 17:24:18 +0000

McKenna Long & Aldridge has added 17 real estate and litigation attorneys to its Los Angeles office.

The laterals came from the Los Angeles firm of Brown Winfield Canzoneri Abram, which closed its doors this week.

McKenna Long Chairman Jeff Haidet said that the two firms are not merging, but most of the Brown Winfield attorneys are moving over.

Eleven of the laterals will become part of McKenna Long’s real estate practice, which now has a national headcount of 65 attorneys. Steven Abram, James Camp, Tony Canzoneri, Gordon Eng, Wendy Glenn, Geoff Mitchell, Bill Pham, Dennis Roy and Mark Steres are all joining the real estate practice as partners. Ken Brown is joining the practice as senior counsel, and Donald Ries comes aboard as of counsel.

McKenna Long’s litigation practice also will get boost from the lateral group. Wayne Grejewski, Michael Wallenstein and Thomas Winfield III are joining McKenna Long as partners, while Adrian Guerra, Diana Vernazza and Aimee Wong are joining as associates.

Atlanta-based McKenna, Long & Aldridge LLP was ranked the 100th largest law firm in the country by the National Law Journal in 2007. The firm also ranked 141st in profit per attorney on the 2007 AmLaw 200 survey.

McKenna Long is known for its political connections and its pioneering work in the area of government contracting.

Lowenstein Sandler Cuts 53, Rescinds 3L Offers

Erik Even — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 21:58:50 +0000

Roseland, New Jersey’s Lowenstein Sandler has confirmed layoffs of attorneys and staff today.

With deep regret, we are today implementing a reduction in force affecting 21 attorneys and 32 staff members across all departments of the firm, representing just under ten percent of our total workforce. We also are reducing the size of our 2009 incoming class by three associates. These were extremely difficult decisions for the firm to make, and we delayed for as long as possible because of the quality and dedication of the employees who are being affected.

Lowenstein Sandler, formerly Lowenstein, Sandler, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, is a corporate law firm ranked 161st largest in the US in terms of attorney headcount by the National Law Journal, and 84th in profit per attorney by the AmLaw 200 survey.

The firm maintains offices in Roseland, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City; and Palo Alto, California.

Did Lawyer Defections Kill Firm?

Erik Even — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 17:40:22 +0000

Nine years after a 14-lawyer exodus led to the demise of a prominent bankruptcy firm, the partners left behind are finally getting their day in court.

An Essex County judge has scheduled an April trial in a suit charging that Roseland, New Jersey’s Lowenstein Sandler violated fair business practice rules and stole financial secrets in poaching the lawyers from Ravin, Sarasohn, Cook, Baumgarten, Fisch & Rosen, also in Roseland.

Within a month of the February 2000 defections, the remaining 50 or so attorneys and support staff scattered, leaving behind a shell firm that is seeking damages.

The 260-lawyer Lowenstein Sandler, the state’s second-largest firm, denies it violated any legal or business ethics guidelines on the hiring of laterals. The firm says Ravin Sarasohn was in dire financial straits well before Lowenstein Sandler made the offers.

The suit alleges Lowenstein Sandler induced three equity partners to break a provision of the Ravin Sarasohn partnership agreement that required a 60-day notice of withdrawal. It also claims Lowenstein Sandler schemed to “steal confidential Ravin, Sarasohn financial information” to target and solicit key attorneys.

Lowenstein Sandler, formerly Lowenstein, Sandler, Kohl, Fisher & Boylan, is a corporate law firm ranked 161st largest in the US in terms of attorney headcount, and 84th in profit per attorney by the AmLaw 200.

The firm maintains offices in Roseland, New Jersey; Boston, Massachusetts; New York City, and Palo Alto, California.

Partners Deserting Akin Gump

Erik Even — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 21:55:56 +0000

The American Lawyer has been piecing together the evidence, and finds that Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld has lost more partners than any other firm the site tracks.

From Above the Law:

Akin lost 17 percent of its partners to competitors, small firms, in-house positions, and government jobs. Some of those defections were anticipated–fallout from strategic shifts in the firm’s practice groups and management structure. But others were a surprise…

While losing 59 partners hasn’t been easy, [Bruce] McLean, who has been Akin’s chairman for the past 16 years, expects that the slimmed-down practice areas will pay off. In 2007 the firm saw profits per partner fall nearly 7 percent to slightly more than $1.2 million, putting it sixtieth on The Am Law 200 partner profit charts.

But in early January he predicted that profits per partner grew as much as 10 percent in 2008 as a result of the shake-up, “What we are seeing is a slimmed-down firm generating more profits,” says McLean. At least, that’s the plan.

Via ATL via AmLaw and The BLT.

Dinsmore & Shohl Sees 2008 Revenue Rise; Recruits in Midwest

Erik Even — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 19:30:53 +0000

Cincinnati’s Dinsmore & Shohl reported mixed results for 2008, with gross revenue solidly up but profits per partner down double-digits.

Gross revenue for the law firm rose 10.7% to $132.8 million. Profits were down 4% to $44 million; profits per partner declined almost 16% to $385,000.

Managing partner George Vincent attributes much of the movement in the firm’s financials to the acquisition of two 20-plus lawyer groups last year. In April, Dinsmore acquired Dayton, Ohio-based Chernesky Heyman & Kress; and in May, 27 lawyers from the Columbus, Ohio, office of Buckingham, Doolittle & Burroughs.

Overall, Dinsmore’s head count increased 15% in 2008, spiking revenue but hurting the bottom line.

Despite the slowing economy, Vincent is optimistic about 2009, as bankruptcy and restructuring work is strong; he expects both revenue and profits per partner to be up.

Dinsmore will likely continue to recruit laterals, focusing on the firm’s Midwest stronghold of Ohio, Kentucky, Western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

According to the National Law Journal’s 2007 rankings, Dinsmore is the 144th largest law firm in the United States, and the largest in Cincinnati. The firm also ranked 170th in profit per attorney on the 2007 Am Law 200 survey.

Dinsmore is one of the few law firms in the US to own its own title agency, Mercantile Title Agency. The firm also founded a Cincinnati investment bank, Great Water Capital Partners LLC.

Nelson Mullins Launches Florida Office

Erik Even — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 18:34:36 +0000

Nelson Mullins has hired five attorneys from Sutherland, Asbill and Brennan’s Tallahassee office, to form a new Florida office. The new group represents automobile manufacturers in dealer, distribution and business matters.

The attorneys include partners Dean Bunch and Andy Bertron, of counsels Melissa Fletcher Allaman and C. Everett Boyd, Jr., and associate Virginia L. Gulde. These attorneys represent most of the automobile manufacturers and importers doing business in Florida.

The group plans to remain at their current Tallahassee offices.

Economic Meltdown Means Fewer New Partners in ’09

Erik Even — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 19:29:03 +0000

From Law.com: new partner candidates may have a tough time next year.

New partner announcements are starting to come in, and things aren’t looking so good. Thirteen Am Law 200 firms in California have announced new partners so far, and eight of those firmwide classes are smaller than last year.

“I anticipate a smaller class this year than last, and it’s a direct response to the decreased demand for legal services in the world,” said Keith Wetmore, chairman of Morrison & Foerster, which hasn’t yet announced its new partner class.

Chicago’s Mayer Brown and McDermott, Will & Emery named 43 and 42 new partners last year, respectively, but both named only 27 this year. Classes are also smaller at Cooley Godward Kronish; Fenwick & West; Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Proskauer Rose; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; and Weil, Gotshal & Manges.