JD Journal » california law firms

Bullivant Closes Sacto Office, Most Join Locke Lord

joshua — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 18:19:57 +0000

Bullivant Houser Bailey shut down its office in Sacramento this week and the majority of attorneys there moved over to Locke Lord. All told, 12 lawyers from Bullivant stepped into Locke Lord’s Sacramento office, which had previously consisted of one partner and one associate. One additional Bullivant partner joined Locke Lord in San Francisco.

Scott Bartel, one of the partners moving into the Sacramento office, said in a press release issued by his new firm, ““Most of us have worked together for many years and we wanted to continue practicing together. We talked to many different firms, but Locke Lord stood out for its entrepreneurial and forward-thinking attitude, as well as its commitment to grow the corporate and complex litigation practices in California.” Bartel was Chair of Bullivant’s Corporate Finance & International Transactions practice and Chair of the firm’s China practice prior to the move.

Barnes & Thornburg Opening in LA with Laterals from Akin Gump

joshua — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 00:08:51 +0000

With shiny new digs on Santa Monica Blvd, Barnes & Thornburg has moved into California with a Los Angeles office staffed by lateral partners from Akin Gump. Five partners have made the move already, while David Allen, the former managing partner of Akin Gump’s LA office, is expected to make the jump following to conclusion of a pending client matter.

The five partners who have already arrived in the new office are Stephen Mick, Kevin Rising, Jason Karlov, Kyle Kirwan and Scott Witlin.

Dickstein Shapiro Adds Four in LA

joshua — Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:46:48 +0000

Dickstein Shapiro continues to expand its IP practice on the west coast. Following the opening of an office in Irvine last year with the addition of IP partner Kimberly Nobles, the firm added three more IP partners and one senior counsel last week.

Robert Dickerson, formely the head of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe’s Los Angeles IP practice is moving to Dickstein Shapiro along with partners Yasser El-Gamal and Allan Jansen and senior counsel James Geriak. Dickerson will join the Los Angeles office and the other three will work out of the Irvine office.

The firm plans to have 20 IP lawyers in California soon and as many as 30 by the end of the year.

Dickstein Shapiro LLP, founded in 1953, has offices in Washington, DC, New York, Los Angeles, Stamford, and Orange County.

New York Firms Revenue Show Slight Hike, Research Reveals

marvins — Mon, 29 Nov 2010 16:59:20 +0000

Despite the economic crisis nationwide, New York and Southern California law firms registered a slight increase in terms of revenue growth, outshining other firms nationwide. The research, conducted by Wells Fargo Wealth Management, revealed that New York and Southern California made a 5 to 6% increase amidst the recent national trend in which law firms generally showed flat revenue growth. The information was collected from 115 law firms nationwide.

Jeffrey Grossman, national managing director of Wells Fargo’s legal specialty group, said that law firms nationwide have gone through various economic challenges in the past months. “The markets that experienced significant downturns, New York and Southern California, are generally the markets that have had more of an economic recovery,” Grossman explained.

Grossman noted that law firms will seriously boost their profits in 2011. However, without substantial increases in revenue and productivity, law firms will need to make further cuts. He predicted that reduction of law firm staff is possible to happen if not likely. “You’re going to see more cuts in terms of staff,” Grossman ended.

23 New Partners at Latham & Watkins

joshua — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:08:27 +0000

Latham & Watkins & Watkins promoted 23 of its associates to partner this week. With twelve promotions coming in corporate law and five more in finance, this could be viewed as a sign of optimism about the economic recovery. In addition, 13 associates were promoted to of counsel. & Watkins

Although this years class is smaller than the 30 promoted last year, it’s one of the largest classes we’ve seen so far this year. Only Kirkland & Ellis, who promoted 51 to partner in October, has had a larger partner class so far this year.

Latham & Watkins LLP is one of the largest law firms in the world, employing around 1,500 attorneys in the US, Europe, the Middle East and Asia. The firm was started in Los Angeles in 1934 and has extensive California roots, but its largest office is now in New York City.

Fenwick & West Make Offers to Less Than Half its Summers

joshua — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 15:56:36 +0000

Earlier this week we told you that Fenwick & West paid several of its incoming associates to find work elsewhere. Today we have the numbers for this year’s crop of summer associates and like many other firms, the numbers aren’t pretty. The firm made offers to 17 of its 36 summer associates. The remaining 19 received a letter explaining that the rejections were due to tough economic times.

Fenwick & West LLP is a full service law firm focusing on technology and life sciences clients. It employs approximately 300 attorneys in 4 offices.

Fenwick & West the Latest Firm to Buy Off Incoming Associates

joshua — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:51:16 +0000

We’ve reported on a few firms that have paid incoming associates a stipend to, essentially, go away. In each of the previous cases, the offer has been to the entire incoming class. Fenwick & West was slated to have 24 new associates start, once their deferrals expired, and has offered some of them $60k to go away. No hard numbers yet on how many were given the offer or how many accepted. As always tipsters, if you have information for us, send it anonymously here.

Founded in 1972, Fenwick & West LLP is a full service law firm focusing on technology and life sciences clients. The corporate, intellectual property, litigation and tax groups service clients from a wide range of additional industries. Approximately 300 attorneys work from offices in Silicon Valley and San Francisco, California; Boise, Idaho; and Seattle, Washington. The firm is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

Staff Layoffs at Cooley Godward

joshua — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 16:18:45 +0000

Cooley Godward Kronish laid of 58 staffers yesterday, but not attorneys were affected in this round of cuts. According to a memo sent out to all employees, the layoffs were made to eliminate “pockets of staffing overcapacity”.

Cooley Godward Kronish LLP is a law firm that represents entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and emerging growth companies in major technology fields. The 650-attorney firm is headquartered in Silicon Valley’s Palo Alto.