JD Journal » Latham & Watkins

Latham & Watkins Announces Bonuses

jim — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 20:38:04 +0000

It is official, spring bonuses are late. In 2011, Sullivan & Cromwell announced its spring bonuses on January 21. It is now January 24 and we are still anxiously awaiting their spring bonus announcement.

It is still too early to worry about this yet, especially since Cravath took Sullivan’s scale and beat it with its own spring bonuses. It could be safe to say that Sullivan & Cromwell is waiting as long as possible to avoid this from happening a second year in a row.

Spring bonuses are still expected to be issued in 2012 as there are too many law firms out there that pay more than Cravath does when it comes down to bonuses. Susan Webster, one of the partners at Cravath, is probably receiving congratulatory messages from others around Biglaw for her efforts in keeping bonus numbers as low as possible. On the other side of things, there are so many other law firms issuing much higher bonuses that the smart folks hired by Cravath will soon realize that they can make more money working for other firms.

Latham & Watkins is the most recent law firm to make the Cravath bonuses look meager. The median bonus from Latham & Watkins is much more generous than those from Cravath for mid-level and senior associates.

During this year’s bonus season we have seen that other firms are beating Cravath when it comes to those working in senior levels. The scale for the class of 2004 at Cravath ends at $37,500. The scale for those in the class of 2003 at Sullivan & Cromwell ends at $42,500.

The most noticeable levels at law firms where Cravath bonuses are beaten include the senior levels. In this economy, the market tends to say that first and second year attorneys are not worth too much right now. On the other side of things, mid-level associates who survived the layoffs from 2009 are worth extra cash right now.

The scale of median bonuses by class year at the law firm of Latham & Watkins is as follows:

Class of 2010 — $8,000
Class of 2009 — $11,500
Class of 2008 — $21,000
Class of 2007 — $29,000
Class of 2006 — $35,000
Class of 2005 — $42,000
Class of 2004 — $51,000
Class of 2003 — $54,000

Vault 2012 Rankings Come Out With Some Law Firms Ranking the Same, and Others Moving Up

EmploymentCrossing — Tue, 14 Jun 2011 14:41:34 +0000

In three key categories Weil forms a well secure top ten firm in the country in three categories and it is the law firm for diversity, it was said in the press release. Mary Kate Sheridan, who serves as Vault’s law editor notes additional points about the rankings. Latham & Watkins was at 15th place last year and has now gone up to number 11 on the 2012 list.

Read the original article here:

Weil Trumpets ‘Trifecta’ in Vault 2012 Rankings, But Wachtell, Cravath and S&C are 1-2-3 in Prestige

: In three key categories Weil forms a well secure top ten firm in the country and it is the law firm for diversity it was said in the press release. Mary kate sheridan serves as vault’s law editor notes additional points about the rankings.Latham & Watkins which plummeted from 15th place last year and is number 11 on the 2012 list.

Latham & Watkins Adds Six Partners to IP Practice

rebneely — Mon, 11 Apr 2011 13:14:48 +0000

In recent days, Latham & Watkins LLP announced six leading intellectual property litigation partners have joined the firm in its Silicon Valley and San Francisco offices.

The group of partners all join from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. There, they built well regarded practices which focused on prominent information technology, pharmaceutical and semiconductor companies, as well as winning complex cases at trial.

The partners are Roger J. Chin, Richard G. Frenkel, Julie M. Holloway, Terry Kearney, Michael A. Ladra, and Ron E. Shulman. Frenkel, Kearney, Ladra and Shulman will join in the firm’s Silicon Valley office. Chin and Holloway will join in the San Francisco office.

Bob Steinberg, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation practice was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “With our recent lateral additions augmenting our existing resources, we have built a powerhouse intellectual property litigation practice from coast to coast, across all significant industry sectors. The market for IP litigation continues to be strong, and this group of partners will add substantially to our reputation by helping us serve leading companies with their most challenging cases.”

Ron Shulman was quoted as saying: “We were particularly attracted by the global platform and deep IP litigation resources available at Latham & Watkins to support and grow our practices. We have successfully worked together as a group for many years, and we all are confident that joining Latham will advance our practices and capabilities.”

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys in 31 offices.

Turn Out The Lights…

joshua — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 15:32:48 +0000

It’s official. After months of bleeding partners and rumors about dissolution, the partnership of Howrey has voted to dissolve the firm, effective March 15. According to a press release issued by the firm, a number of partners, associates and staff from the Houston office will join Winston & Strawn, while those with significant client conflicts will be moving to other AM100 firms.

One things for certain: wherever they end up, they’re likely to find old friends. In the last year, over 140 partners have left Howrey for other firms, not to mention large numbers of associates and staff. As they say at Dodger Stadium, you can’t know the players without a scorecard, and The American Lawyer has prepared a handy chart for those interested in tracking the former Howrey partners.

Even a major law firm needs lawyers when it shuts its doors, and Howrey is no exception. The firm will be advised during the final days by counsel from Latham & Watkins.

Big Law Firms Setting Up New Offices in Detroit, Calgary, and Maybe Boston

aostler — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 00:19:28 +0000

Three big law firms have hired or are soon going to hire attorneys and partners to open new offices in 3 major cities in the US and Canada. Thompson & Knight is opening one in Detroit, Latham & Watkins may also be about to open a new office in Boston, and Torys, a Toronto based firm, has just opened a new office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Thompson & Knight is determined to bounce back after it’s gross revenues went down by 11.2 percent last year, and it announced late on Thursday that it was going to open a new office in Detroit, lead by new litigation hire, Philip Kessler. Kessler was formerly the chairman of Detroit firm Butzel Long, but stepped down last August. Since that time, he had set up a solo practice in Franklin, Michigan. He will now direct operations for Thompson & Knight in both their New York office and Detroit office, which is planned to open in spring.

Latham & Watkins is planning to open an office in Boston soon, according to the Boston Business Journal. No further comment is available from them officially, but according to the Boston Business Journal, they have been looking at Boston since late 2007.

Torys opened a new office in Calgary on March 3^rd, 2011. Torys already has existing offices in New York and Toronto, and this will strengthen their position as one of the leading international law firms. Les Viner, Managing Partner, says “The pace of economic growth in Calgary and its strength in the energy sector have earned the city a reputation as an internationally recognized financial and business hub”.

With so many firms closing or laying off attorneys, it’s good to see several firms doing the opposite and opening new offices and expanding their workforce.

The Legal Teams Behind the AOL-HuffPo Deal

joshua — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 18:32:09 +0000

In a surprise move late Sunday night (so surprising most HuffPo employees learned about it on the news), AOL purchased The Huffington Post for $315 million and put HuffPo founder and namesake Arianna Huffington in charge of all AOL provided content.

HuffPo was represented in this deal by a team of lawyers from Latham & Watkins led by partner Alex Voxman and counsel David Blood. Also contributing were benefits and compensation partner Laurence Seymour, antitrust partner Abbott Lipsky, tax partner Samuel Weiner, and antitrust counsel Sydney Smith.

AOL used long time outside counsel Peter Malloy from Simpson Thatcher. Malloy was assisted by intellectual property partner Lori Lesser, tax partner Katharine Moir, and executive compensation partner Tristan Brown.

The $315 million deal includes a cash payment of $300 million with the remained in stock and is expected to close no later than the end of the second quarter.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 23:16:26 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Tuesday, November 9th. Here’s a look back at yesterday’s stories.

Ballard Spahr will open its 13th office with the addition of a group of attorneys from the San Diego litigation boutique La Bella & McNamara LLP…

The partnerships at Squire Sanders & Dempsey and U.K-based Hammonds agreed to merge over the weekend…

Weitz & Luxenburg partner Robert J. Gordon was named the 2011 Mass Tort Litigator of the Year by legal publication Best Lawyers…

The partnership of Clifford Chance elected Malcolm Sweeting as the firm’s next senior partner…

The National Law Journal reported overall headcount at the nation’s 250 largest law firms fell for a second straight year…

Greenberg Traurig added six attorneys to its Orange County office, in its Real Estate, Real Estate Funds and REIT practices…

Survey: NLJ 250 Firms Continue to Shed Lawyer Jobs

joshua — Mon, 08 Nov 2010 17:53:41 +0000

The National Law Journal reported overall headcount at the nation’s 250 largest law firms fell for a second straight year. Following last year’s 4 percent drop, the survey found firms trimmed another 1,400 lawyers from its payroll this year, which equates to a 1.1 percent decrease from 2009. The two-year combined drop is the largest decline in the survey’s 33-year history and is just the second time overall headcount dropped for two consecutive years.

According to the report, the vast majority of cuts was in the associates ranks, which fell by nearly 1,000 lawyers. The number of partners at the nation’s biggest firms increased by 0.6 percent to an average of 215. Overall, headcount at NLJ 250 firms totaled 126,299 lawyers.

Baker & McKenzie was rated once again the nation’s largest firm with 3,774 attorneys, which was a decline of 175 from the previous year. Baker & McKenzie was also among four firms to shed more than 100 lawyers in the last year along with White & Case (198), Latham & Watkins (147) and Morgan Lewis & Bockius (109).

Firms with the biggest increase in number of lawyers included Ropes & Gray, which saw its headcount increase by 21.6 percent; and Baker Hostetler, which grew by 12.6 percent. The biggest declines came at Butzel Long and Fish & Richardson which each saw a 17.7 percent drop in its lawyer roster.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:20:59 +0000

Good morning everybody! Today is Thursday, October 21st. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

The Children’s Law Center, Washington D.C.’s largest provider of free legal services, launched a new six-week campaign, dubbed the Lawyers for Children Campaign….

Winston & Strawn expanded its transactional capabilities in China with a three-person team from Cadwalader…

BigLaw Lends A Hand in New Children’s Law Center Campaign

joshua — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 23:06:21 +0000

The Children’s Law Center, Washington D.C.’s largest provider of free legal services, has launched a new six-week campaign, dubbed the Lawyers for Children Campaign, that’s designed to expose area lawyers and their colleagues to opportunities to improve the lives of D.C.’s children.

In conjunction with the campaign, an 18-member advisory board was selected that’s made up of attorneys from law firms, law schools and corporations throughout the D.C. area. Among the organizations represented are Arnold & Porter, Blank Rome, Bryan Cave, Clifford Chance, Covington & Burling, Crowell & Moring, Fish & Richardson, Hunton & Williams, Jones Day, Latham & Watkins, McDermott Will & Emery, McKenna Long & Aldridge, Patton Boggs, Sidley Austin, Skadden, Williams & Connolly, American University and the Podesta Group.

Evelyn Becker, pro bono director at Children’s Law Center, said the groups “enthusiasm to launching the campaign and introducing their colleagues to Children’s Law Center has been tremendous.”

The campaign will run from October 18 through Thanksgiving. A Campaign Kickoff Happy Hour will be held Tuesday, Oct. 26 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the Children’s Law Center offices.

Carmen McLean, CLC Board Member and Chair of CLC’s Advisory Board, and attorney at Jones Day, commented on the campaign in a press release.

“At Jones Day, we just took on our 20th pro bono case through Children’s Law Center and we know how important this work is,” McLean said. “We are excited to spread the word about CLC’s new Lawyers for Children campaign.”

Latham Adds Laterals in D.C., Houston

joshua — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:31:46 +0000

Latham & Watkins announced it has added lateral partners to its offices in Washington D.C. and Houston. Joining the firm litigation department in D.C. is partner Lawrence J. Gotts, who was previously with Paul Hastings. In Houston, Craig S. Kornreich joins as a partner in the firm’s finance department from Vinson & Elkins.

Gotts’ practice focuses on litigation and trial of intellectual property disputes, including patent, trademark, trade secret and copyright matters. He will join the firm’s global intellectual property litigation practice Group.

“Larry is a widely respected patent litigator with an outstanding reputation as a formidable trial lawyer,” said Eric Bernthel, managing partner of Latham’s D.C. office. “His background and trial experience have strong synergies with our practice, particularly in the aerospace, telecommunications, high-tech, consumer products, and medical device and life science sectors. His addition to the team signals another major step forward in the advancement of our cross-border patent litigation capab ilities.”

Kornreich’s practice focuses on representing arrangers and borrowers in syndicated bank financings within the energy sector, including MLP financings, sponsor backed acquisition financings, asset based lending facilities, first and second lien financings, and project financings.
Kornreich has particular experience representing parties involved in financings in the oil and gas sector, as well as participants in the power and renewable industry.
“Craig adds further strength to our energy industry practice through his product expertise, market experience and industry relationships,” said Michael Dillard, office managing partner of Latham & Watkins in Houston. “His specialized bank finance expertise in the oil and gas sector complements our transactional capabilities in Houston and more broadly our global energy practice.”
Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 attorneys in 30 offices around the world.

Jones Day Continues California Expansion

joshua — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:57:40 +0000

Jones Day announced it has bolstered its California offices with a pair of lateral hires. Cynthia Cwik, formerly of Latham & Watkins, joins the firm’s product liability and tort litigation practice in San Diego and Craig Mordock, formerly of Bingham McCutchen, joins the firm’s mergers & acquisitions practice in Irvine.

“The addition of these talented and experienced lawyers…will strengthen the experience available to our clients in the key areas of product liability litigation and corporate law,” said Joe Sims, the Jones Day partner responsible for coordinating the firm’s activities in California. “We’re pleased that our California offices are attracting some of the top lawyers in the state right now and we will continue to recruit this kind of high-level talent as we build on our significant presence here.”

The news comes on the heels of an announcement just last month that Khoa D. Do and Micheal J. Reagan, formerly partners at DLA Piper, joined Jones Day as partners in the Firm’s Silicon Valley Office, where they are both members of the Mergers & Acquisitions Practice.

Cwik has extensive experience in complex litigation and class actions, including mass tort and product liability cases, consumer class actions, and environmental cases. She is co-chair of the ABA Committee on Scientific Evidence, and has significant experience in cases involving health, science, and technology issues, with victories in several high-profile matters.

Mordock maintains a corporate and securities practice, with special emphasis on securities offerings, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions. His corporate finance experience ranges from representing venture capitalists and start-up companies in early-stage financings to representing issuers and investment banks in public offerings of equity and debt securities.

Jones Day is a global law firm with more than 2,500 lawyers, including over 400 in Europe and 200 in Asia, located in 32 centers of business and finance throughout the world.

Milbank Raids Latham for 5-Person Banking Team

joshua — Wed, 04 Aug 2010 19:20:28 +0000

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy has added five banking and leveraged finance attorneys from Latham & Watkins. Joining the firm’s New York office are partners Marc Hanrahan, Ronan Wicks, Marcus Dougherty, Patrick Flanagan and Lauren Hanrahan.

According to a firm press release, the team has worked together for more than 10 years and is considered “a major player” in the leveraged finance arena.

“These attorneys bring an exceptional level of experience to Milbank having handled some of the most significant lending transactions in recent years,” commented Mel Immergut, Chairman of Milbank. “Our expectation is that they will have an enormously positive impact on our traditionally strong banking and leveraged finance practice and enhance many other practice areas of the Firm including financial restructuring, litigation, securities and corporate.”

The team’s practice focuses on representing banks and other financial institutions in senior lending transactions. They bring significant experience in acquisition financings, including leveraged buyouts, tender offers and other going private transactions, recapitalizations, investment grade, second lien, asset-backed, bridge and mezzanine financings, debtor-in-possession and exit facilities, troubled loan restructurings and workout negotiations and other special situation financings.

Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy is an international law firm headquartered in New York City. The firm also has offices in Beijing, Frankfurt, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Munich, São Paulo, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, DC.

Survey Confirms Summer Hiring Cool If Not Frozen

eric — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 15:26:58 +0000

AmLaw Daily reported today that firms have cooled their 2010 summer associate hiring down by an average of 44 percent. That equates to roughly an average of 31 fewer summer associates per firm for each of the 114 firms that took the publication’s survey.

Am Law is also reporting that some of the biggest dips in hiring came from those firms found on its “A” List. This includes Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, which went from 223 summer associates last year to a meager 79 this year, and Cravath, Swaine & Moore, which saw an 81 percent cut in summer jobs. Ballard Spahr eliminated its summer camp entirely.

Finally, both Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher and Latham & Watkins had the largest summer school classes, although both saw a shrinking, about 40 associates less, of those classes.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 10:15:26 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, July 7th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories.

Latham & Watkins announced its launch of an Asian litigation practice centered in Hong Kong…

Detroit-based firm Dykema hired Robin Radomski as its Chief Marketing Officer…

Saul Ewing added a four-person team focused on the gaming industry…

Sidley Austin named a new managing Partner in San Francisco…

Thompson Hine LLP received national recognition for leadership in promoting diversity…

Skadden was found to be first in M&A Advisements for first half of year…

A global study found tracking procedures lacking in lawyer-to-lawyer referrals…

Weil Gotshal received two international Legal Alliance Awards…

Fisher & Phillips opened an office in Washington, D.C….

The Bureau of Labor Statistics showed legal sector lost 3,900 jobs in June…

Clifford Chance named a new London practice head…

Latham Goes To Asia To Litigate

eric — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 00:34:25 +0000

Continuing with the ongoing trend among international firms to bolster their capability to successfully litigate in Asia, Latham & Watkinsannounced on Monday that it had launched an Asia litigation practice centered in Hong Kong. To spearhead the effort it has brought on Simon Powell, formerly from Jones Day’s Hong Kong Office, says AmLaw Daily.

London partner and vice-chair of global litigation said its approach to litigation was crucial and to be two-fold, “seeking out both high-end local representations as well as “export” work.”

In addition, Powell, himself, also foresees a change in the Asian regulatory climate which will stimulate a need for increased litigation.

Powell, qualified to practice in Hong Kong, most recently represented Lehman Brothers in Asia as special counsel. He provides advisory services to financial services in the region as well being one of the far East’s top insolvency and litigation experts. The Hong Kong office, one of Latham’s newest, forms part of the firm’s presence in Asia. It numbers among its Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo offices.

Latham & Watkins was founded in 1934 and has over 2000 attorneys and 30 offices around the world.

Marketing Heavyweights Set for Harvard Club Forum

joshua — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 16:55:36 +0000

The chief marketing officers of DLA Piper, Greenberg Traurig and Morrison & Foerster are slated to serve as co-chairs of a law firm marketing and business development forum to be held at the Harvard Club in New York City on March 11 and 12.

Sponsored by The American Lawyer, roundtable discussion is dubbed the “Law Firm Marketing & Business Development Leadership Forum: Next Level Legal Marketing for 2010 and Beyond. According to a press release, the forum will offer a wide variety of panel discussion sessions featuring leading law firm marketers, industry marketing consultants and law firm managing partners.

The three CMO’s slated to attend are Joe Calve of Morrison & Foerster, Jolene M. Overbeck of DLA Piper and Bob Robertson of Greenberg Traurig.

Calve joined MoFo as CMO in February. Previously CMO at Proskauer Rose, Calve oversees marketing and business development efforts at MoFo. Overbeck was named global chief marketing officer at DLA Piper in 2007. Previously CMO at Latham & Watkins, Overbeck oversees all aspects of DLA Piper’s marketing and business development efforts worldwide. Robertson has been CMO at Greenberg Traurig since 2009. He previously served as director of business development at Haynes & Boone.

The complete conference agenda and registration details are available at www.americanlawyer.com/business.

London Revenue Plummets For U.S.-Based Firms

joshua — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 16:56:05 +0000

Nine of the 10 biggest U.S. firms with operations in London saw revenue decreases in 2009 with the lone holdout being Latham & Watkins.

According to TheLawyer.com, revenue for the top 10 U.S. firms in London fell by an average of 12 percent and among the top 30 firms revenue was down by 5 percent. Latham & Watkins, which saw its revenue increase by a mere $1.1 million, was in fact the lone firm out of the top 20 to increase revenue.

White & Case again garnered the most revenue among U.S. firms in London, but even it saw its revenue plummet by 20 percent to $197-million. Runner-up Baker & McKenzie’s revenue fell by 24 percent to $184.5 million.

The biggest drops in revenue percentage-wise were felt by Mayer Brown and K&L Gates. Both firms dropped 28 percent, with Mayer Brown down to $146.3 million and K&L Gates to $43.3 million.

The biggest increase last year came from WilmerHale, which moved from 23^rd in 2008 to 17^th in 2009 through an $8.2 million increase in revenue.

Morning Roundup

sara — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 12:54:25 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, April 7, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s news…

Quarles & Brady snag three attorneys from Holland & Knight and three from DLA Piper…

The U.S. Court of Appeals rules against the Federal Communications Commission in a net neutrality case involving Comcast..

Kelley Drye responds to an age discrimination suit filed against them by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission…

Former Federal Trade Commissioner Pamela Jones Harbour will join Fulbright & Jaworski…

Akin Gump tops the National Law Journals “influence 50″ rankings of the highest grossing Washington, D.C. lobbying practices…

Lawyers find delayed mercy in the Qualcomm discovery scandal ruling…

Latham & Watkins establishes a presence in Saudi Arabia…

Merchant & Gould opens a New York office and announces the addition of new partners…

Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto has refused to join a suit against the Health Care Reform bill…

Latham & Watkins Makes Move Into Saudi Arabia

joshua — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 21:52:36 +0000

Latham & Watkins has established a presence in Saudi Arabia through an association with the Law Office of Mohammed Al-Sheikh, a former affiliate of White & Case.

Al-Sheikh’s relationship with White & Case ended when he was among a group of partners to leave White & Case for Latham & Watkins in a series of moves earlier this year. According to LegalWeek, Latham now has around 50 lawyers at its four offices in the Middle East. The firm entered the region in January 2008 with new offices in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha.

Latham chairman Robert Dell commented on the move.

“The Middle East is one of the most dynamic regions in the world economy and we remain committed to developing our presence in the region as a key focus of our global growth strategy,” Dell told LegalWeek. “We expect to see continued inbound and outbound activity that demands sophisticated legal counsel and our presence in Riyadh will significantly bolster our regional capability.”

According to LegalWeek, Latham & Watkins joins Lovells and Eversheds as firms that have entered Saudi Arabia in the last year.

Latham & Watkins is based in Los Angeles, Calif. and has 2,100 attorneys in offices throughout the world.

Morning Roundup

sara — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 13:40:59 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, March 9, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

An Illinois judge refuses to dismiss a lawsuit against Donald Rumsfeld…

Former Greenberg Traurig partner Mark McCombs is charged with stealing $1 million from a local community…

Former New Jersey state official Karen J. Kominsky joins Cozen O’Connor…

Cravath, Swaine & Moore will represent Air Products and Chemicals in it’s attempted takeover of rival Airgas…

Swiss voters strike down an initiative giving free government appointed legal representation to animals…

A group of lawyers and the Brookings Institution have condemned recent attacks on Justice Department lawyers…

Chief Justice Roberts will speak at the University of Alabama…

The Supreme Court will review a case involving The Westboro Baptist Church during the Fall Term…

Squire, Sanders, & Dempsey promote a dozen lawyers…

Gross revenue remains almost unchanged profits increased slightly at Weil Gotshal…

Latham & Watkins add 8 energy partners to their Houston office…

Jackson Lewis welcomes three partners and two associates to its Raleigh office…

White & Case Suffers Yet Another Departure

joshua — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 17:49:02 +0000

Multiple reports indicate White & Case has been tagged with yet another defection, as Steve Betensky has apparently resigned as chair of the firm’s global information technology practice. The move follows news last week that Elaine Johnston left White & Case to join Allen & Overy’s antitrust practice; and earlier this week, Tanneke Heersche left the firm’s mining and metals practice in Johannesburg to join Canadian-based Fasken Martineau’s Johannesburg office.

Betensky worked in White & Case’s offices in Palo Alto and Prague.

Earlier this year White & Case had 13 partners leave for Latham & Watkins’s London office. In all, White & Case has had 23 partners leave since October.

White & Case is an international law firm founded in 1901 with a presence in the United States, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 11:33:56 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Thursday, February 25, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s news…

Morrison Foerster added a lateral in New York…

A former US Attorney joined up with Locke Lord…

Marc Daniel joined Arnold & Porter in Washington DC…

Latham & Watkins added one in Hong Kong…

Revenues dipped slightly while profits stayed flat at Arent Fox…

And speaking of Arent Fox, the firm picked up a lateral from Jones Day…

Jenner Block had a good year in 2009…

Jones Day picked up another California lateral…

Covington & Burling grow in Beijing…

Three Google executives have been convicted in absentia by an Italian court for privacy violations…

And Morgan Stanley’s chief legal officer has stepped down…

Latham & Watkins Adds Partner to Hong Kong Office

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:57:16 +0000

Latham & Watkins has added Raymond Kwok as a real estate partner in the firm’s Hong Kong office. Kwok previously served in the Hong Kong office of Blank Rome.

Latham & Watkins launched its Hong Kong law capability and further expanded its English law practice in the region in early 2009 with the addition of seven partners. Joseph Bevash, office managing partner of Latham & Watkins in Hong Kong, said the firm is continuing to develop its full-service representation of local and international clients in China and the Asia Pacific region.

According to a press release, Kwok bring more than 20 years experience representing clients in real estate transactions.

“Raymond’s broad range of real estate experience in Hong Kong and across China has earned him a stellar market reputation, “ said Michael Liu, co-chair of Latham & Watkins China practice. “He is certainly among a select group of lawyers that have a genuine specialty advising on complex issues in the real estate sector. He will be a tremendous asset to our firm’s Hong Kong law practice.”

Latham & Watkins is a global law firm with approximately 2,000 lawyers in 29 offices, including Abu Dhabi, Barcelona, Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Doha, Dubai, Frankfurt, Hamburg, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, Milan, Moscow, Munich, New Jersey, New York, Orange County, Paris, Rome, San Diego, San Francisco, Shanghai, Silicon Valley, Singapore, Tokyo and Washington, D.C.

Jones Day Nabs IP Partner from Latham & Watkins

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 18:06:32 +0000

Jones Day has added intellectual property litigator Mark Finkelstein as a partner in its office in Irvine, Calif. Finkelstein, who is the fifth lateral partner to join Jones Day in California this year, arrives from Latham & Watkins. You can read about the first four California laterals here.

According to a firm press release, Finkelstein specializes in IP disputes including litigating patent infringement matters, copyright infringement, trademark infringement and cybersquatting.

Jones Day is an international law firm with offices in 32 locations around the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:25:25 +0000

Good morning! Today is Thursday, February 18, and here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s headlines…

Citizens are nearly united against the Citizens United ruling…

Kilpatrick Stockton picked up a pair of partnersfrom Winston & Strawn…

The DoJ issued indictments in two noteworthy cases…

Another study shows fewer lawyers are making partner during the recession and recovery…

Latham & Watkins saw a decline in revenue in 2010, but per partner profits were up…

A pair of Chicago firms are moving into new digs…

Allen & Overy is opening up in Qatar…

Kaye Scholer has a new co-managing partner…

Gibson Dunn increased revenue and per partner profits last year…

While things remained steady at Greenberg Traurig…

Revenue Down, Profits Up at Latham Watkins

joshua — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:55:57 +0000

While gross revenue at Latham & Watkins decreased five percent to $1.821 billion in 2009, profit-per-partner managed to rise by five percent to $1.902 million. Helping to account for the rise in PPP was a big increase in net income from $786 million to $844 million.

The numbers are a big improvement from 2008 when the firm’s profits were down 20.5 percent. That resulted in the layoffs of 190 associates and 250 staff in March of last year. Currently there are 1,880 attorneys at Latham Watkins, down from 2,102. The number of equity partners grew from 436 to 444 and the number of non-equity partners grew from 122 to 131.

Latham & Watkins was founded in 1934 and has 29 offices around the world.

Allen & Overy Adds Partner from White & Case

joshua — Tue, 16 Feb 2010 16:11:23 +0000

White & Case, which has already had 13 partners depart for Latham & Watkins this year, has lost an additional partner in its New York office, this time to Allen & Overy. According to a statement from the firm, Elaine Johnston has left for A&O after 16 years at the firm.

Johnston will lead A&O’s antitrust practice. Allen & Overy is based in London and has over 2,000 attorneys with 450 partners. It has offices in 33 locations around the world.

Sidley Austin Salary Thaw and Double Raise

joshua — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 21:01:20 +0000

After issuing another round of paychecks at 2008 salary levels, Sidley Austin today announced its 2010 compensation plan. Salaries have been thawed and associates will be getting a double bump in salary, putting them back to where they would have been if they had never been frozen in the first place. Unlike some of the firms Sidley considers peers, however, associates will not be getting a “make whole” bonus. Kirkland & Ellis along with Latham & Watkins paid their associates a bonus equal to the amount the salary thaw cost them last year.

Still, there’s plenty to be happy about with today’s announcement. It puts Sidley back among those leading the market for salaries and may put pressure on firms that thawed salaries but didn’t move evenyone up two levels, or firms that cut salaries before thawing them.

Senate Confirms Ronald Machen & Others

sara — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:44:51 +0000

The Senate confirmed Ronald Machen as U.S. Attorney for D.C. on Thursday. Machen was a partner at WilmerHale. He was assistant attorney in DC from 1997 to 2001. Machen faced no opposition and was confirmed without a formal vote.

Andre Birotte Jr., former inspector general of the Los Angeles Police Department was confirmed as the U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California

Sharon Bowen, a partner in Latham & Watkins’ New York office, was confirmed as a director of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation.

Ketanji Brown, of counsel to Morrison & Foerster’s Washington office was confirmed to a seat on the U.S. Sentencing Commission.

Richard Hartunian, an assistant U.S. Attorney, was confirmed as U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York.

Lateral Market Heats Up

joshua — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 21:22:19 +0000

The lateral market for 2010 is expected to be brisk and we’ve already seen some big moves in the first month and a half of the year. This is following a record high for lateral moves in 2009, although some of that can be attributed to mergers or failing firms.

Big moves so far this year include a team of energy lawyers that joined Cooley Godward from Alston & Bird and 13 White & Case lawyers that jumped to Latham & Watkins in London.

As earning statements are released from various firms, partners are able to get a sense of which firms had the best grasp on the economic situation of 2009. This, coupled with a slow rebound of the economy may have some partners casting about for options, and firms are anxious to bring on partners with profitable practices.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 12:30:27 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, February 8, and it’s time to look back at Friday’s news…

Clyde & Co opened its third US office in New Jersey…

January was another bad month for the legal sector, with another 1,100 jobs lost…

Bernstein Liebhard abandoned its endeavor for Florida state pension work after admitting to inaccuracies in its application to the state committee…

Barnes & Thornburg added 5 laterals in Atlanta…

Mintz Levin’s consulting affiliate has a new senior vice president…

Several major firms in DC took a half day due to weather…

The Glover Park Group has a new managing director of its government affairs practice…

Cooley Godward picked up a team of energy lawyers from Alston & Bird…

Another partner has moved to Latham from White & Case…

Pomerantz is investigating Koss Corp. on behalf of its investors…

Fried Frank has new office space in DC…

Manatt named a new partner in LA…

and President Obama nominated two more US Attorneys…

13th Partner Quits White & Case for Latham

sara — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 14:34:54 +0000

White & Case lost its 13th partner to Latham & Watkins with M&A specialist Andrew Macklin becoming the latest to make the switch. Macklin made partner at White & Case in January 2009. He joined the firm in 2005 and relocated last year to the firm’s new Doha, Qatar office. Macklin’s departure leaves White & Case’s Doha office with only one associate. Macklin’s hiring will further boost Latham’s Middle East practice after the additions of corporate partner Villiers Terblanche, energy and infrastructure partner Nick Collins, project partner Christopher Langdon and project partner Mohammed Al-Sheikh.

Latham & Watkins LLP is an international law firm based in Los Angeles, California. The firm has 2,100 attorneys in offices around the world including Abu Dhabi, London, Hong Kong, Brussels, Moscow, Milan, Newark, New York City, Paris and San Francisco.

Jones Day Expands in California with Four Laterals

joshua — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 20:55:18 +0000

Jones Day expanded its presence in California today with the addition of four partners.

In San Diego, Patrick Elsevier is moving to Jones Day from Alston & Bird’s Atlanta office, and Ken Funahashi is coming on board from Baker & McKenzie. Elsevier is an IP litigator specializing in biotechnology patent litigation. Funahashi is a transactional lawyer who represents firms in Europe and Asia with investments in the United States. Over the last five years he has handled 35 transactions with an aggregate value of over $5 billion.

In the San Francisco office James Dutro is joining Jones Day from Latham & Watkins. Dutro is a health care lawyer specializing in structuring, negotiating and implementing integrated health care delivery systems and other hospital-physician alignment transactions and arrangements.

Tim Curry is an M&A lawyer moving to the Silicon Valley office from O’Melveny & Myers. Curry was the Transactional Department Head of O’Melveny’s Silicon Valley office, with a practice focusing on the representation of emerging growth and public technology companies in public offerings, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financings, and licensing and partnering transactions.

Along with the lateral moves, one existing Jones Day partner, Mike McFalls, has moved from the Washington office to the Silicon Valley office, and four associates have moved up the ranks to join the partnership. They are Jayne Froyd and Peggy Ward (Silicon Valley), and Eric Swanhold and Erica Reilly (Los Angeles).

With nine new California based partners, Jones Day has grown to 127 partners in the Golden State.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 12:22:25 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Tuesday, February 2, and here’s a quick peek back at yesterday’s headlines…

Ropes & Gray adds a former Assistant to the Solicitor General…

McDermott Will & Emery added one to its IP practice…

A forthcoming DoJ report will admonish but not sanction the lawyers who authored the “torture memos“…

UC San Diego is working on plans for a new law school…

DLA Piper hired Pfizer’s assistant general counsel…

Lateral moves were at a record high in 2009…

A Federal Court has ruled in favor of a blind law student trying to take the bar exam…

Jones Day has issued a memo in opposition to the NALP recruitment report…

Two more Paul Hasting lawyers moved to Haynes and Boone, bringing the total to six…

Chadbourne & Parke added one to its anti-trust practice…

Latham & Watkins added eight more from White & Case…

And Paul Weiss had record high profits in 2009…