JD Journal » los angeles law firms

LA Boutique Reish & Reicher Closing

joshua — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 19:08:06 +0000

Reish & Reicher, a boutique firm in LA specializing in ERISA cases, is shutting its doors as of March 15. Eleven attorneys, including named partner C. Frederick Reish, will be joining Drinker Biddle, while the remainder move to local firm Silver & Freedman.

Drinker Biddle will be host to the firm’s employee benefits practice. Attorneys in the estate planning practice will be joining Silver & Freedman. In a statement posted on the firm’s website, R&R assured its clients of a smooth transition as lawyers carry their business to their new firms.

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.

DLA Piper Gains IP Team from Hogan Lovells

joshua — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 18:09:11 +0000

A five-person intellectual property team has left Hogan Lovells to join DLA Piper in Los Angeles. Hogan Lovells’ co-managing partner in the U.S., J. Warren Gorrell Jr., told the National Law Journal the team made the move because of client conflicts.

Joining DLA Piper are partners Richard de Bodo, Siegmund Gutman, Robert Benson, Christopher Broderick and Troy Schmelzer. Additionally, Hogan Lovells of counsel Lawrence McClure is leaving the firm to be a partner at DLA Piper.

De Bodo is a former IP practice head at Hogan Lovells and his clients include Dow Jones & Co. and News Corp., the NLJ reports.

According to the story, the team has experience in Japanese electronics, life sciences, and pharmaceutical matters among others. Most of its work includes patent litigation and patent prosecution.

Jones Day Drops The Axe in L.A and Dallas

joshua — Thu, 17 Jun 2010 16:36:41 +0000

Jones Day, this year’s No. 4 ranked law firm in the AM Law 200, has laid off staff at its Dallas and Los Angeles offices. A partner at the firm’s Washington D.C. office confirmed the news to the ABA Journal Thursday.

According to a tip provided JD Journal yesterday, 17 staffers in Dallas were axed last week and an additional 15 were dropped from the firm’s Los Angeles office Tuesday. Washington D.C. partner Joe Sims declined to reveal the exact number of layoffs to the ABA Journal, but indicated those numbers were within range.

Jones Day had revenue of $1.57 billion in 2009 to place in the top-5 of the AM Law 200. Sims told the ABA Journal the layoffs were not economically-driven, “but simply rightsizing to be more effective.”

Jones Day has more than 2,500 lawyers in 32 offices throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia.

Profits, Revenue Up at Jenner & Block

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 19:35:57 +0000

Jenner & Block reported gross revenue of $367 million in 2009, a 6 percent increase from the previous year. Profits per partner jumped 33 percent to $1.1 million and revenue per lawyer was up 8 percent to $855,000. Per partner profits showed a markedly stronger increase than revenues in part because the firm dropped down to 128 partners, a decline of 17%.

Last year Jenner & Block opened a new office in Los Angeles, and the firm says it plans to continue its expansion this year, particularly in terms of hiring more laterals.

Jenner & Block has around 450 attorneys with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Washington D.C.

Arent Fox Adds Partner from Jones Day

joshua — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 17:31:46 +0000

Arent Fox LLP has added labor and employment lawyer Harry I. Johnson III as a partner in its Los Angeles office. Prior to joining Arent Fox Johnson served in the labor and employment practice at Jones Day.

The addition of Johnson is part of an ongoing expansion at Arent Fox’s L.A. office, which opened in 2007. Last week, Arent Fox added six partners from Venable to its automotive practice. There are now more than 40 attorneys in the L.A. office.

In his new role Johnson is slated to counsel clients on issues posed by California and federal labor and employment law.

Arent Fox has more than 350 attorneys with offices in Los Angeles, Washington D.C. and New York City.

Blank Rome Adds Six in Los Angeles

joshua — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 15:58:54 +0000

Blank Rome has expanded its Los Angeles office with the addition of six new lawyers to the roster.

Dennis Codon is joining the firm as Partner in the Public Companies and Capital Formation group. Codon is moving to Blank Rom from the firm of Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi. Prior to that, Codon spent almost 30 years with Unocal, eventually becoming Chief Legal Officer.

Howard Knee is bringing a team of attorneys from Knee, Ross & Silverman, where he was a named partner. Knee joins as partner in the Employment, Benefits and Labor group.

Moving to Blank Rome with Howard Knee and also joining the Employment, Benefits and Labor group are Michael Ludwig, Colleen Carolan, Jim Newman and Mary Pierce.

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 Hong Kong.

Irell & Manella Doubles Market Rate on Bonuses

joshua — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:28:23 +0000

Los Angeles based Irell & Manella gave its associates the good news last week. The firm is paying double the Sullivan & Cromwell scale, which is the Cravath scale with a little boost at the top. There are no performance reviews or subjective criteria, just a minimum number of billed hours. All associates who billed 1900 hours last year got the bonus.

Irell & Manella LLP was founded in 1941 by lawyers Lawrence E. Irell and Arthur Manella, and has grown to 220 lawyers. It has offices in Century City and Newport Beach.

Latham & Watkins Opens Office in Beijing

joshua — Mon, 04 Jan 2010 14:59:16 +0000

Last year Latham & Watkinshired away seven partners from Allen & Overy to help boost its China practice. Now, the firm has opened its third office in China, located in Beijing. Latham & Watkins already has offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong.

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.

Former Top Lawyer for Warner Brothers Joins Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp

joshua — Thu, 17 Dec 2009 01:02:46 +0000

John Schulman, lead counsel for Warner Brothers for 25 years, has joined Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp where he will be chairman of its entertainment department. Schulman retired from Warner Brothers in 2008 after building what many would consider to be the top studio law department in Hollywood.

MS&K is a Los Angeles firm founded in 1908 with offices in LA, New York and Washington, DC. Currently the firm employs 125 attorneys across a broad range of practices.

Drinker Biddle Jump Starts Los Angeles Office

joshua — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 19:40:19 +0000

Drinker Biddle first opened its doors in Los Angeles back in 2001 but the office never picked up steam and had dwindled down to one partner, two associates, and one of counsel. Now the firm is jump starting their LA presence with six new laterals, including four partners. George Caplan, Henry Shields, Kristopher Davis and Paul Gelb have moved from Epstein Becker & Green. Caplan, Shields and Davis have joined as partners, and Gelb comes aboard of counsel. Also moving to Drinker Biddle are Kate Gold, who joins as partner after being of counsel for Kaye Scholer, and Pamela Graham, an associate who is moving from Irell & Manella.

Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP was founded in Philadelphia in 1849. The firm has more than 650 attorneys in 12 offices in the US. Its largest offices are in Philadelphia, Chicago, Florham Park, New Jersey, and Washington, DC.

Tiger Woods Retains Boutique Firm Lavely & Singer

joshua — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 02:39:30 +0000

With his public image in freefall in the wake of a single car accident and embarrassing revelations about his private life, Tiger Woods has reportedly hired Hollywood boutique Lavely & Singer. According to the WSJ, the firm may be negotiating the silence of a woman who has allegedly had an affair with the golfer.

Lavely & Singer is an entertainment law boutique in Los Angeles. Prominent clients include Brad Pitt, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Kelsey Grammer.

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.