JD Journal » Skadden Arps

Josheph Flom Dead at 87

joshua — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:13:58 +0000

Joseph Flom passed away last night in a New York hospital from hear failure. The last living named partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom was 87 years old.

Flom was a New York native and began his education by taking night classes at City College of New York, while working a day job as an office boy in a small law firm. During World War II he served in the US Army, and then got his law degree from Harvard University with the help of the GI Bill. The following year he was the first associate hired by the three founders of Skadden, and became a partner in 1954.

In the 70′s, Flom brought M&A into the mainstream of corporate law and served as lead counsel in numerous hostile takeovers.

Joseph Flom was the founding trustee of the Skadden Fellowship Foundation, whose mission is “to give Fellows the freedom to pursue public interest work.” In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the foundation.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 01:17:48 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Wednesday, November 24th. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s headlines.

The exchange of artillery fire between North and South Korea set the stage for China to make a distinctive mark on the world stage…

The law firm bonus season began…

Crowell & Moring LLP & the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law established the Took Crowell Institute for At-Risk youth…

Wilmer Hale announced a plan for leadership succession…

Bonus Season has Begun

joshua — Tue, 23 Nov 2010 20:09:38 +0000

Last year, Cravath kicked off the bonus season with a bonus schedule that represented huge cuts from previous years. Most firms followed behind, although some firms took the Sullivan & Cromwell model instead, which differed only in that the most senior associates got an extra $5,000.

We can only hope that Cravath isn’t as influential at setting the market rate this year. Cravath will be paying bonuses that look identical to Sullivan’s 2009 scale – that is to say, no different from their own 2009 bonuses unless you are a 7th year associate. First year associates will receive $7,500, senior associates will get $35,000 and everyone else falls somewhere in between. AM Law has the full bonus scale and a copy of the firm’s memo here.

Obviously 2009 was a difficult year for the legal industry, as it was for the rest of the economy, but most signs indicate that 2010 was a vast improvement. We had hoped to see that reflected in bonuses for the year. It’s possible that other firms will buck the Cravath scale, even though very few did last year, but according my magic 8-ball the outcome is doubtful. Skadden has already followed with an identical bonus schedule.

Skadden Arps Partner David Meister Named Head of Enforcement at U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission

joshua — Wed, 03 Nov 2010 15:02:50 +0000

Skadden Arps partner David Meister has been named head of enforcement at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The CFTC’s director of enforcement oversees the investigation of instances of alleged fraud, market manipulation and abusive trading practices. The CFTC’s largest enforcement action to date was in 2007, a $303 million settlement with BP for charges of manipulating propane markets.

Meister is a partner in Skadden’s white collar crime practice. A former federal prosecutor, Meister has more than 20 years of white collar experience. He represents financial institutions, other corporations and their senior executives in criminal, enforcement and regulatory matters involving the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, state attorneys general, and other federal and state regulators. He has extensive experience conducting internal investigations for boards of directors and board committees concerning fraud, corruption, bank sanctions, money laundering and other potential corporate misdeeds. Mr. Meister has been lead counsel in numerous federal criminal jury trials.

Notable cases include his representation of John Landes, who was the general counsel of ImClone when Martha Stewart was accused of trading its shares on inside information. Additionally, as a US prosecutor in the 1990s, he won a guilty verdict in a case of inside trading on stocks of Motel 6, the US hospitality chain.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Affiliates was founded in 1948, and is a prominent law firm based in New York City. With over 2,000 attorneys, it is one of the largest and highest-grossing law firms in the world.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 12:56:09 +0000

Good morning everyone! Today is Monday, August 16th. Here’s a quick look back at Friday’s stories.

Baron & Budd, P.C. will represent Louisianans in upcoming case against BP…

A survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association revealed the number of Fortune 500 companies with female general counsels reached an all-time high this year…

King & Spalding applied for government permission to open an office in Singapore…

Skadden added a partner in its Washington, D.C. Office…

Skadden Adds Partner in Washington, D.C. Office

joshua — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 16:22:50 +0000

Mark D. Young, a leading financial services regulation attorney with vast experience representing clients before the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), has joined Skadden as a partner in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

According to the press release at the firm’s site, Mr. Young, a former CFTC assistant general counsel, has handled landmark appeals in the area of CFTC-SEC jurisdiction and has a strong background in legislative issues addressing financial regulatory reform.

He has more than thirty years of experience in financial services regulation, legislative advocacy, and business and transactional counseling in the derivatives arena. On behalf of his broad client base, he played a key role in the development of federal regulatory policy on financial derivatives under the Dodd-Frank Act and will be active on behalf of the firm’s clients as those agencies develop the numerous new regulations required by the Act. In addition, he played a lead role in connection with every major piece of legislation to amend the Commodity Exchange Act, the statute administered by the CFTC, since 1978.

Founded in 1948, Skadden is a New York City based firm with 2,000 lawyers in 24 offices around the world including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong and Sydney.

List Of Top Corporate Law Firms Released

eric — Thu, 13 May 2010 14:25:16 +0000

The Law.com has released its list of top corporate law firms. Check it out.

The list is based on a number of different rankings compiled by Corporate Board Member Magazine, FTI Consulting Inc., and big business corporate directors and general counsel throughout the country.

Not to ruin the surprise (if you haven’t yet noticed which firm’s logo is in the upper right hand corner of this post) … but Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom has topped both board directors’ and general counsels’ list again. Congrats Skadden!

Skadden is a New York City based firm with 2,000 lawyers in offices around the world including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., Toronto, Brussels, Frankfurt, London, Moscow, Munich, Paris, Beijing, Hong Kong and Sydney.

Skadden Names New Head of Asia Pacific Practice

joshua — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 15:50:36 +0000

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom has named Audrey Sokoloff as co-head of the firm’s Asia Pacific practice. A partner in Skadden’s Tokyo office, Sokoloff will join Hong Kong-based Alan Schiffman in managing the firm’s six Asia Pacific offices.

According to LegalWeek, Skadden’s Asia-Pacific practice was previously headed by U.S.-based partners Michael Gisser and Phyllis Korff in addition to Schiffman. The firm has since decided to supervise the practice from Asia rather than domestically.

“The development of the practice in Asia means that it makes sense to base the leadership here,” Sokoloff told Legal Week. “I will be coordinating and providing oversight to our offices in Asia, Europe and the Americas and am excited about Skadden’s continued growth in the Asia region.”

Sokoloff will also continue to head the Tokyo office and its Asia-Pacific real estate and investment finance teams. She has been in Asia since 2008.

Skadden has more than 100 lawyers in the Asia-Pacific region with offices in Beijing, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo.

Former White House Deputy Counsel Arrested

joshua — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 20:49:48 +0000

John Farren, a deputy counsel to President George W Bush, has been arrested for the attempted murder of his wife, Mary Farren, after he allegedly beat her in the face with a flashlight and tried to choke her. Mary, who is an attorney at Skadden Arps, suffered a broken jaw, numerous bruises, and passed out briefly. Upon regaining concious, her husband went to find a knife and she fled the house with her children and contacted the police. Mary Farren served her husband with divorce papers this past Monday, which appears to be the motivation for the attack.

John Farren is currently being held on a $2 million bond. His next court appearance will be January 21.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 12:15:12 +0000

Good morning! Today is Wednesday, January 6, and here’s a look back at yesterday’s news.

A federal judge has upheld most of a new law regulating tobacco companies and advertising…

Raymond Mullady has moved from Orrick to Blank Rome…

Blank Rome in turn has lost four IP lawyers to Sterne Kessler…

Dechert announced its bonuses and 2010 compensation….

and there’s new leadership in Skadden’s Chicago office…

New Leadership at Skadden Arps Chicago Office

joshua — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:39:10 +0000

Wayne Whalen has stepped down as head of Skadden‘s Chicago office. Whalen has been with Skadden since leaving Mayer Brown in 1984 to help set up the Chicago office, which quickly became the busiest office in the Skadden network. His hand picked successor, Brian Duwe, was still three year away from his degree at the University of Chicago Law School when Whalen joined Skadden.

Whalen plans to maintain his existing corporate practice but said the time was right to pass the torch after 25 years.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher and Flom, LLP is a global firm headquartered in New York City with offices in twenty-four cities around the world. Core areas of practice include mergers and acquisitions, litigation, bankruptcy, tax, and securities law.

Firms Tighten up in Partnership Promotions

joshua — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 23:21:46 +0000

In a year that has been notable for salary cuts, layoffs, associate deferrals and smaller bonuses, it should come as no surprise that promotions to partner are also down across the board. Profits are down, and firms are reluctant to increase the number of slices of the shrinking pie. Although not every firm has announced this years promotions yet, plenty have.

Here’s a sampling of prominent firms that have announced a smaller partnership class this year compared to last year: Cleary Gottlieb, Latham & Watkins, Ropes & Gray, Proskauer Rose, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Skadden Arps, Davis Polk, Paul Hastings, Gibson Dunn, Mayer Brown, Kirkland & Ellis. The list of firms bucking the trend is much smaller and those that have promoted larger classes have promoted only marginally more partners while some of the firms with smaller classes have cut promotions by as much as half. Fried Frank for example promoted seven new partners, up from five the previous year, but did so in a year where its total number of attorneys shrank by 26%.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:31:33 +0000

Good morning everyone! As we head into Thanksgiving week, things have slowed down a bit. Here’s a look back at the end of last week.

Seyfarth Shaw has redeferred half of its incoming class and cut salaries for all first years…

Wilkie Farr and Simpson Thatcher have both put out their bonus schedules….

Scott Rothstein has made a written request for disbarrment….

Skadden has also settled on bonuses, and they look very familiar…

and I mused ahead on the trial and likely conviction and execution of Khalid Sheikh Mohammad.

Skadden Bonuses Match Cravath and Cleary

joshua — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:02:58 +0000

If you’re an associate at Skadden Arps, the good news is not only do you still have a job, you’re getting a bonus for surviving the year. The not so good news is that it’s the same as associates from Cravath and Cleary. There had been some hope that Skadden would buck the trend, much as they did last year when it paid bonuses around double that of most firms, but such is not the case. Like Cravath and Cleary, Skadden’s bonuses run from $7,500 up to $30,000.

Tuesday Roundup

joshua — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 15:45:41 +0000

Good morning everyone! Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories…

Morrison & Foerster lowers salaries for California associates…

Schulte Roth nabs five securities lawyers from Mayer Brown…

Six lawyers jump from Anderson Kill to Offit Kurman…

The DoJ has an Office of Vaccine Litigation? Yes, and it is hiring…

Skadden Arps picks up former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt…

Former FCC Chair Reed Hundt is Moving to Skadden Arps

joshua — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 15:50:50 +0000

Reed Hundt, FCC Chairman from 1993 to 1997, announced at a panel on the regulatory process at a Yale Law School Alumni function that he is joining Skadden. The announcement came after the moderator introduced him as a senior adviser to McKinsey & Company. No news yet on which office or practice group(s) Hundt will join, but the Washington DC office seems a safe bet, and Skadden has an information technology practice group and a media and entertainment practice as well. Prior to his stint at the FCC, Chariman Hundt was a partner at Latham & Watkins where he was involved in legal and regulatory issues in emerging technologies.

Morning Roundup

joshua — Fri, 25 Sep 2009 15:36:27 +0000

Good morning everyone. Here’s a quick look back at yesterday’s stories…

Justice Ginsburg was hospitalized yesterday evening…

Arent Fox has revoked some of its offers for new associates…

There are upcoming changes to the FRCP you should be aware of…

Skadden sent out its offers for 2010 summer associates…

Justice Sotomayor will throw out the first pitch at this Saturday’s Yankees game… school…

Orange County is offering those arrested for a misdemeanor a get out of jail free card…

and DePaul accidentaly sent an email to everyone that had ever applied to its law

Skadden Arps To Cut Summer Program Invitations In Half

todd — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 17:17:45 +0000

Prominent New York based firm Skadden Arps sent out offers to potential candidates for their 2010 summer program. The firm, which boasts over 2,000 lawyers, announced in August that there would be massive cuts to their summer hiring. They hired 225 students for this summer’s program and they plan to hire less than half of that for the summer of 2010.

It is up in the air as to how the rates for summer participants will compare to previous years.