JD Journal » Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr

“Legendary” White Collar Crime Attorney Joins WilmerHale’s London Office

rebneely — Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:15:44 +0000

In recent days, global law firm WilmerHale announced that Stephen Pollard, a leading practitioner in the areas of white-collar crime and regulatory financial services, joined the London office.

Pollard will join as a partner in the Investigations and Criminal Litigation Practice. He joins from law firm Kingsley Napley LLP, also based in London.

Pollard is widely known as one of the leading lawyers in the United Kingdom for his work in cases regarding allegations of insider trading, market manipulation and market abuse. He has established an extensive practice during the last 22 years, especially in cases involving regulatory or criminal investigation by the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and the Serious Fraud Office (SFO).

Among other notable, high-level representations, Pollard represented former Barings trader Nick Leeson; a defendant in the FSA’s first criminal prosecution for market manipulation; and a partner of a leading hedge fund facing allegations of market abuse. He has specialized expertise in the defense of financial services fraud, internal investigations, multijurisdictional white-collar crime allegations, corruption allegations and competition/cartel allegations.

Pollard is one of only four Chambers UK “Star Individuals” for white-collar crime fraud work. Chambers UK has described him as “legendary” and also notes he “has the perfect combination of commercial litigation skills and a criminal law background, and always fights his clients’ corner well.” Chambers UK also lists him as a leading practitioner for financial services work and recommends his cartel defense practice. He is also listed as a leader in his field in the 2011 edition of the International Who’s Who of Business Lawyers.

WilmerHale Co-Managing Partner William J. Perlstein was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Mr. Pollard is an important strategic addition to our global white-collar criminal defense, investigations and securities practices. White-collar defense is a field that is becoming increasingly international, especially considering the proactive and aggressive approach of the FSA, and our group will benefit greatly from his UK expertise.”

White-collar defense, securities enforcement, financial institutions and Foreign Corrupt Practices Act expertise is a hallmark of WilmerHale in the United States and, ever more so in the UK and global markets. Pollard’s arrival will strengthen the firm’s growing representation of multinational companies, corporate executives and high-ranking public officials that retain the firm to counsel them in internal corporate investigations; government investigations; criminal litigation; and related civil and administrative proceedings. The firm defends clients internationally against allegations of insider trading; health care, securities, accounting and government contracts fraud; violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, Anti-kickback Statute and False Claims Act; criminal environmental violations; criminal antitrust violations; money laundering; and violations of other statutes.

Pollard was quoted as saying: “I am excited to join WilmerHale. The firm has an excellent reputation in the white-collar and financial services regulation space and provides a great platform for me to continue to grow my practice.”

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia, and employs over 1,100 attorneys worldwide

WilmerHale Helps in Effort to Pass Landmark Peace Corps Reform Legislation

rebneely — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 08:00:05 +0000

The United States House of Representatives passed the Kate Puzey Peace Corps Volunteer Protection Act of 2011 on November 1^st. The legislation enacted historic reforms to the Peace Corps’ policies for the prevention of rape and sexual assault of its volunteers and for providing assistance to volunteers who are the victims of sexual assault during their service. The Senate passed the bill on September 26. It has been sent to President Obama, and he is expected to sign it into law.

WilmerHale provided representation for five returned Peace Corps volunteers who were sexually assaulted during their service. The attorneys helped gather and publicize evidence of longstanding, systemic weaknesses in the Peace Corps’ sexual assault prevention and response policies. In addition, the firm provided substantial technical assistance to volunteers and others advocating the newly enacted reforms.

The firm praised Congress for acting, and current Peace Corps Director Aaron Williams for supporting the landmark legislation. WilmerHale’s pro bono team was led by Associates Natalie Adams and Robert Zachary Beasley and Summer Associate Matthew Robinson, and supported by Partners Reginald Brown, Kimberly Parker, Eric Mogilnicki and John Valentine.

Senators Isakson and Boxer and Representatives Ros-Lehtinen, Poe and Tsongas provided congressional leadership. Pro bono public relations support was provided by Michele Davis and Anthony Coley of Brunswick Group.

The bill was named for a Peace Corps volunteer killed in Benin in 2009.

According to the November 2nd legaltimes.com article, “Congress Passes Wilmer-Supported Legislation to Protect Peace Corp Volunteers”, the bill would require the Peace Corps to provide “comprehensive sexual assault risk-reduction and response training” and information about what should be done if a volunteer becomes the victim of sexual assault. It would also establish a sexual assault advisory council and require the agency to keep track of the incidents of sexual assault against volunteers.

Reginald Brown, a Wilmer partner and head of the firm’s congressional investigation practice was quoted as saying: “We are thrilled that Congress and the Peace Corps responded so quickly and comprehensively.”

Brown is a former Peace Corps volunteer; he served in Micronesia from 1990 to 1992. Former Peace Corps volunteers who had been victims of sexual assault contacted him, and from there, he put together a team of lawyers led by second-year associate Natalie Adams.

Brown was quoted as saying: “Natalie led this engagement as a second-year associate. Helping volunteers tell the story of their experiences, preparing for hearings and media events, negotiating with a federal agency and shepherding through legislation in less than a year is quite an accomplishment. Ultimately, the power of our clients’ stories and the sacrifice of Kate Puzey – who died trying to advocate for assault victims – made this legislation a reality.”

With over 1,100 attorneys, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia. The firm has consistently distinguished itself as a leader in pro bono representation.

Prominent Litigation Attorney and Former DOJ Assistant AG Joins WilmerHale

rebneely — Mon, 24 Oct 2011 08:00:24 +0000

WilmerHale recently announced that Molly Boast, former Department of Justice Deputy Assistant Attorney General, joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Antitrust and Competition Practice.

Boast possesses over thirty years of litigation experience in both the public and private sectors. This includes leadership roles in the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and in private practice.

As a key member of the firm’s New York office and its global Antitrust and Competition Practice, she will manage high-profile antitrust regulatory and litigation matters for the firm.

From May 2009 to February 2011, she served as Deputy Assistant Attorney General in the DOJ’s Antitrust Division. As the senior official responsible for civil enforcement, she oversaw all merger and conduct investigations; this led numerous significant merger and civil non-merger resolutions, including the NBC/Comcast and Oracle/Sun Microsystems ventures. 150 legal professionals were under her supervision in the Antitrust Division; she was one of three division authors of the 2010 Horizontal Merger Guidelines.

Boast served first as Senior Deputy Director and then as Director of the Bureau of Competition at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) from 1999-2001. Many mergers occurred during this period of time; she was responsible for many significant competition investigations and enforcement actions and served as the bureau’s Capitol Hill spokesperson on energy and pharmaceutical industry matters.

Michelle Miller and Thomas Mueller, co-chairs of WilmerHale’s Antitrust and Competition Practice, expect Boast “to bring a depth of experience from her years of government service and private practice that will be of tremendous benefit to the firm’s clients.”

William Perlstein, co-managing partner at the firm was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Molly Boast is one of the top antitrust litigators in the field. Her extensive experience at the senior levels of two government agencies and in leading complex litigation matters is a unique combination that will serve not only our antitrust and competition clients, but also our entire firm.”

Boast is well known in the New York litigation community. She served previously as a partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, and before that at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae LLP. She has handled major antitrust litigation and governmental investigation matters, including a seminal antitrust case before the US Supreme Court. At Debevoise, Boast was the chair of the antitrust group, and at LeBoeuf, Lamb, Greene & MacRae, she chaired the litigation department.

Additionally, Boast has served on the governing bodies of the litigation and antitrust sections of the American Bar Association and the New York State Bar Association. She was also the first woman to chair the federal courts committees of both the Federal Bar Council and the New York City Bar Association. She earned her JD from Columbia University School of Law; there she was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar and received the Jane Marks Murphy Prize for public interest contributions.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia, with over 1,100 attorneys worldwide.

With one of the leading antitrust and competition practices in the United States and Europe, WilmerHale has decades of experience and over 70 competition lawyers in the US, Europe and China. The practice is consistently ranked in the top tiers of major legal directories such as Chambers USA, Chambers Global, Legal 500, Global Competition Review and PLC Which Lawyer.

Interior Department Assistant Secretary and Chief of Staff Thomas Strickland Joins WilmerHale as Partner

rebneely — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 14:11:40 +0000

The law firm of WilmerHale recently announced that Thomas Strickland, former Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks for the United States Department of the Interior, has joined the firm as a partner in its Washington D.C. office. In this role, he will be responsible for matters dealing with law, business, and government policy, including governmental enforcement cases, Congressional and internal investigations, corporate governance, and high-stakes crisis management matters.

Strickland served as a senior member of the Obama Administration. Prior to this role, he served as chief legal officer for UnitedHealth Group, United States Attorney for the District of Colorado, and Policy Director for Colorado Governor Richard Lamm. In addition, he also was a successful leader in private practice.

Mr. Strickland joined the Interior Department in 2009, after being confirmed by the U.S. Senate. He held both the Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary positions. As Chief of Staff to Secretary Ken Salazar, he managed press, legislative and intergovernmental affairs for the department. This included coordination with the White House and external constituencies. He was also responsible for managing nearly 80,000 employees, as well as a $12 billion budget. As Assistant Secretary, he was responsible for managing the National Park System and the National Wildlife Refuge System, as well as for enforcing the Endangered Species Act.

WilmerHale Co-Managing Partner William Perlstein was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “Tom has a rare combination of public and private sector experience and substantive expertise that enables him to assist clients in successfully navigating the most challenging matters involving government oversight, regulation and enforcement. He has a strong reputation and track record as a problem solver in high-stakes cases.”

Before his service with the Department of the Interior, Strickland was executive vice president and chief legal officer at UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s leading managed health care companies. There, he managed an in-house group of 200 attorneys, as well as a nationwide team of outside counsel. Responsible for all legal, regulatory and compliance matters, he also implemented various corporate governance initiatives.

He also has significant experience in private practice. As a partner at Hogan & Hartson, he participated in building and leading the firm’s practice in Colorado. Prior to this, he served as U.S. Attorney for Colorado. In this role, he was in charge of the federal investigation of the Columbine shootings. His expertise lies in the areas of natural resources and environmental, health care regulation, and securities laws.

Strickland was quoted as saying in the press release: “WilmerHale is the perfect fit for me because it has the full range of top policy, regulatory and litigation practices necessary to assist clients with high-stakes matters involving government oversight and policy. I had the privilege of working with a multi-disciplinary team at WilmerHale when I was with UnitedHealth, and was greatly impressed with the firm’s quality and depth, collaborative approach, and sophisticated understanding of how government works.”

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has over 1,000 lawyers in twelve offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Boyd M. Johnson, III, Deputy U.S. Attorney for SDNY Joins WilmerHale

rebneely — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 13:57:03 +0000

The law firm of WilmerHale recently announced that Boyd M. Johnson III, current Deputy U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York (SDNY), will join its trial litigation and white collar practices.

As Deputy U.S. Attorney, Johnson has overseen the litigation of all criminal and civil cases brought on behalf of the SDNY, including several high profile matters: the biggest crackdown in U.S. history on hedge fund insider trading; in regards to the Bernard Madoff fraud scandal, the handling of the criminal prosecutions and civil forfeiture proceedings, as well as the “investigation and prosecution of individuals and entities responsible for structuring and promoting international tax shelters,” per the press release at the firm’s website. In this role, Johnson supervised over 450 federal employees, managed a $50 million budget and took part in the creation of the SDNY’s Civil Frauds Unit.

William Perlstein, co-managing partner at WilmerHale, was quoted as saying in the press release: “Boyd’s reputation precedes him, and his tenacity combined with his intellect, demeanor and dedication to developing young lawyers makes him an excellent addition to our Litigation/Controversy Department and our New York office.”

Prior to serving as Deputy US Attorney, Johnson served as Chief of the SDNY’s Public Corruption Unit. In this role, Boyd supervised bribery and embezzlement prosecutions of New York State legislators and New York City council members, and investigations of corruption of United Nations officials. In addition, he led an investigation into prostitution rings used by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.

Johnson served as the Deputy Chief and Chief of the SDNY’s International Narcotics Trafficking Unit from 2004 to 2006. During this time, he led extraterritorial prosecutions of Colombian, Mexican and Chinese drug kingpins; Afghan narco-terrorists; and members of global money-laundering syndicates.

Johnson began his career at the SDNY over a decade ago, in 1999. Since then, he has conducted 15 federal jury trials, briefed and argued 15 appeals before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and led the prosecution in the terrorism trial of Monzer al Kassar, a Syrian arms trafficker who supplied weapons to terrorists for over thirty years.

According to the press release, the New York Times reported that Johnson “has been described as a classic hard-charging government lawyer, confident and talented yet self-deprecating and fair, who would not allow politics to hinder good judgment.”

According to the March 2008 wsj.com blog, “The Man Behind the Spitzer Prosecution: Boyd M. Johnson III”, Randy Mastro, a Gibson Dunn partner and formerly the deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani, and who supervised Johnson as an associate at the firm, where he worked in the mid- 1990s, was quoted as saying of Johnson:: “He’s a very affable guy, but don’t let that affability fool you — he’s a very tenacious, determined litigator.” He also was quoted as saying that when he persuaded Johnson to stay with the firm when he was considering moving to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Johnson responded that becoming a prosecutor “is just something I really want to do.”

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr has over 1,000 lawyers in twelve offices in the United States, Europe and Asia.

Venable Adds Five Attorneys from Wilmer Hale to Real Estate Group

joshua — Mon, 15 Nov 2010 14:42:17 +0000

Venable has added five attorneys to its real estate group. The attorneys are partners Thomas Millspaugh, Brian Gurtman, and Patrick Lincoln, and associates Kamaal Jones and Joseph Creech.

They join from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.

Millspaugh will work out of Venable’s Washington and Baltimore offices. Lincoln will be based solely in Washington, and Gurtman will work out of the firm’s New York office.

The group advises clients on multi-state property deals and has provided counsel to several investment management firms on real estate matters. They also advise pension funds and other institutional investors, fund advisors, developers, corporate property owners and private equity investors.

With nearly 600 attorneys in offices across the country practicing in all areas of corporate and business law, complex litigation, intellectual property and regulatory and government affairs, Venable is one of America’s top 100 law firms.

Profits per Partner up 7% at Wilmer Hale

joshua — Mon, 25 Jan 2010 22:49:02 +0000

After a rocky first half of the year, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr posted a seven percent per partner profit increase last year, going from $1.08 million to $1.16 million. Total firm revenue was down slightly overall, but so was the partner headcount at 318, down from 330. The number of associates was up, despite mid year layoffs.

According to the firm, revenues in the first half of the year were down but made a strong recovery in the second half of the year, lead by the IP practice group which had a 10% growth in business. Also doing well were the bankruptcy practice and the anti-trust practice.

Carl Nichols Joins WilmerHale

joshua — Wed, 13 Jan 2010 20:16:41 +0000

Carl Nichols, a former senior litigator for the Department of Justice has joined WilmerHale as a partner.

Nichols worked in the DoJ under President George W Bush from 2005 until 2009, serving as Deputy Assistant Attorney General for the Federal Programs Branch of the Civil Division, and later as the Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General. While with the Justice Department, Nichols handled several high profile cases, including cases enjoining state investigations into alleged acts of the National Security Agency and various lawsuits filed against telecommunications companies over their participation in national security programs. Prior to his stint at Justice, Nichols was with Boies, Schiller & Flexner.

At WilmerHale, Nichols practice will be in the Litigation/Controversy Department, and a member of the Government and Regulatory Litigation and Appellate and Supreme Court Litigation Practice Groups, as well as the Business Trial Group.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the US, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale & Dorr and the Washington’s Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,100 attorneys worldwide. As of 2008, it was the 23rd largest law firm in the world in terms of revenue.

Staff Layoffs at WilmerHale

joshua — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 21:38:26 +0000

WilmerHale laid off 57 staff members across 4 offices today, with the biggest cuts coming in Washington DC and Boston. The company says the decision was made to be able to “respond to a changed business landscape and provide the highest quality legal services in a more cost-effective manner”. So far this year, WilmerHale has managed to avoid any large scale attorney layoffs, but has told some associates that they need to start looking for new jobs.

Above the Law was the first to report on the staff cuts, thanks to anonymous tips it received. Apparently WilmerHale’s attempt to stifle leaks was not as successful as it had hoped.

Yale Law Women Choose 2009 Top Ten ‘Family-Friendly’ Firms

Erik Even — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 21:05:03 +0000

Yale Law Women has announced its 2009 Top Ten Family Friendly Firms List:

Arnold & Porter
Cleary Gottlieb
Covington & Burling
Jenner & Block
Katten Muchin Rosenman
Mayer Brown
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Patton Boggs
Sidley Austin
WilmerHale

From the press release:

YLW believes that the discussion of family friendly firm policies remains salient in the midst of the current recession… YLW hopes leading firms will use this period of transformation as an opportunity to develop more flexible work arrangements and career paths for their attorneys…

Twenty-five percent of firms who responded to our survey offer formal “off-ramp/on-ramp programs,” which allow attorneys to leave the firm for a number of years to pursue other types of legal practice or to take time off to spend with their families.

Flexible and part-time work options are also becoming the norm: 99% of part-time requests were granted on average, and 41% of responding firms automatically grant part-time requests if conditions in a written policy are met…

…YLW remains concerned about the dearth of women in leadership positions, the gender gap in those who take advantage of family friendly policies, and the possibility that working part-time can derail an otherwise successful career.

Yale Law Women is a non-partisan organization that promotes the interests of women within the law school and beyond. To this end, YLW cultivates debate and discussion of issues pertaining to women and gender broadly defined; promotes speech and action by YLW members on issues of import to women; devotes resources to student support and professional development; recognizes and fosters outstanding achievement; and advocates in service of women’s interests in society.

50 Best Law Firms for Women Announced

Erik Even — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 20:33:38 +0000

Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers have announced their 2009 Best Law Firms for Women.

The accolade is awarded based on attention to work-life and women’s issues, and the increased use of part-time and other family-friendly policies.

Firms with at least 50 lawyers were eligible to apply, and the application included detailed questions about issues that are important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. The winning firms were selected based on their workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women, among other criteria utilizing 2008 data.

The 50 firms chosen are not ranked in any order, but include:

Alston & Bird
Andrews Kurth
Arent Fox
Bass Berry Sims
Chapman and Cutler
Covington & Burling
Davis Polk & Wardwell
Debevoise & Plimpton
Dorsey & Whitney
Drinker Biddle
Foley Hoag
Folger Levin & Kahn
Fox Rothschild
Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz
Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson
Frost Brown Todd
Gibbons PC
Goodwin Procter
Gray Plant Mooty
Hanson Bridgett
Hardy & Bacon
Holland and Hart
Honigman Miller Schwartz & Cohn
Ice Miller
Jenner & Block
Katten Muchin Rosenman Cornish LLP
Latham & Watkins
Lindquist & Vennum
Littler Mendelson
Lowenstein Sandler
Manatt Phelps & Phillips
McGuireWoods
Miller & Chevalier
Morrison & Foerster
Munger Tolles & Olson
Neal Gerber & Eisenberg
Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison
Perkins Coie
Pillsbury Winthrop
Quarles & Brady
Shook
Sidley Austin
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Smith Moore Leatherwood
Steptoe & Johnson
Sterne Kessler Goldstein & Fox
Vinson & Elkins
Weil Gotshal & Manges
Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati

Huh. The list of firms not included might be shorter.

Rumor: WilmerHale Cutting Up to 15% of Associates Firmwide

Erik Even — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 16:50:51 +0000

In June, we reported that WilmerHale informed an undisclosed number of associates and counsel that they will lose their jobs this Fall.

Now blawgs are reporting on tips, coming from within the firm, that 10 to 15% of all associates firmwide have been informed they will lose their positions. Most are being told to leave for performance reasons; but some of the firings are based on the economy.

If you know anything about layoffs at WilmerHale, please — send us a confidential tip!

WilmerHale Asks Lawyers to Please Go Away Soon

Erik Even — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 21:08:53 +0000

WilmerHale has informed an undisclosed number of associates and counsel that they will lose their jobs this Fall. The firm stresses that these are not “layoffs,” although rational persons are hard-pressed to tell the difference.

Those affected are being given “a number of months” to find new jobs. The cuts are the result of a new “up or out” program. If a lawyer is not promoted within a certain time frame, he or she is asked to leave the firm.

In April, WilmerHale deferred start dates for its 2009 associate class.

Akin Gump Brings On Litigation Partners

Erik Even — Tue, 26 May 2009 17:46:53 +0000

Akin Gump has announced the hiring of partners Nicholas Porritt and William White for its litigation practice in Washington DC.

Porritt comes to Akin Gump from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He handles SEC and commercial litigation matters.

White spent the last 10 years at WilmerHale. Before that, he was with the Enforcement Division of the SEC.

In March, Akin Gump laid off 47 associates and 57 paralegals & staff.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP was founded in Dallas in 1945 by Robert Strauss and Richard Gump. The firm now numbers more than 900 attorneys and advisors in the United States, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

WilmerHale Defers Start Dates, Offers $75,000

Erik Even — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 19:24:54 +0000

WilmerHale is deferring start dates for its 2009 associate class.

Some associates will be deferred to January 20th, 2010, and others to March 17th of that year.

January associates will get a $10,000 deferral stipend on top of their $5,000 bar stipend. March associates will get a $15,000 bar stipend. Funny, if you do the math, there doesn’t seem to be a difference.

First years may also defer their start dates to Fall 2010, for a stipend of $75,000. The plan is voluntary, and does not require participation in a public interest fellowship.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale & Dorr and the Washington’s Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,100 attorneys worldwide. As of 2008, it was the 23rd largest law firm in the world in terms of revenue. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked the firm as the 22nd largest in the United States by number of attorneys.

McCain Campaign Counsel Returns to WilmerHale

Erik Even — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 17:14:57 +0000

Todd R. Steggerda, former chief counsel to the John McCain 2008 presidential campaign, is returning to WilmerHale as a partner in the firm’s defense and national security practice group and the regulatory and government affairs department.

Steggerda, who will practice in the firm’s Washington office, will focus on investigations, civil litigation, government enforcement actions and other matters relating to national security and doing business with the US government.

Steggerda serves as vice chairman of the DC Metro Chapter of Operation Homefront, a nationally recognized charitable organization serving military families in need.

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP has twelve offices across the USA, Europe and Asia. It was created in 2004 through the merger of the Boston’s Hale and Dorr and the Washington-based firm of Wilmer Cutler & Pickering, and employs more than 1,100 attorneys worldwide. As of 2008, it was the 23rd largest law firm in the world in terms of revenue. In 2007, the National Law Journal ranked the firm as the 22nd largest in the United States by number of attorneys.

WilmerHale’s Revenue Up Slightly

Erik Even — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 17:35:07 +0000

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr reported slight growth in 2008, with revenue and profits per partner increases. The firm’s revenue of $955 million was up 1.2% from one year ago.

The firm, which elected 10 new partners in 2008, reported a small hike in its profits per partner total, reporting $1.08 million, up 1.44% from last year. Revenue per lawyer at the firm was also up this year, with a 5.8% increase to $1,027,000.

Wilmer has a single-tier partnership structure, meaning each lawyer that is elected to partnership becomes a firm owner and pays a capital contribution. This year’s new partnership class is down from the 23 newly elected partners firmwide from a year ago. In Washington, DC, the firm elected four to partnership this year after electing nine a year ago.

While other firms in DC, such as Latham & Watkins, have announced they will be freezing associate pay in 2009, Wilmer says it will move forward with salary increases this year.

Obama Makes Key DOJ Appointments [UPDATE]

Erik Even — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 20:02:37 +0000

President-elect Barack Obama announced the nominations of four well-known lawyers to key posts in the Justice Department, including deputy attorney general, the number two spot.

That appointment went to Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr’s David Ogden, a former head of the department’s Civil Division under President Bill Clinton, who has been overseeing the DOJ transition work for Obama.

His deputy on the transition team, Thomas Perrelli, managing partner of Jenner & Block’s Washington, DC office, was tapped for the number three slot, associate attorney general. Like Ogden, Perrelli served in several positions in the Clinton Justice Department, leaving in 2001 as the head of the Civil Division’s Federal Programs Branch.

A surprise came in Obama’s selection of Elena Kagan, dean of Harvard Law School, to serve as solicitor general, and Dawn Johnsen, a law professor at Indiana University School of Law, to head the Office of Legal Counsel, the high-profile arm of the Justice Department that provides legal advice to the president and all executive branch agencies.

Kagan and Johnsen too served in the Clinton administration.

Johnsen was legal director of the National Abortion & Reproductive Rights Action League, and has been a frequent critic of the Bush administration. Her most recent publication is entitled, “What’s a President to Do? Interpreting the Constitution in the Wake of the Bush Administration’s Abuses.”

Kagan would be the first Senate-confirmed woman to serve as the government’s chief advocate before the Supreme Court. She has also been mentioned as a potential nominee to the Supreme Court, and her role as solicitor general could burnish her appeal.

Obama’s announcement of four more DOJ nominees comes little more than a week before the January 15th Senate confirmation hearing for his attorney general pick, Eric Holder Jr., now a partner at Covington & Burling.

Via Legal Times.

UPDATE

An interesting note on Holy Hullabaloos:

Yale Law School must be celebrating Harvard’s loss of Kagan, though, since Kagan was a superstar dean who made all sorts of great improvements at Harvard, which now threatens Yale as the top law school in the US.

Anti-virus Firm Doesn’t Want to Pay WilmerHale for “Luxury Hotel Rooms, Limousines and Bar Tabs”

Erik Even — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 19:29:33 +0000

In more overbilling news, Wilmer Pickering Hale & Dorr has lost a bid to toss out a fraud claim in a $7 million lawsuit, that alleges the law firm overbilled a client it defended in a white-collar crime case.

The Court of Appeals of Texas denied the law firm’s petition for a writ of mandamus, which would have directed the trial court to dismiss a fraud claim brought by McAfee, the anti-virus software company. McAfee can move ahead with the fraud claim, its last surviving cause of action in its suit against the law firm.

McAfee asserts that WilmerHale inflated its legal fees when it defended McAfee former CFO Prabhat Goyal, who was convicted in 2007 of securities-related fraud for overstating the companies profits from 1998 to 2001.

The company says that $6.8 million of the $12 million it cost to defend Goyal included unjustifiable fees and expenses for numerous WilmerHale partners and associates, plus charges for luxury hotel rooms, limousines and bar tabs.

The law firm has denied the overbilling.

Via National Law Journal.

Obama Closer to Choices for DOJ

Erik Even — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 23:23:04 +0000

The list of candidates for Barack Obama’s Department of Justice picks get shorter every day.

Rumor says that David Odgen of DC’s Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr is a likely pick for deputy attorney general. Odgen was chief of staff to then-Attorney General Janet Reno.

Elena Kagan’s name is being bandied around as a Supreme Court pick. She is dean of Harvard Law.

Meanwhile, Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-VT) has announced he will delay the confirmation hearings for Attorney General-designate Eric Holder Jr. for a week, to January 15th. The date was pushed back to placate Republicans, who said they needed more time to pick through Holder’s record.

Via Legal Times.