Law Firm News Spotlight

Feature

NLJ 250

In 2009, the United States' largest law firms suffered the deepest cuts in their attorney numbers since The National Law Journal began tracking the figures more than 30 years ago. The total number of attorneys working at the top 250 law firms plunged by 5,259 lawyers. Put another way, it's as if all of the lawyers working at two firms the size of Jones Day vanished in 2009.

Magazine's Planned Law Firm Rankings Raise ABA's Hackles

The National Law Journal

U.S. News & World Report's decision to rank law firms along the lines of its much-maligned law school rankings has prompted the American Bar Association to investigate the magazine's methods. The ABA House of Delegates approved a resolution Monday to "examine efforts to publish a national, state, territorial and local ranking of law firms and law schools." U.S. News was not specifically named, but officials of the New York State Bar, which sponsored the resolution, acknowledged the magazine was the catalyst.

Faegre & Benson Partner Dies in Air Crash

The American Lawyer

Robert Matthews, a commercial litigation partner in Faegre & Benson's Boulder office, died Saturday when a small plane he was piloting collided in midair with another plane some 8,000 feet over the Colorado city, according to the Daily Camera of Boulder. The crash killed the 58-year-old Matthews, his 56-year-old brother Mark and the pilot of the other plane, which CNN reports was a single-seat Piper Pawnee towing a glider.

Winston & Strawn Continues Expansion of N.Y. Office

New York Law Journal

Winston & Strawn has expanded its restructuring practice by hiring a three-lawyer team from Dewey & LeBoeuf: partners Lawrence A. Larose, who acted as lead counsel for MBIA Insurance in its restructuring effort last year, and Samuel S. Kohn, who was counsel at Dewey. Associate Sarah Trum also made the move. In addition, Winston has hired a former M&A partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher as senior counsel. The hires come as Winston & Strawn looks to grow its New York office to 300 attorneys from nearly 200.

Association of Corporate Counsel Relents on Law Firms' Access to Client Reviews

Corporate Counsel

After the Association of Corporate Counsel launched a rating system that included members-only access to performance evaluations of law firms, some critics cried foul. Now, law firms that have been critiqued by in-house counsel can also see their ratings online. Since the ACC began its "value index" in October, in-house lawyers from dozens of countries have submitted more than 1,800 evaluations of some 600 law firms.

Hogan Lovells Names International Management Committee Members

The National Law Journal

Hogan & Hartson and Lovells have named the lawyers who will serve on the 15-lawyer international management committee when the two firms merge in May. The committee will be responsible for Hogan Lovells' strategy decisions, including client and business development, financial and other operational affairs, and regional management and expansion. Hogan chairman J. Warren Gorrell Jr. and Lovells managing partner David Harris, who will serve as co-CEOs of the combined firm, will lead the committee.

Dechert Patent Pair Jumping to Skadden

The Recorder

James Elacqua and Andrew Thomases are jumping from Dechert to Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in Silicon Valley, according to people familiar with the deal. Skadden is scooping up the two successful patent litigators after losing Jeffrey Randall in August to Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker. Skadden has been searching for a proven IP trial lawyer since then, according to recruiters and local patent lawyers. Recruiter Gary Davis, who wasn't involved in the deal, said it's a good pickup for Skadden.

U.K. Firm Jumps Pond to New Jersey, Snags Five Connell Foley Insurance Lawyers

New Jersey Law Journal

Five Connell Foley lawyers well-versed in policies written by offshore insurers have been cherry-picked by Clyde & Co., a London-based law firm, to open a New Jersey office. Daren McNally, who was chair of the insurance coverage practice group at Connell Foley in Roseland, N.J., led the defection on Feb. 1, joined by partner Barbara Almeida and associates Meghan Goodwin, Matthew Gennaro and Neha Bansal. Clyde has set up temporary quarters in Short Hills, N.J., while it searches for permanent space.

Legal Sector Lost 1,100 Jobs in January

The American Lawyer

The U.S. economy continued to hemorrhage jobs in the first month of the 2010, but the overall unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent, according to the latest employment report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. While the legal sector lost another 1,100 jobs in January, the number marked a noticeable drop-off from previous months. Since January of last year the legal services industry shed 44,700 workers.

Firms Grow Greener as Environmental Law Heats Up

The Legal Intelligencer

Environmental law, which saw the same slowdown in transactional work other practices did, along with decreased enforcement under the Bush administration, is showing signs of life in both lateral movement and practice niches. Attorney Kevin J. Bruno, who recently moved to Blank Rome, says government enforcement, particularly at the federal level, is going to pick up. And Manko Gold Katcher & Fox managing partner Robert D. Fox expects emerging areas like climate change and sustainability will continue to grow.

ABA Report: Recession Undermining Diversity Initiatives

The National Law Journal

An American Bar Association report appears to confirm fears expressed by diversity advocates since the recession began: Spending on law firm diversity initiatives has dried up and layoffs are undoing the gains the profession has made. The ABA's first comprehensive diversity study since the economic collapse hit the legal profession offers no hard numbers on spending cuts but does declare the recession is "creating downsizing and cutbacks that may disproportionately and negatively affect lawyer diversity."