Friday was an eventful day at Howard, Rice, Nemerovski, Canady, Falk & Rabkin: While litigators there launched an antitrust suit against Microsoft, the firm’s business department was saying goodbye to some of its partners.

Business department chairwoman Deborah Marshall and vice chairman Michael Sullivan each left last week for separate firms. Both had worked at what is now Cooley Godward Kronish for many years before joining Howard Rice just weeks apart in early 2003.