Law Firm News

---

Law Firm News

Firm Name

News Title

News

News Date

25383 matches |  22590-22596 displayed

1  3226 3227 3228 3229 3230  3627

---

Howrey, LLP

HOWREY ADDS SEVERAL MORE TO CHICAGO OFFICE
Howrey LLP has announced that for the second time in a month, the firm will add several new partners to its Chicago office. Jill Berkeley, David H. Anderson and Seth D. Lamden, until recently partners at Schiff Hardin LLP in Chicago, have joined the firm’s Insurance Recovery Practice. Ms Berkeley will serve as the Co-Chair of the Firm’s Midwest Insurance Recovery Group.

“Jill Berkeley and her team are leaders in their field, and we are delighted to welcome them to Howrey,” said Joel Chefitz, Howrey-Chicago’s Managing Partner. “This is further testimony to Howrey’s strength in the Chicago market. In the past month, we have attracted top talent from the likes of Schiff Hardin, Mayer Brown, Sidley and Lord Bissell.”

“I am delighted that Jill and her group are joining the firm as we continue to grow in Chicago,” said Robert F. Ruyak, Howrey’s Chairman and CEO. “They bring name recognition in their field and will add a strong Midwestern presence to our well-established Insurance Recovery Practice.”

Jill B. Berkeley, 55, has extensive experience in the representation of policyholders and claimants in coverage. In addition to litigation, she has consulted with numerous clients on issues of coverage and risk management under all forms of policies. She has extensive experience in the review and drafting of policy forms and endorsements. She serves in numerous leadership positions for bar and professional associations including the American Bar Association’s Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section (TIPS), Illinois State Bar Association (ISBA), Illinois Association of Defense Trial Counsel, and the Illinois Academy of Laureates Board of Regents. She is the 2005 recipient of the Andrew C. Hecker Memorial Award presented by TIPS. She has been listed in Chambers USA – America’s Leading Business Lawyers 2006, Top 5 Insurance Coverage Litigation Lawyers in Illinois; Illinois 2006 Super Lawyers – Top 100 Attorneys and Top 50 Female Attorneys; Leading Lawyers of Illinois – Top 100 Attorneys and Top 50 Leading Women Business Lawyers in Illinois 2006. She is the author of the reference guide, the CGL Reporter – The Insurance Coverage Litigation Handbook. She also authored a handbook on insurance, Avoiding Commercial Insurance Pitfalls – A Guide for Corporate Counsel and Business (Callaghan & Company, 1987).

Ms. Berkeley also created a computerized database program which indexes and sorts all Illinois insurance law cases annotated in the ISBA’s The Policy since 1986 and continues to serve as the Editor of the Internet version which will soon be hosted on Howrey’s website. She received her JD from Northwestern University School of Law, 1975.

David H. Anderson, 43, concentrates his practice in insurance coverage-related counseling and litigation. He has extensive experience in the representation of corporate policyholders in coverage litigation involving environmental and toxic tort, intellectual property, products liability, defective construction, commercial general and excess liability, first-party property, business interruption, directors’ and officers’ liability, insolvency and other issues in state and federal district courts throughout the United States.

Mr. Anderson is a frequent speaker and writer on coverage-related issues. He served as the chair (2003-2005) of the Excess, Surplus Lines and Reinsurance Committee of the Tort, Trial and Insurance Practice Section of the American Bar Association, and as a member of the Illinois State Bar Association's Insurance Law Section Council (2002-2005).

He is a 1993 graduate of the University of Illinois College of Law.

Seth D. Lamden, 32, represents and counsels policyholders in connection with a wide variety of insurance coverage disputes, including those involving professional liability, products liability, intellectual property, construction defects, class actions, environmental liability, asbestos and first-party property claims. In addition to litigation, he regularly consults with corporate policyholders on risk management issues. Mr. Lamden also writes frequently on insurance-related topics.

He is a magna cum laude graduate of The John Marshall Law School.

The group’s recently decided trial and appellate court opinions include: American Economy Ins. Co. v. Holabird and Root, __ N.E.2d __, 2006 WL 1471924 (Ill. App. 1st Dist., May 30, 2006); Country Life Ins. Co. v. St. Paul Surplus Lines Ins. Co., 422 F. Supp. 2d 977 (C.D. Ill. 2006); Indemnity Insurance Company of North America v. Melton Truck Lines, Inc., 2004 WL 2034074 (N.D. Ill., 9/7/04); Utica Mutual Insurance Company v. The David Agency, et al., 327 F. Supp. 2d (N.D. Ill. 2004); Aetna Cas. & Sur. Co. v. O’Rourke Brothers, Inc., 776 N.E.2d 588 (Ill. App. 2002); American States Ins. Co. v. Koloms, 666 N.E.2d 699 (Ill. App. 1996), aff’d 687 N.E.2d 72 (Ill. 1997).

PHOTOS AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST



Founded in 1956, Howrey LLP is an international law firm with over 575 attorneys and more than 50 economic, financial, and regulatory consultants. Howrey has offices in Washington, D.C.; Northern Virginia; Houston, Texas; Los Angeles, Irvine, East Palo Alto and San Francisco, California; Salt Lake City, Utah; Chicago, Illinois; London, England; Brussels, Belgium; Paris, France; Amsterdam, The Netherlands and Taipei, Taiwan. Howrey's affiliates, The CapAnalysis Group, LLC (economic, financial, and litigation consultants) and Maxiam LLC (intellectual asset management specialists) team with Howrey attorneys as strategic business resources. As the winner of the 2003 Thomas L. Sager Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Howrey is committed to the ideals of diversity. The firm is equally committed to the tenets of pro bono and public service participation. A consistent American Lawyer “A-List” firm, Howrey is one of the most frequently used law firms in the nation among Fortune 250 companies according to the National Law Journal's survey of ""Who Represents Corporate America"" and was recently selected to the NLJ “Defense Hot List.” Howrey’s Intellectual Property practice was ranked a top national IP practice by IP Law & Business and its Antitrust Practice was named the world’s #1 Antitrust/Competition practice by Global Competition Review’s GCR 100. Howrey's ""Advantage of Focus"" makes it the clear choice for intellectual property, antitrust, and complex business dispute resolution. For more information, visit our website: http://www.howrey.com.

06-13-2006

---

Dykema Gossett PLLC

Dykema Member Becomes President Of The Federal Bar Association
The law firm of Dykema is pleased to announce that one of its Members, Grant P. Gilezan, has become President of the Federal Bar Association, Eastern District of Michigan to serve a one-year term beginning May 3, 2006. The Federal Bar Association, founded in 1920 by a group of federal government lawyers, has grown and expanded over the years and is now recognized as the professional organization for private attorneys, government lawyers and judges involved in federal practice. With over 16,000 members, including more than 900 members of the bench, the FBA is dedicated to promoting the welfare, interests, education and professional development of all attorneys in federal practice.

Mr. Gilezan’s practice focuses on regulatory, commercial and litigation matters involving private and public sector clients. He has special expertise in cleanups; underground storage tanks; waste management; air emission; water discharge; wetland and property use requirements; contracting for environmental services, materials and equipment; facility closures and Brownfield projects; business and property sales and leases; cost recovery litigation; environmental management and health/safety systems; facility audits; natural resource damage claims; multi-party cleanup projects involving large-scale engineering and construction efforts; European Union ""end of life cycle"" requirements; and the representation of manufacturers and suppliers in the automotive, oil and drycleaning industries.

A resident of Grosse Pointe Woods, Mr. Gilezan received his A.B. and J.D. degrees from the University of Michigan.

06-13-2006

---

Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC

Buchanan Ingersoll Joins Forces with Klett Rooney: Combined Firm to Be Named Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney
Buchanan Ingersoll PC and Klett Rooney Lieber & Schorling announced today that their firms will merge to form Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, effective July 1, 2006. Buchanan Ingersoll is one of the largest full service law firms in the country and Klett Rooney is a 130-attorney firm with offices that mirror much of Buchanan's existing footprint in cities that include Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh and Wilmington, DE. The deal will likely boost the combined firm to become one of the 80 largest law firms in the United States, with estimated gross revenues of $265 million and a head count of more than 525 attorneys and government relations professionals.

The transaction comes almost exactly one year after Buchanan's June 1, 2005, addition of the 55 attorneys and patent professionals of the nationally known IP firm Burns Doane.

Buchanan CEO Tom VanKirk, who was recently re-elected to lead the firm through at least 2009, said, ""This is the largest combination our firm has ever done, and it was an obvious match for us in terms of culture, practice area and the continued development of our strategic plan. Strengthening our Mid-Atlantic presence better enables us to continue to pursue our goal of being a strong national firm operating as one unified entity.""

Jack Barbour, who is the managing shareholder of Klett Rooney and will serve as an executive shareholder at the combined firm, said his firm chose to join Buchanan for a number of reasons, including similarities in culture and strategic plans: ""I've known Tom VanKirk, Fran Muracca and Buchanan Ingersoll for many years, so it was easy to see how we could create a strong partnership out of our two firms. The geography fit. Our clients fit. The practices fit. This was one of those rare decisions in life that almost makes itself.""

In total, approximately 250 Klett Rooney attorneys, government affairs professionals and staff members will join Buchanan. Klett has a national client base and serves companies such as Chubb Insurance, UPMC Health Systems, The Pittsburgh Steelers, Reliant Energy and Verizon.

Howard Scher, head of Buchanan's Philadelphia office, added that the benefits of this merger will be particularly noticeable in the Delaware Valley since the combination adds depth to practice areas such as traditional labor and creditors' rights. He said, ""This combination gives us nearly 90 attorneys in the region, and that will help us offer increased services to all of our clients. It also enables us to attract and recruit the highest caliber attorneys who are looking for the resources of a national firm to serve their clients and to grow their practices. And it's clearly a benefit to recruiting the best and brightest from law schools and judicial clerkships.""

Klett brings particularly strong real estate, government affairs, litigation and labor practices that mesh well with Buchanan's work in those areas. It also has significant bankruptcy, corporate, gaming, international business, higher education and general liability defense practices, as well as a strong PUC practice in Harrisburg that fills a Buchanan need in that area.

The Klett combination is the latest in a series of additions that Buchanan has undergone since 2005. The firm added more than 100 attorneys and government relations professionals last year, including:

The attorneys and professionals from the IP firm Burns Doane Swecker & Mathis in Alexandria, VA, and San Diego and Silicon Valley, CA.
Government relations boutique Hill Solutions in Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
A group of nine litigators from Saul Ewing in Philadelphia.
Tax, transactional and immigration attorneys from Steel Hector in Miami.
The national litigation boutique of Slotnick, Shapiro & Crocker in New York.
A New Name

After nearly three decades as Buchanan Ingersoll, the new firm will change its name to Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. The Rooney name belongs in this case to Arthur J. Rooney, II, a former managing shareholder of Klett Rooney who currently serves as of counsel at the firm and as president and general counsel of the Pittsburgh Steelers. He was also recently named NFL Executive of the Year. He will continue as of counsel at Buchanan.


VanKirk says the addition of the Rooney name will help the firms integrate and move forward as one organization as quickly as possible.

From Barbour's perspective, the name change also signals a combination of two strong firms. He said, ""The Rooney name is known and respected throughout the country, and having that name combined with Buchanan Ingersoll sends a message of unity and excellence to our clients.

06-13-2006

---

Bingham McCutchen, LLP

Bingham Attorneys Named to Chambers USA List
Forty-five Bingham McCutchen attorneys were mentioned in the Chambers USA 2006 list, which ranks the top attorneys and practices in the United States. The list ranked attorneys in each state using interviews with other attorneys and clients. Bingham McCutchen attorneys who made the 2006 list include, by state:

National: James Rockett, Daniel Goldberg, Jonathan Bernstein
California: Christopher Hockett, Donn Pickett, Geraldine Alexis, James Hunt, George Hisert, Stephen Zovickian, Alan Berkowitz, Patricia Shanks, James Dragna, Trenton Norris, David Balabanian, Cecily Talbert
Connecticut: Frank Appicelli, Mark Oland
Massachusetts: Daniel Goldberg, Daniel Savrin, Alicia Downey, Ed Smith, Amy Kyle, Neal Curtin, Steven Browne, Johan Brigham, John Utzschneider, Russell Isaia, Louis Rodriques, Joseph Kociubes, Robert Wolf, Marcia Robinson, Richard Toelke, John Brown, Donald-Bruce Abrams, George Mair, Matthew Schnall
New York: Tina Brozman, Marc Reardon (a Boston partner listed under New York for his work on the Astoria Energy deal)
District of Columbia: Charles Knauss, Danny Huntington, Barry Rosenthal, Erica Weiss, Andrew Lipman
Jack Curtin and Justin Morreale of the Boston office were also recognized by Chambers. Although they have moved to “of counsel” status, they continue to practice and remain highly regarded among their peers.

06-13-2006

---

Goodwin Procter, LLP

CoGenesys Raises $55 Million in Series A Financing
CoGenesys Inc. announced today the completion of a $55 million Series A financing, which will be used to advance the company's pipeline of product candidates entering clinical-stage development. The financing was led by New Enterprise Associates with additional investments by OrbiMed Advisors and Red Abbey Venture Partners and a significant equity participation by Human Genome Sciences Inc. CoGenesys is advancing a broad pipeline of improved, long-acting biopharmaceuticals developed to address unmet medical needs across a broad spectrum of therapeutic areas.

Goodwin Procter LLP attorneys Mitchell Bloom and Danielle Lauzon represented the investors in this transaction.

06-12-2006

---

Ashurst LLP

Ashurst Paris advised Stone Point Capital and Paris Re Holdings Limited on the acquisition of Axa RE
Ashurst Paris advised Stone Point Capital and Paris Re Holdings Limited on the acquisition of Axa RE.

Paris Re Holdings raised approximately US$1.5 billion from a group of international investors, led by Trident III L.P., a fund managed by Stone Point Capital, and involving Hellman & Friedman, Vestar Capital Partners, Crestview Capital Partners, ABN AMRO and New Mountain Capital.

The Ashurst Paris team was led by corporate partner Frédéric Pinet, assisted by Franck Coudert and Mickaël Lévi. Tax partner Catherine Charpentier with Nadine Gelli, Alexandre Jaurett in employment, and Eric Bouffard in litigation also advised.

Dewey Ballantine advised Paris Re Holdings Limited on US law aspects of the transaction. Sullivan & Cromwell advised Axa.

06-12-2006

---

Ashurst LLP

Ashurst is advising NeuTec Pharma Plc on a £305 million recommended cash offer
Ashurst is advising NeuTec Pharma Plc on a takeover offer by Novartis. The recommended cash offer values Neutec at £305.1 million.
The Ashurst team comprises corporate partner Anthony Clare with solicitor David Arnold, as well as employee benefits and incentives partner Paul Randall.

Allen & Overy (Richard Browne) is acting for Novartis.

06-12-2006

---

25383 matches |  22590-22596 displayed

1  3226 3227 3228 3229 3230  3627