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Gussack climbs to Pepper Hamilton's highest chair

Philadelphia-based law firm Pepper Hamilton elected litigator Nina Gussack as head of their 11-member executive committee. Gussack joined the firm in 1987 as partner and is the first woman to serve as Pepper Hamilton's chairwoman. She is also to her credit the first and only female top executive at a large Philadelphia law firm.

As the chairwoman, Gussack's responsibility includes major strategic initiatives at the firm such as mergers and acquisitions. At the helm of affairs, Gussack will juggle both her practice and management duties. She does big business for the firm and supervises more than 50 lawyers and a number of contract attorneys. Gussack mainly focuses on defending pharmaceutical and medical-device companies in product-liability matters.

Almost 60 percent of the firm's 460 lawyers work from its Philadelphia and Berwyn, PA, offices and only 17 percent of its lawyers outside Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware. Pepper Hamilton is trying to change these figures by forging mergers. The firm's gross revenue rose from $81 million to $259 million.

02-16-2007

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Davis Polk's Beijing office opens

With the Chinese government's green light, to Davis Polk & Wardwell opened its office in Beijing, which is the third location in Asia after the Hong Kong and Tokyo offices. The firm's third office in the region will develop its outreach to a wider client base. The move also signals the firm's burgeoning practice in China. Davis Polk's ties with China spans for more than 100 years. The firm's attorneys offer clients advise on large, complex and groundbreaking securities offerings, mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, project financings and other global transactions involving Chinese companies. The new office will be head by the firm's partner Show-Mao Chen who has more than a decade's experience on transactions in China. The new Beijing office will be supported by more than 20 China Practice lawyers.

Davis Polk's 600 lawyers across continents advises companies and global financial institutions on such areas as capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, credit, litigation, investment management, insolvency and restructuring, executive compensation, intellectual property and tax.

02-16-2007

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Crystal-ball predicts busy year for North Jersey law firms

North Jersey law firms' attorneys peering at the crystal ball see an economically vibrant year ahead. The last thing they are worrying is an "economic slowdown", reports northjersey.com. These lawyers witnessed a good time for the legal profession last year too. After being accustomed to seeing a slow economy in the area, they now hope that they can serve broader range of clients, providing them with services in bankruptcy, litigation and foreclosure.

North Jersey lawyers are busy and hope that the good tidings see them through year end.

Managing partners at firms like McDonnell & Whitaker, Sills Cummis Epstein & Gross PC, are looking ahead to a busy schedule ahead. Newark-based Sills Cummis which opened its new office in Princeton in November is also planning to hire more people this year. The firm hopes to gain from the increasing scope of business. North Jersey's legal scenario perked up with the scores of mergers, acquisitions and a new arrival that took place in the past oxne year. However, this did not have too much of an effect on the small, one-, two- or three-attorney law firms that constituted the bulk of North Jersey's legal industry.

Many top-drawer law firms who have opened offices in the area recently are trying to build rapid inroads into the local lucrative and promising market.

Firms like Morristown-based McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter and New York-based Phillips Nizer in New Jersey and Bergen County are on a high note. Phillips Nizer recently hired influential local attorney Edward Imperatore to head the firm's 10-lawyer office. Imperatore with his three decades of experience in the practice of law comes from Hackensack-based Harwood Lloyd. McElroy, Deutsch opened its office in Ridgewood after annexing local law firm Orbe, Nugent & Darcy. With its sales graph denoting a 13 percent rise, last year, the firm's mood is "bullish" both for rise in economy as well as in headcount.

Most legal firms on capitalizing on their strong practices and hopes to serve their respective clients with the same quality of service they can expect for top-notch law firms in New York but at half the amount.

02-15-2007

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Meier joins Bond Schoeneck after poll defeat

After an unsuccessful bid at the congressional polls, Raymond Meier, a Republican, joined the Bond Schoeneck & King PLLC law firm and will work most of the time from the firm's Syracuse and Utica offices. At the firm, Meier will be a member of the business law department and will co-chair the firm's administrative, legislative and regulatory practice group. Prior to this assignment Meier served as a state senator for five terms.

02-15-2007

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Coudert controversy refuses to die dow

Even 18 months after the firm Coudert Brothers LLP, ranking in the top 100 highest grossing law firms in the U.S. in 2004, was dissolved, its winding up remains a controversial matter, says a report in nytimes.com. Recently, the creditors' committee reached a compromise with Coudert to have an examiner, rather than a trustee involved in the case. The examiner will investigate the issues such as sale of the firm's offices, the repayment of the bank loans, whether partners owe or are owed money, and whether the firm was insolvent before filing for bankruptcy.

The firm which had 400 lawyers is facing lawsuits not only from creditors, but also from at least one partner. They are raising allegations of malpractices, and of money misappropriation by three overseas lawyers. They also allege that the partners were made payments at a time when the firm should have known that it was insolvent. The payment amount at sake could exceed $25 millions.

Founded in 1853, Coudert had built a huge international practice. After its failure in effecting a merger with Baker & McKenzie, partners in the London and Moscow offices defected to Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe.

David Adler, the lawyer for the creditors' committee, said procedures were used "to pay off the banks and shield the partners from personal liability." According to court documents about $23 million in loans to Citibank and JPMorgan Chase personally guaranteed by Coudert's partners were repaid. However, the creditors have questioned $28 million paid to Coudert partners in the first eight months of 2005 - more than a year before the bankruptcy petition was filed.

Coudert's Lawyer Tracy Klestadt has acknowledged in court documents that at most $8.3 million was paid after the firm knew dissolution was a possibility. He doesn't find anything improper in the winding down of the firm. He also terms timing of the bankruptcy as an initiative to avoid unnecessary expenses.

Justifying bankruptcy on the ground that a number of judgments were issued against the firm, Klestadt says it was necessary to prevent assets from being attached. He also adds that the firm at all times had sufficient accounts receivable that would lead to the conclusion that it was solvent on a balance-sheet basis. Mentioning about the overpayments made to the firm partners on account of over distribution of profits and tax advances, Klestadt says that it was paid irrespective of the firm's present condition.

02-14-2007

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Debevoise & Plimpton strengthens its Moscow arm

Prominent international law firm Debevoise & Plimpton LLP has hired Samuel Raymond Tillett as International Counsel, resident in the firm's Moscow office. As member of the corporate department, Tillett will work on international securities, mergers and acquisitions, and financing transactions. Prior to this appointment, he was General Counsel for the ITI Group, Poland's largest media group. Dmitri V. Nikiforov, Managing Partner of the firm's Moscow office said the firm would leverage on Tillet's wide experience of more than three decades to expand its base in Moscow. Tillet's talent and experience in international securities, M&A and financing transactions will add to the firm's Russian practice group.

Debevoise & Plimpton's lawyers represent a wide range of clients around the globe. Established in 1931, the firm has eight offices across the continents housing more than 650 lawyers. The Moscow office of Debevoise & Plimpton now boasts of 17 attorneys and specializes in mergers and acquisitions, securities, equipment finance, joint ventures, and investment funds.

02-14-2007

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Steptoe's New York City office gets a Securities Partner

International law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP hired Michael J.W. Rennock as a partner in its New York City office. Rennock, a former partner of Winston & Strawn LLP, has vast experience in securities, mergers and acquisitions, venture capital, and other general corporate matters.

Welcoming the new partner, Greg R. Yates, a corporate partner in Steptoe's NYC office, hoped that Rennock would reinforce the firm's competence in providing legal services and counsel to its business, investment bank, hedge fund, and private equity clients. Rennock has represented clients from diverse industries and sectors ranging from healthcare, child care, energy, banking, Internet services, biotechnology, telecommunications, and electronic data transmission. Viewing the new assignment as a great opportunity, Rennock is keen to develop a corporate practice in New York enhancing the firm's already strong international corporate practice profile.

02-13-2007

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