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Mega merger approved by partners

The merger between law firms Pittsburgh-based Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP and Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis LLP has received approval from their respective partners. Managing partner of Kirkpatrick, Peter Kalis, will be the chairman and global managing partner of the merged firm, while managing partner of Preston Gates, Karen E. Glover will serve as the global integration partner. To be branded as K&L Gates, the combination would create Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP, a law firm with 1,400 attorneys, 21 offices across the globe, and revenues of more than $750 million in 2007. However, the new firm will have one specific location serving as the headquarters.

The new entity, K&L Gates, will be governed by a seven-person Executive Committee. Apart from Kalis and Glover, the committee will include Preston Gates' Hong Kong partner David K.Y. Tang, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart members Janice C. Hartman, Paul W. Sweeney Jr., and R. Charles Miller, as well as Martin Lane from Nicholson Graham. The committee is a clearly a reflection of the two firms' diversity commitments.

Kalis, while emphasizing on the importance of the merger, said that the move was a natural progression, as both the firms were eyeing for expansion on the opposite coast - Kirkpatrick & Lockhart toward the west, while Preston Gates to the east coast.

The two firms vary widely in their practice areas. Preston Gates specializes in technology while Kirkpatrick & Lockhart looks after financial services and manufacturing practices. The two firms' differences however are not much of a concern for the authorities. They are hopeful that the dynamic will yield greater success for the new firm.

12-18-2006

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King & Spalding plans to set up shop in Dubai

King & Spalding plans to expand its practice to the Middle East by opening an office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The move, which would take affect only after approval from the firm's partners, is expected to spread its practice in areas of Islamic finance, energy, private equity, real estate, and international arbitration. If the plan materializes, the firm is likely to recruit Philip Weems, King & Spalding's head of energy practice group and partner, for the venture. With more than a decade's experience in Asia and Middle East, Weems, currently housed in the Houston office of the firm, plans to relocate. To join him in Dubai will be Jawad Ali, another partner from London, in the firm's Islamic finance and investment practice. Islam Salah, the head of the firm's Islamic finance and investment practice, will divide time between the New York and Dubai offices.

King & Spalding's clientele in the Arabian Gulf has grown dramatically. The firm, which was named the top Islamic finance legal advisor by Euromoney in 2004, has 800 lawyers working from offices in Atlanta, Houston, London, New York and Washington, DC.

12-18-2006

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Business bankruptcy pro joins Haynes and Boone, LLP's Dallas office

David Epstein, a renowned law professor and business bankruptcy expert, has joined international corporate law firm Haynes and Boone, LLP as Of Counsel. Epstein will work one day per week in the firm's Dallas office. A former bankruptcy law professor at Southern Methodist University's Dedman School of Law, Epstein's expertise in the practice area is well-known. He has authored and co-authored a number of student texts about bankruptcy, commercial law, contracts, and corporations. Also on Epstein's list of published works is a popular multi-volume treatise on bankruptcy for practitioners

From practicing bankruptcy law in the Atlanta-based law firm King & Spalding, to teaching the subject at well-known law schools, including Harvard and Emory, Epstein brings dynamic experience to his new position with Haynes and Boone, LLP.

In other news, the firm plans to move its Dallas office to a brand new facility at One Victory Park, an urban hotspot. This posh locale, just south of American Airlines Center, will be developed by top commercial real estate developer, Hillwood, and private real estate firm, Hines. The firm will claim six floors of the impressive new building. The aura which will be created by the move will provide the firm's employees with the latest and grates that urban culture has to offer. The firm hopes to take advantage of the new settings to foster positive feelings and satisfaction among firm employees, and to evolve the profile of it business transactions.

In the global legal arena, Haynes and Boone's commanding presence boasts more than 450 attorneys based in its multiple offices around the world.

12-15-2006

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Mayer Brown arms trade practice with Russian muscles

International law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP hired Edward Borovikov, a Russian expert, as its WTO and EU trade law partner. The premeditated move is motivated by the firm's need to add muscle to their evolving Russian capabilities, as well as to fortify its global trade practice.

Borovikov, who comes to the firm from Hammonds in Brussels, is an expert on Russian and Eastern European trade issues. He advises companies and authorities on issues pertaining to trade and economic relations and integration. Borovikov also helps Russian authorities with the country's intended inclusion in the WTO. Prior to Borovikov joining Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, the firm's Assistant U.S. Trade Representative to Russia was Catherine Novelli, Washington D.C. partner who piloted U.S. trade policy initiatives towards Russia.

A former Economist at Moscow State University, and former First Secretary of the Russian Mission to the European Communities (Trade Policy and Economics Section), Borovikov has also served as senior expert on EC-Russia relations for the Committee For External Economic Relations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Russia.

The move to induct the Russian expert signals Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's desire to consolidate its global trade capabilities across the continents. The firm's international trade practice group's existing proficiency level is very high, and evolving.

Welcoming Borovikov, Peter Scher, Global Trade Practice leader in Mayer Brown's Washington DC office, noted appreciation for the vast experiences that Borovikov brings with him to the firm. The firm hopes to gain a strong foothold in the European sector with the new hiring, and also to expand its global trade team in Brussels.

International law firm Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw's 1400+ lawyers advise top-notch clients globally, providing commercial legal solutions for major businesses.

12-15-2006

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NY State Bar requests lower cut-off for passing bar exam score

Would-be lawyers with borderline passing scores on the bar exam may have something to be thankful for this holiday season. Now, with the New York State Bar Association batting for such lawyers, hope remains for keeping the passing score consistent. In July of 2005, the passing score had been raised from 660 to 665 out of 1000. The Board of Law Examiners is proposing additional increases in the passing score, which will steadily raise the passing score to 675 over a three year period. But the State Bar, which has been opposed to the increase from the start, is citing a threat to diversity as their main objection to the plan.

The proposition for the change has been in the air since 2003. Mark Alcott, president of the New York State Bar Association, has urged for a reversal of the July 2005 five-point change, and continues to voice the association's opposition to any additional increases. Alcott has expressed that the increase in the bar exam passing score has had a disproportionate effect on minority examinees, and that it is for this reason that the New York State Bar Association has opposed the plan from the beginning.

These effects can already be seen through the drop in minority examinees who passed the bar exam since to five-point increase was implemented. Although the number of white examinees who passed with scores acceptable under the new terms of the bar exam dropped by only 1.1%, the rate of decline among ethnic minorities was substantially higher. According to New York State Board of Law Examiners' report regarding these effects, the number of passing African Americans dropped by 3.9% and the number of passing Puerto Ricans fell by 4.1%. Buttressing his argument against the increase, Alcott added that in 2004 the Bar Association had reissued their opposition, urging the Board of Examiners to wait until the impact of the score's adjustment could be studied. Now the results are in, and the motivations of the association in opposing the increase have been confirmed.

Now that the suspected effects of the change have been confirmed, the association is calling for an immediate reversal of the point increase, and a complete cessation of any further changes. Alcott expressed that anything less than the complete reversal of the increase proposal would have a disastrous effect on the core principles that the bar holds dear, and would undermine the legal profession itself.

12-14-2006

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Orrick-Dewey merger slackens pace

The official recognition of the union between San Francisco-based law firms Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Dewey Ballantine is moving at a snail's pace. In October of this year, the respective management and executive committees of both the firms had made primary recommendations to their partners about combining operations under a single banner, Dewey Orrick LLP.

The committee leaders expected their respective partners to vote on the merger this month. However, the specifications of a partnership agreement are coming along more slowly than anticipated. Voting is now expected to take place no earlier than mid January of 2007. With the seventh-largest New York law office, and combined revenue of approximately US $1 billion, Dewey Orrick LLP would contend for a position among the top ten firms in the nation, and could boast an attorney-strength of 1500, globally.

Though the groundwork for the merger seems to have been laid, progress is dragging. The dawdling of both firms is due in part to the myriad of details which must be finalized and approved regarding responsibilities, benefits, and organization of the firm upon the merger. Other issues such as real estate leases, tax implications of the firms' merger, and the impact on revenue that will be brought about by currency exchanges once the firm goes global, all have an effect on the pace at which the merger is moving.

12-14-2006

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IP lawyers move places

Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP raided Dorsey & Whitney LLP, making off with ten intellectual property lawyers. This caused the latter's already thinning Bay Area presence to shrink further. With the new additions, Morgan Lewis' IP practice group stands at 150 attorneys globally. The new entrants, who will focus on areas like portfolio development and protection, due diligence, counseling, litigation in the life sciences, and high technology sector, will be based in the firm's San Francisco and Palo Alto offices.

The phalanx from Dorsey & Whitney's IP group includes heavyweights like the co-chair of the firm's life sciences group Robin Silva, IP litigator David Brezner, patent prosecutor Richard Trecartin, patent group head Maria Swiatek, and Victor Johnson, whose expertise is in patent and trademark procurement, due diligence, and opinion work.

Dorsey & Whitney, which opened its office in the Bay Area in 2002, plans to wind up its practice by the years end due to the rapid attrition of its employed staff. Earlier, the firm had merged with Flehr Hohbach Test Albritton & Herbert, a 27-lawyer intellectual property specialization firm, to open the San Francisco office. However, the firm discovered that instead of benefiting from the combined strength, their existing head count continued to dwindle steadily.

Meanwhile, another San Francisco firm, Winston & Strawn, has also strengthened its IP group with the addition of two new intellectual property lawyers; David Bloch, a former McDermott Will & Emery attorney from Silicon Valley, and Becky Troutman, who comes to Winston & Strawn from Thelen Reid & Priest.

Bloch is an expert in intellectual property litigation, while Troutman specializes in intellectual property counseling and technology transactions.

12-13-2006

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