BCG News - 3/1/04
3/1/04
Foley & Lardner opens Silicon Valley satellite With a strategy to expand on its life sciences practices, Foley & Lardner announced today that it will open a new Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto after recruiting life sciences attorney Gerald Swiss to join the firm. Opening the office with Swiss will be three associates that worked with Swiss at his old practice, as well as two partners relocating from Foley's San Francisco office. In addition to the life sciences abilities that the new office provides, the Silicon Valley satellite will also immediately impact the firm's business law and intellectual property practices. A firm press release indicated that future avenues of growth for the office will likely include the addition of more attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation, intellectual property, and business law in order to better serve the firm's tech-heavy Silicon Valley client roster. Firm Press Release, 3/1/04
Two Mayer Brown partners defect to Latham Top-5 American law firm Latham & Watkins added two financial regulatory partners in Washington, DC last week. Both Brian Smith and Timothy Keehan joined Latham from Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, where they worked for 12 years together. Smith served as head of Mayer Brown's Financial Regulatory Group for his entire tenure at the firm, and previously served as managing partner of Stroock, Stroock & Lavan's Washington, DC office, where he also worked with Keehan. Firm Press Release, 2/18/04
McGuireWoods adds a Detroit office McGuireWoods LLP
opened its 15th office in Detroit on February 11th to allow for better service to its Detroit area clients. The office will focus on civil litigation and automotive products liability work, in particular. The firm currently lists seven of the top ten auto manufacturers and suppliers as clients, and the new office continues the firm's model of growth by establishing new offices where its clients need them most. The firm boasts one of the country's top products liability departments. Firm Press Release, 2/11/04
Preston Gates & Ellis bulks up its Orange County office With the addition of two new partners and three new associates, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP increased the size of its Orange County office by 36%, according to last week's press release. Robert Bekken, a labor and employment partner, joins the firm from his position as the founding partner of the Irvine office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP, and Bill Grenner will come to the firm as a commercial litigation partner with Morrison & Foerster. Preston Gates' three new associates all hail from Bekken's former firm. The firm also announced last week that the David Perry, who joined the firm in 2003, will be the new managing partner of the Orange County office, which now counts 19 attorneys among its staff. Firm Press Release, 2/25/04
Harris Beach merges with Western New York firm Albany-based Harris Beach LLP announced last week that Angola, NY firm Hurst Brothman & Yusick would join the firm through a merger agreement. The five attorneys who come over to Harris Beach in the deal include two partners, two of counsel attorneys and one associate. Harris Beach, which has been eager to increase its presence in Western New York, believes that the attorneys will fit in well and help the firm achieve its goal of providing clients with a full service branch office in Buffalo. The Hurst Brothman attorneys will add experience in practice areas as varied as litigation, commercial real estate, and estate administration and planning. Firm Press Release, 2/23/04
Bracewell & Patterson to lose majority of Houston IP practice Following a merger three years ago, the attorneys of Felsmen Bradley Gunter & Dillon LLP began the process of trying to adapt their small IP practice to fit Bracewell & Patterson's needs. Last month, the attorneys who came over in the merger announced that that process was unsuccessful, leaving Bracewell & Patterson with only one intellectual property expert. Two partners from the practice group, Andrew Dillon and Craig Yudell, will head a new firm called Dillon & Yudell LLP, which will also feature five other IP experts from Bracewell. The separation was friendly, with the departing attorneys citing the need for a more focused practice as the reason for their exit. Bracewell & Patterson still plans to maintain an intellectual property presence in the area, and will likely have IP attorneys from other offices share the Houston IP workload unless it is deemed necessary to hire more attorneys. Austin Business Journal, 2/20/04
Four Kaye Scholer attorneys break off to form a new firm Four trusts and estates attorneys from Kaye Scholer have left their firm and banded together to create the kind of small firm that they believe offers the only atmosphere that can allow a trusts and estates practice to flourish. Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera, the name of the new firm, will be led by the former head of the trusts and estates practice at Kaye Scholer, Sanford J. Schlesinger. The three other attorneys who left will also join as partner. In order to provide a better depth of service to their trusts and estates clients, Schlesigner Gannon has affiliated itself with the multi-practice, 35-attorney Dreiser firm. The New York Law Journal, 3/1/04
Moye Giles and Miller Wood announce merger Denver-based Moye Giles announced last week that it will be adding four attorneys to its roster through a merger with Miller Wood, also based in Denver. The attorneys joining the firm include name partners James Rollin Miller and Paul R. Wood, as well as two associates. All four of the attorneys practice litigation, and Miller and Wood will serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of their new firm's litigation group. Firm Web Site
Foley & Lardner opens Silicon Valley satellite With a strategy to expand on its life sciences practices, Foley & Lardner announced today that it will open a new Silicon Valley office in Palo Alto after recruiting life sciences attorney Gerald Swiss to join the firm. Opening the office with Swiss will be three associates that worked with Swiss at his old practice, as well as two partners relocating from Foley's San Francisco office. In addition to the life sciences abilities that the new office provides, the Silicon Valley satellite will also immediately impact the firm's business law and intellectual property practices. A firm press release indicated that future avenues of growth for the office will likely include the addition of more attorneys who specialize in intellectual property litigation, intellectual property, and business law in order to better serve the firm's tech-heavy Silicon Valley client roster. Firm Press Release, 3/1/04
Two Mayer Brown partners defect to Latham Top-5 American law firm Latham & Watkins added two financial regulatory partners in Washington, DC last week. Both Brian Smith and Timothy Keehan joined Latham from Mayer Brown Rowe & Maw, where they worked for 12 years together. Smith served as head of Mayer Brown's Financial Regulatory Group for his entire tenure at the firm, and previously served as managing partner of Stroock, Stroock & Lavan's Washington, DC office, where he also worked with Keehan. Firm Press Release, 2/18/04
McGuireWoods adds a Detroit office McGuireWoods LLP
opened its 15th office in Detroit on February 11th to allow for better service to its Detroit area clients. The office will focus on civil litigation and automotive products liability work, in particular. The firm currently lists seven of the top ten auto manufacturers and suppliers as clients, and the new office continues the firm's model of growth by establishing new offices where its clients need them most. The firm boasts one of the country's top products liability departments. Firm Press Release, 2/11/04Preston Gates & Ellis bulks up its Orange County office With the addition of two new partners and three new associates, Preston Gates & Ellis LLP increased the size of its Orange County office by 36%, according to last week's press release. Robert Bekken, a labor and employment partner, joins the firm from his position as the founding partner of the Irvine office of Fisher & Phillips, LLP, and Bill Grenner will come to the firm as a commercial litigation partner with Morrison & Foerster. Preston Gates' three new associates all hail from Bekken's former firm. The firm also announced last week that the David Perry, who joined the firm in 2003, will be the new managing partner of the Orange County office, which now counts 19 attorneys among its staff. Firm Press Release, 2/25/04
Harris Beach merges with Western New York firm Albany-based Harris Beach LLP announced last week that Angola, NY firm Hurst Brothman & Yusick would join the firm through a merger agreement. The five attorneys who come over to Harris Beach in the deal include two partners, two of counsel attorneys and one associate. Harris Beach, which has been eager to increase its presence in Western New York, believes that the attorneys will fit in well and help the firm achieve its goal of providing clients with a full service branch office in Buffalo. The Hurst Brothman attorneys will add experience in practice areas as varied as litigation, commercial real estate, and estate administration and planning. Firm Press Release, 2/23/04
Bracewell & Patterson to lose majority of Houston IP practice Following a merger three years ago, the attorneys of Felsmen Bradley Gunter & Dillon LLP began the process of trying to adapt their small IP practice to fit Bracewell & Patterson's needs. Last month, the attorneys who came over in the merger announced that that process was unsuccessful, leaving Bracewell & Patterson with only one intellectual property expert. Two partners from the practice group, Andrew Dillon and Craig Yudell, will head a new firm called Dillon & Yudell LLP, which will also feature five other IP experts from Bracewell. The separation was friendly, with the departing attorneys citing the need for a more focused practice as the reason for their exit. Bracewell & Patterson still plans to maintain an intellectual property presence in the area, and will likely have IP attorneys from other offices share the Houston IP workload unless it is deemed necessary to hire more attorneys. Austin Business Journal, 2/20/04
Four Kaye Scholer attorneys break off to form a new firm Four trusts and estates attorneys from Kaye Scholer have left their firm and banded together to create the kind of small firm that they believe offers the only atmosphere that can allow a trusts and estates practice to flourish. Schlesinger Gannon & Lazetera, the name of the new firm, will be led by the former head of the trusts and estates practice at Kaye Scholer, Sanford J. Schlesinger. The three other attorneys who left will also join as partner. In order to provide a better depth of service to their trusts and estates clients, Schlesigner Gannon has affiliated itself with the multi-practice, 35-attorney Dreiser firm. The New York Law Journal, 3/1/04
Moye Giles and Miller Wood announce merger Denver-based Moye Giles announced last week that it will be adding four attorneys to its roster through a merger with Miller Wood, also based in Denver. The attorneys joining the firm include name partners James Rollin Miller and Paul R. Wood, as well as two associates. All four of the attorneys practice litigation, and Miller and Wood will serve as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of their new firm's litigation group. Firm Web Site
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