The Am Law Daily

The Careerist: Top 5 Reasons to Use Your Married Name

vchen@alm.com (Vivia Chen) — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:52:31 EDT

Forget feminism. There are compelling reasons to use your hubby's name. (Part 2 about women and the name game.)

South Carolina Bound: Adams and Reese Opens in Columbia

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:38:51 EDT

Adams and Reese is the latest Am Law 200 firm to set up shop in South Carolina, announcing Tuesday its combination with 23-lawyer shop Ellis, Lawhorne & Sims in the Palmetto State's capital.

Survey: Firm Leaders Admit Downturn's Permanent Impact

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:29:32 EDT

In a new survey from legal consultancy Altman Weil, law firm leaders acknowledge that recession-driven changes to their pricing practices and their clients' expectations that work be done efficiently are likely here to stay. At the same time, most survey respondents say they have been slow to alter...

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Amid Spy Scandal, Russia Boots Baker & McKenzie Lawyer

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Tue, 21 May 2013 18:11:44 EDT

As the U.S. and Russian governments trade accusations over espionage activities and human rights abuses, Baker & McKenzie of counsel Thomas Firestone, a former Justice Department official and liaison to the U.S. embassy in Moscow, has been expelled from the country.

The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200

djeantet@alm.com (Diane Jeantet) — Tue, 21 May 2013 13:50:38 EDT

K&L Gates hires two renewable energy partners in Portland; King & Spalding poaches from Bird & Bird to establish a London trade practice; and a fourth Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft partner leaves the firm for O'Melveny & Myers. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to...

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Pandit Redux: Ex-Citi Boss Taps Davis Polk for Comeback

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Mon, 20 May 2013 19:00:21 EDT

Davis Polk & Wardwell is advising former Citigroup boss Vikram Pandit, who was forced out as head of the global banking giant last year, on his return to the financial services industry through his investment in India's JM Financial Group.

Simpson Helps Yahoo, Tumblr Connect

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:53:01 EDT

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is advising Yahoo in connection with its largest acquisition in a decade: the $1.1 billion cash purchase of blogging and social media platform Tumblr. Tumblr, meanwhile, is represented by Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian.

Three Deals Add Up to More M&A Work for Kirkland

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Mon, 20 May 2013 18:28:08 EDT

Kirkland & Ellis is advising longtime private equity client Vista Equity Partners on its nearly $1 billion purchase of cybersecurity software maker Websense, while fellow private equity firm Landmark Partners is relying on the firm to handle a $425 million secondary acquisition of a legacy...

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Latham, Davis Polk Lead as Actavis Buys Generic Rival

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Mon, 20 May 2013 17:22:51 EDT

Generic drug maker Actavis has agreed to pay $5 billion in stock and assumed $3.5 billion in debt to acquire Irish rival Warner Chilcott. The deal comes less than a month after the collapse of a tentative deal that would have seen Actavis sold to Valeant Pharmaceuticals for $13 billion.

Kasowitz Launches in L.A. with Insurance Vet Oshinsky

srandazzo@alm.com (Sara Randazzo) — Mon, 20 May 2013 16:14:35 EDT

In a year that has seen Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman falter in Northern California, the litigation shop is building out its insurance coverage practice with a pair of hires in Los Angeles from Jenner & Block, including Jerold Oshinsky, who has helped shape legal theories benefiting...

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Continental Breakfast: Adam Shutkever, Riverview Law

cjohnson@alm.com (Chris Johnson) — Sun, 19 May 2013 00:00:00 EDT

American Lawyer chief European correspondent Chris Johnson meets regularly with senior legal sector figures at their favorite breakfast joints to chew over the industry's tastiest talking points. This week, Adam Shutkever, COO of DLA Piper-backed fixed-fee legal services company Riverview Law,...

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The Score: Dentons Partner Doubles as Fantasy Sports Pro

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:53:44 EDT

Like many lawyers, Glenn Colton is a baseball fan. But the Dentons white-collar and government investigations practice head has taken his love for America's national pastime to the next level, scoring his own fantasy baseball column and SiriusXM radio show. In June, Colton will be inducted into the...

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The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200

djeantet@alm.com (Diane Jeantet) — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:48:08 EDT

Andrews Kurth heads to London; Bingham McCutchen grabs seven lawyers in Tokyo; and a Munger, Tolles & Olson partner plans a move to the Southern Poverty Law Center. The Churn is constant. Please send all announcements to thechurn@alm.com.

Ugliness Inside The Am Law 100, Part II

Fri, 17 May 2013 13:59:20 EDT

Average partner profit figures posted by large law firms have lost much of their value as a way of measuring anything meaningful about those firms. The metric that's really worth focusing on—the ever-widening compensation gaps within these partnerships—remains largely out of public...

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Ropes Settles Age Discrimination Suit with Ex-Partner

srandazzo@alm.com (Sara Randazzo) — Fri, 17 May 2013 12:05:21 EDT

Ropes & Gray and former firm partner Patricia Martone, who is now with Morrison & Foerster, agreed Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit in which Martone accused Ropes of routinely passing her clients to younger male lawyers and unfairly pushing her out of the partnership in the fall of 2010.

Am Law Firms Aboard as Leagues Sink Kings, Coyotes Deals

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:34:53 EDT

Lawyers from Covington, Katten Muchin, and Milbank were watching closely Wednesday as owners of the National Basketball Association's 30 teams voted against a $625 million deal that would have sent the Sacramento Kings north to Seattle. Meanwhile, in a move that might result in another major sports...

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The Careerist: More Women Now Take Hubby's Name

vchen@alm.com (Vivia Chen) — Thu, 16 May 2013 18:06:35 EDT

Women are retro about their marital status. Is this influencing their professional lives?

Cleary, Linklaters Advise as Citi Sheds Brazil Assets

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:33:03 EDT

Citigroup is selling Brazilian unit Credicard to São Paulo–based Itaú Unibanco in a cash deal worth $1.38 billion. Brazil's Pinheiro Guimarães Advogados is serving as local counsel to Citi on the sale.

Judge Vacates Ropes Client's Double Murder Conviction

srandazzo@alm.com (Sara Randazzo) — Thu, 16 May 2013 17:12:35 EDT

After a dozen years spent trying to clear the name of a man imprisoned for more than three decades, Ropes & Gray counsel Ryan Malone got a phone call he says he will never forget.

First Person: Working to Help Others Leave Crime Behind

Thu, 16 May 2013 12:54:53 EDT

An Equal Justice Works fellow reflects on the way personal experience has informed his efforts to assist low-income North Carolinians in overcoming the collateral consequences of criminal records.

News Corp. Hires Ex-Skadden Communications Chief Bush

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Wed, 15 May 2013 20:09:54 EDT

Antoinette Bush, partner-in-charge of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom's communications group, is leaving the firm to become global head of government affairs for Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation a month after Skadden helped the world's second-largest media conglomerate reach a $139...

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Citi Survey: Firm Leaders' Confidence Off as 2013 Begins

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Wed, 15 May 2013 19:19:21 EDT

According to the latest Law Watch Managing Partner Confidence Index from Citi Private Bank's Law Firm Group, overall confidence in the state of legal industry among law firm leaders dipped slightly to start 2013 as concerns about growth in legal services demand outweighed optimism about the the...

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Jones Day, Simpson Reprise Roles on Shopping Center Swap

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Wed, 15 May 2013 18:03:24 EDT

Real estate investment trust DDR Corp. has turned to Jones Day for counsel on its $1.46 billion purchase of a portfolio of 30 prime shopping centers from its existing joint venture with The Blackstone Group and the private equity firm's longtime lawyers at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

The Careerist: Wanted—Emotionally Intelligent Lawyers

vchen@alm.com (Vivia Chen) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:59:20 EDT

Edwards Wildman Plans Istanbul Launch

czillman@alm.com (Claire Zillman) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:07:41 EDT

The firm is opening an office in the Turkish city to cater to clients in the region and to support the practice of private equity partner Ted Cominos, who joined the firm last year.

DISH Selling Debt Ahead of Possible Sprint Deal

thuddleston@alm.com (Tom Huddleston Jr.) — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:04:36 EDT

A month after shaking up the telecommunications industry by making a $25.5 billion bid to acquire Sprint Nextel, DISH Network has announced a $2.5 billion debt offering meant to help finance part of the proposed deal. Sullivan & Cromwell has been brought in to advise DISH on the debt offering...

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Kirkland Cleans Up on PE Shop's $1.4 Billion Buy

bbaxter@alm.com (Brian Baxter) — Wed, 15 May 2013 16:04:27 EDT

Kirkland & Ellis clinched its latest large M&A deal on Wednesday as private equity client Pamplona Capital Management acquired the largest laundry equipment service provider in the U.S., as well as a leading automobile tire inflation service.