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Four Covington Partners On Ethisphere’s List Of ‘Attorneys Who Matter’
Firm News/D.C. |
2009/08/05 16:12
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According to their website, four Covington & Burling LLP partners have been named to The Ethisphere Institute’s 2009 “Attorneys Who Matter” list, which recognizes leading legal professionals in private practice and at government agencies and major companies who have excelled in and made a significant contribution in the corporate compliance field. In addition, the firm is pleased to note that two of its former partners, Attorney General Eric Holder and Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith, were singled out respectively for excellence among government lawyers and general counsels.
New York partner Alan Vinegrad was placed in the “Top Gun” category for receiving high scores in the majority of the nine criteria used, and for serving as a leader in the outside counsel legal community in assisting corporations in effectively handling corporate compliance issues. Under compliance specialties, Erin Egan was recognized in the Data Privacy/Security category, Ted Garrett was recognized in the Environmental category, and Thomas Johnson was honored in the FCPA category. Egan, Garrett, and Johnson are based in the firm’s Washington office. |
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Debevoise Advises US Department Of Energy In ATVM Loan Program
Firm News |
2009/08/03 16:15
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According to their website, Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is advising the Department of Energy (“DOE”) in its Advanced Technology Vehicles Manufacturing (“ATVM”) conditional loan commitment program for the development of innovative, advanced vehicle technologies that will create thousands of green jobs while helping reduce the nation’s dependence on foreign oil. The DOE has made loan commitments under this program and plans to make additional loans over the next several months to large and small auto manufacturers and parts suppliers up and down the production chain. Debevoise & Plimpton LLP is a leading international law firm with offices in New York, Washington D.C., London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong and Shanghai. |
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Morris Manning To Cut Associate Pay By Up To 15 Percent
Firm News/Georgia |
2009/07/28 16:01
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According to the Fulton County Daily Report, Morris, Manning & Martin has joined the growing ranks of Atlanta-based firms cutting associate pay. The firm announced Friday that, effective Aug. 1, pay in the real estate, lending and tax groups will drop by 15 percent and pay for other associates will drop by 10 percent, according to its managing partner, Robert E. Saudek. Bonuses are not affected. Saudek said a decline in legal work plus the readjustment of the associate salary market prompted the cuts. "Clients are not generating as much legal work, particularly in the real estate and corporate areas, as they do most years," he said in a voice mail. "Billable rates are receiving a lot of pressure, and billable hours are not as high as in prior years." Saudek added that the market salary for associates is resetting at lower rates. He noted starting salaries increased 45 percent between 2005 and 2008, but now are declining by about 10 percent. "We feel we need to be with the market, but not above it," he said. Starting pay at Atlanta's big firms jumped to $145,000 at the beginning of 2008. That has been followed by waves of layoffs this year. Morris Manning has 156 lawyers, with 55 associates, according to the Martindale-Hubbell Web site. |
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K. Anderson joined the Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton
Firm News |
2009/05/29 15:54
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Kenneth B. Anderson has joined the New York office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP as special counsel in the firm's Entertainment, Media and Technology practice group. Anderson joins Sheppard Mullin after 17 years with Loeb & Loeb in New York.
Anderson represents premier talent and progressive companies in the music and entertainment industries. He handles business and legal affairs and supervises litigation on behalf of recording and touring artists, composers, producers, independent record companies and others in the music industry. As a talent dealmaker, he builds and maximizes careers. Anderson also represents cutting edge internet, television and motion picture companies.
Anderson's litigation experience includes high-profile and precedent-setting cases involving composers, recording artists, record labels, publishers, managers, artists’ rights and accounting practices, as well as leading cases on copyright and freedom of artistic expression. He has negotiated agreements that have restructured business relationships for some of the world's most innovative and successful recording artists and songwriters.
"Ken hits the right note; by joining us he substantially bolsters the depth and breadth of our music industry expertise. His legal specialties fit perfectly with our existing representations, such as library acquisitions, concert promotion, and soundtrack deals, but also solidify a forward-thinking music practice at Sheppard Mullin because of his unique focus in this area," said Bob Darwell, chair of the firm's Entertainment, Media and Technology practice group.
Commented Anderson, "Sheppard Mullin has built a premier entertainment practice and I am excited to join Bob and his outstanding team. I am very impressed by their top-notch client list and the broad scope of international representations in the areas of film, television, internet, new technology, fashion and advertising, and look forward to growing the music and recording segment of their practice."
Anderson received a J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law in 1982, where he was research editor of the Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal, and a B.A., cum laude, from Rutgers University in 1979.
Sheppard Mullin's Entertainment, Media and Technology practice group includes 45 attorneys and the firm has more than 40 attorneys based in its New York office.
www.sheppardmullin.com. |
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Reed Smith cutting associates’ salaries 10%
Firm News |
2009/05/22 16:01
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The Reed Smith law firm said it will cut salaries for all U.S. associates by 10 percent across the board, effective July 1.
In an internal memo that was originally leaked to the Web site Abovethelaw.com Wednesday afternoon, managing partner Gregory Jordan said the firm had already adopted changes to its business plan because of the recession, changing client demands, and the competitive landscape in the legal industry. Among other things, Jordan said it has meant lower compensation levels for partners, though he did not specify by how much. A spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based firm, which has about 280 employees in Philadelphia, confirmed the authenticity of the memo. Jordan said the firm will set the salaries for the incoming class of first-year associates in the United States at a later date, but they will be at least 10 percent lower than the current levels. Jordan said the firm will freeze associates’ salaries in its European and Middle Eastern offices, and will set the starting salary for newly qualified associates in the United Kingdom about 10 percent lower than the current level. Asian operations are not affected by the action. |
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Nixon Peabody Cuts First Year Associates Pay
Firm News |
2009/04/29 16:11
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Nixon Peabody LLP has shaved $15,000 off of salaries for its first year associates in an effort to reduce expenses, the law firm confirmed this week.
In a memo to staff, firm managing partner and CEO Richard F. Langan said first year salaries will be reduced to $145,000, down from $160,000, for firm associates. The firm also has made performance-based salary cuts for current associates and has introduced a new bonus structure.
Up until this year big law firms have felt pressure to keep first-year associate salaries level with those at competitor firms.
Nixon Peabody, which has about 170 lawyers in Boston and a total of 720 lawyers, is the first major Boston firm to announce such a pay reduction, but is among several national law firms that have recently made the decision to reduce first year salaries.
Other firms that have cut first-year salaries in recent weeks include Robinson & Cole LLP, which has 200 lawyers nationally and 50 in Massachusetts, and McKenna Long & Aldridge, a Washington, D.C., firm.
Langan said in his memo, “Nixon Peabody LLP has taken measures over the past several months to review its cost of doing business while keeping its commitment to providing extraordinary client service. To maintain staffing levels in the best interest of our clients, we have decided to reduce starting compensation levels for incoming associates and summer associates to $145,000 in major financial centers with related reductions in associate compensation throughout the firm’s U.S. operations.”
The “major financial” centers the memo refers to reportedly include Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Chicago and California, according to Abovethelaw.com. Other regions will see smaller pay decreases, corresponding to lower salary levels.
Langan’s memo continued, “Additionally, we have made downward adjustments to the base pay of our current associates based on their individual performance and contribution to our firm. Along with this change in compensation, associates will be eligible for a new bonus program, based on the firm’s financial performance, which will reward top performing associates who make extraordinary contributions to the firm. With our new bonus program and strong firm culture, we expect to attract and retain the best and brightest talent for many years to come. Through this innovative approach to associate compensation, along with a wide range of innovative pricing arrangements to meet the varied needs of our clients, we are able to continue to provide our clients with the highest level of service and lower cost practical solutions in order to meet their business needs in this challenging economic climate. We appreciate our associates’ understanding and commitment to our firm and its future.” |
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Davis Wright Tremaine Being Sued
Firm News/Oregon |
2009/04/14 20:39
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Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, one of the Northwest’s largest law firms, is being sued for violating Oregon securities law by investors in Sunwest Management Inc., the disgraced senior living operator.
The Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine referred calls to the public relations department in its Seattle office, which could not be reached to comment.
The lawsuit filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court names a series of Oregon limited liability corporations as plaintiffs and seeks to represent approximately 1,200 Oregon investors as a class action matter.
The named plaintiffs all invested in senior housing communities controlled by Jon Harder and Sunwest Management.
The suit accuses Davis Wright Tremaine and Timothy Dozois, a partner in the firm, of misleading investors into thinking they were buying into specific properties and that they would receive rent payments from Sunwest, which managed the series of allegedly independent properties. The suit seeks compensation for damages from the loss of value of Sunwest Management, once a $2 billion-plus company.
Damages could run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
Attorneys involved in the case said they do not know the limits of Davis Wright Tremaine’s professional liability insurance. Oregon is the only state that mandates malpractice insurance for attorneys, but the amount is limited to about $300,000 per related case, according to the Oregon State Bar Professional Liability Fund. Large firms often carry excess insurance.
The suit seeks to hold Sunwest’s lawyers accountable to investors for misleading them about the nature of their investments.
“The defendants omitted material facts in connection with their own statements to investors. Defendants and other attorneys in Portland, Oregon also participated and materially assisted in the unlawful sale of these securities through their relationship with (Sunwest founder and controlling owner) Jon M. Harder and his enterprise of closely related Oregon companies,” plaintiffs claim.
Harder, who has filed for personal bankruptcy, is not a defendant in the case.
Justine Fischer, a Portland attorney working for the plaintiff’s team, said the next step is to have the suit designated as a “complex” case and assigned to a judge already hearing other legal matters pertaining to Harder and the Sunwest matter.
The investor suit mirrors a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court for Oregon by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Like the investor suit, the SEC suit characterizes Sunwest as a “Ponzi” scheme and said the company improperly managed its empire, which once included about 250 senior living centers, as a single operation instead of the unrelated businesses it described to investors.
Investors purchased shares of the real estate as tenants in common and were supposed to be paid rent by Sunwest Management.
Instead, Sunwest diverted funds from profitable properties to pay costs of unprofitable ones. When the economy collapsed and Sunwest could not secure credit, the company stopped making mortgage payments on some properties, triggering dozens of foreclosures and other legal actions.
The suit accuses Davis Wright Tremaine of facilitating the scheme by misrepresenting the “unitary” nature of the operation.
The suit says Davis Wright Tremaine and Dozois prepared numerous documents that misled investors into thinking they were buying into particular properties, including memoranda, disclosure materials, tenancy in common agreements, triple net lease documents, warranty deeds, operating agreements, real property purchase agreements and escrow instructions.
“The defendants and the Harder Enterprise did not tell investors that revenue generated in connection with the property they were investing in could be commingled and used to help fund less profitable properties owned and operated by the Harder Enterprise or would be loaned to less profitable properties. Investors also were not told that the Harder Enterprise had engaged extensively in such commingling of funds in the past and intended to continue do to so in the future,” the suit claims.
In addition to Fischer, the plaintiffs are being represented by two Washington, D.C., law firms, Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PLLC and the Law Office of Herbert Adelman. |
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