November 11, 2008 4:20 PM

THE CHURN: Lateral Moves and Promotions in The Am Law 200

Posted by Rachel Breitman

While this spring saw a tough round of layoffs at Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, the firm seems to have turned a corner and is now adding corporate partners, in Charlotte of all places. It was only six months ago that the firm rescinded job offers for associates heading to that very office. The one and a half-year-old outpost now includes new partner Alexander Zolfaghari, previously special counsel at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. He'll represent domestic and foreign commercial banks, investment banks, and equity sponsors in bank loan deals, acquisitions, financings, and workouts.

In other churn news...

Bingham McCutchen is thinking globally with the addition of Matthew Puhar as a corporate partner in its Hong Kong office, fresh from Halliwells' corporate finance group in London. He also was part of Richards Butler's--now merged with Reed Smith--corporate finance group, where he handled cross-border M&A and corporate finance

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck has hired Irene Gallagher (right) as a shareholder focusing on ERISA and employee benefits. Gallagher previously was a partner with Holme, Roberts & Owens' compensation and benefits practice group and before that had been a partner at Denver's Holland & Hart.

Crowell & Moring's aviation group will continue to reach for the skies with the addition of Megan Rae Rosia to the firm's aviation group, which represents airlines and aerospace clients in various regulatory matters. Rosia is a former assistant administrator for government and industry affairs for the Federal Aviation Administration.

Dewey  LeBoeuf has added partner William Cattan and senior associate Joanna Addison to its new Doha office. Both lawyers worked at Qatar Petroleum and in the Qatar office of Patton Boggs prior to joing Dewey. Cattan will be based in New York and Addison will work in London until the Doha office officially opens later this year. 

Dickstein Shapiro has hired former E.I. duPont Nemours and Company general counsel--and American Lawyer lifetime achiever--Stacey Mobley (left) as senior counsel in the firm's Washington, DC office.  Mobley will advise the state attorneys general practice group and work with Dickstein's diversity committee. He had worked at DuPont for more than 30 years, handling litigation, federal affairs, and external affairs. 

DLA Piper recently brought on Christopher Hall as a partner in the firm's litigation group, resident in the New York office. Hall led the civil securities litigation initiative at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, where he represented investment banks, issuers, mutual fund complexes, investment advisers, broker-dealers and boards in securities class actions, commercial litigation, proxy battles, and corporate governance disputes.

Foley & Lardner total number of Heller hires now numbers 13 with the addition of three more lawyers. The latest recruits include life sciences transactional attorney Richard Kaufman, who joins the business law and IP departments in both the San Diego and Del Mar offices; David Charapp, special counsel in the business law department; and Dr. Leslie Overman is a new IP partner. Kaufman will represent clients in the drug, biologics, medical devices, discovery technology, and bioinformatics fields. Charapp will represent life sciences companies, and Overman will manage and coordinate worldwide patent portfolios.

Michael Hausfeld, has left his position as an anti-trust and international law partner at Washington D.C. plaintiff firm Cohen Milstein Hausfeld & Toll, as reported  yesterday in The Am Law Daily, and is opening his own shop in Washington. The firm will handle  competition, human rights, product liability, civil rights, environmental, and securities cases.

Hogan & Hartson knows that in a struggling economy, health care practices remain suprisingly, well, healthy. The firm added Craig Smith, former general counsel of Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration, to its health care practice to represent industry clients in complex regulatory matters. Smith had previously worked at the firm in 2001.

King & Spalding added Elizabeth Tanis as a partner in the firm's business litigation practice. Tanis, who will work in the Atlanta office, was head of the professional responsibility practice at Sutherland, where she was a partner and head of its professional responsibility practice, handling accountant liability, securities, and class action matters.

Loeb & Loeb nabbed Ieuan Jolly (right), a former Thelen associate, to join the firm's new advanced media and technology department as senior counsel. Jolly advises clients on the establishment of interactive electronic platforms and the licensing of information technology and broadband projects, contracting online, supply and distribution agreements, website hosting arrangements, technology outsourcing, and IT procurement.

Morgan Lewis & Bockius also has made a play for Thelen talent,  acquiring seventeen energy transactional lawyers for its business and finance practice. The team will handle capital markets and transactions in the electric, gas, and nuclear sectors. The eight partners include Douglas Davidson, Thelen's New York managing partner and co-chair of the firm's corporate and securities practice; John Hood, Robert Reger, Thomas Giblin, Jr., Mahendra Churamen, Walter Godlewski, Bobbi O'Connor, and Kimberly Reisler. 

Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler hopes to have found a priceless gem in Jo Backer Laird, a new counsel. She worked as general counsel at Christie's Inc. and will continue to concentrate on art law, representing museums, private collectors, galleries, dealers, financial institutions, and  artists. 

Patton Boggs has hired tax  and international law partner Richard Andersen, who joins the firm from Arnold & Porter. Andersen will advise clients on  acquisitions, divestitures, joint ventures, technology transfers, securities offerings, project financings, and privatizations.

Thompson & Knight is expanding its affiliated São Paulo office with new partner Eduardo Soares, who will join the international energy and  corporate and securities practice groups. Soares, previously a partner at Mattos Filho, Veiga Filho, Marrey Jr. e Quiroga Advogados, will handle structured finance, project finance, the offer and distribution of securities, corporate, and regulatory law.

Winston & Strawn says it will open its doors in Hong Kong, Beijing, and Shanghai with the help of three new partners from Heller Ehrman. Former Heller Hong Kong managing partner Simon Luk will lead the firm's practice in Asia. He'll be joined by litigator David Hall-Jones and capital markets and M&A partner Michael Phillips. One counsel and three associates from the Heller office are joining with the trio. Stateside, Winston has added more Heller lawyers to the firm's D.C. office--international trade partners William Barringer, Daniel Porter, Christopher Dunn, and James Durling.

And in the legal recruiting world...

Major, Lindsey & Africa has hired Miranda Petrillo as a managing director in the firm's associate practice group. Petrillo, who handled commercial litigation in Thelen's San Francisco office before working at Bay Capital Legal and as a legal editor for LexisNexis, will focus on Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.

The churn is constant. Our reports are twice weekly. Send your news to amlawdaily@alm.com.

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