February 7, 2012 5:13 PM

The Churn: Lateral Moves and Promotions in The Am Law 200

Posted by Sara Randazzo

A six-lawyer real estate group has taken its practice from DLA Piper in Los Angeles to Seyfarth Shaw. The new hires include partners RICHARD MENDELSON, ANDREW SHINER, and STACY PAEK, along with three associates.

The group represents clients on acquisitions and dispositions, joint ventures, and financing transactions, as well as workouts and restructurings, for all property types. The new arrivals double Seyfarth's Los Angeles–based real estate practice.

The defections follow last week's move by three other real estate lawyers from DLA Piper's Los Angeles office to Davis Wright Tremaine. Mendelson, who cochaired DLA's national real estate restructuring group, told sibling publication The Recorder that his group's move wasn't driven by money, but by a feeling that joining Seyfarth presented "a good opportunity to be part of a firm that really wants to focus on the transactional side here in California." 

In other Churn news . . .

Allen & Overy has hired STEVEN ADKINS as a partner in its Washington, D.C., office. Adkins, previously with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, specializes in section 337 investigations before the International Trade Commission and U.S. Customs.

Tennessee attorney R. CULVER SCHMID has jumped from Long, Ragsdale & Waters to Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz in Knoxville. Schmid, a shareholder, handles commercial transactions involving real estate development and financing, acquisitions, secured lending, municipal corporations, and administrative law.

Barnes & Thornburg has expanded its Los Angeles office with the addition of PAUL LAURIN and one associate. The pair join from Rutter Hobbs & Davidoff, which has been shrinking since losing a $10 million malpractice verdict in July, sibling publication The National Law Journal reports. The NLJ notes that Laurin—who focuses on business litigation at the trial and appellate level, often dealing with bankruptcy—will launch a finance, insolvency, and restructuring department in Barnes & Thornburg's year-old Los Angeles office.  

Bingham McCutchen has grabbed a partner from Dewey & LeBoeuf, JEFFREY MACDONALD, for its New York and Hartford offices. MacDonald counsels issuers and investment funds in private equity and debt financings, as well as advising on other transactional and corporate governance matters.

In Orlando, Burr & Forman now counts MOREY RAISKIN as a partner. Raiskin, who previously led the labor and employment group at Lowndes, Drosdick, Doster, Kantor & Reed, advises employers on personnel matters, including policy and guideline development, noncompete agreements, union-related activities, and wage and hour claims.

JONATHAN KOLODNER, who worked most recently in the U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan as acting chief of the criminal division and special counsel to the U.S. attorney, is now counsel in Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton's New York office. Kolodner's practice will focus on criminal, securities, and other enforcement and regulatory matters, along with complex commercial litigation.

The Portland office of Davis Wright Tremaine now counts land use and development lawyer ROGER ALFRED as of counsel. Previously with Perkins Coie, Alfred focuses his practice on obtaining state and local permits for commercial, residential, mixed-use, industrial, and energy projects.

Dinsmore & Shohl's newest partner is MICHAEL ADAMS, who was previously general counsel for the Republican Governors Association. Based in Washington, D.C., Adams will focus on political, governmental, and constitutional law as part of the firm's government relations practice group.

STUART LUBITZ is now special counsel with DLA Piper in Los Angeles. Lubitz is a patent lawyer who represents primarily Japanese and U.S. technology companies. He last worked at Hogan Lovells.

NANCY STAGG has moved from Fish & Richardson to Foley & Lardner in San Diego. A partner, Stagg focuses on complex business disputes, including consumer class action defense, intellectual property and trade secret litigation, and unfair competition and false advertising litigation.

Greenberg Traurig has gained GINGER HEYMAN PIGOTT as a shareholder in Los Angeles. Pigott, previously a partner at Reed Smith, represents national and international pharmaceutical and medical device companies in product liability and commercial litigation matters.

Hunton & Williams has added KAREN BENNETT, the former vice president for environmental affairs at the National Mining Association, as counsel in its environmental group in Washington, D.C. Bennett will work with Hunton attorneys around the country to advise mining industry clients on permitting, litigation, enforcement, compliance, and other relevant issues. Hunton has also hired JOHN O'CONNOR as a partner in New York. Formerly at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, O'Connor focuses on mergers and acquisitions, private equity, and securities matters, particularly related to the energy and financial services sectors.

Winston & Strawn has lost two tax partners to Miller & Chevalier, JAMES WARREN and ALEXANDER ZAKUPOWSKY. The pair join in Washington, D.C, as members. Warren specializes in the federal taxation of electric, gas, and water utilities, as well as tax accounting. Zakupowsky focuses on tax accounting, transfer pricing, and utilities taxation.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has hired MICHAEL PHILIPP as a partner in its financial services, investment management, and securities practice, based in Chicago. Philipp represents U.S. and foreign exchanges, futures commission merchants, banks, investment managers, and others in connection with exchange-traded and over-the-counter derivative instruments. He was previously at Winston & Strawn.

VAN ELLIS has traded life as an in-house lawyer with the Howard Hughes Medical Institute to be a partner at Morrison & Foerster in Washington, D.C. Ellis negotiates and structures licensing agreements for life sciences companies and research institutes, and also handles research and development agreements, clinical trial agreements, and joint venture transactions.

Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough's Greenville, South Carolina, office has added SEAN FAULKNER as of counsel. Faulkner represents sellers, purchasers, lenders, and developers in real estate matters. He is also a title insurance agent for Chicago Title Insurance, a role that allows him to issue and countersign binders, commitments, and policies of title insurance on behalf of the company. He was formerly at Roe Cassidy Coates & Price.

LEEZIE KIM has returned to Quarles & Brady, where she worked for 12 years before leaving in 2007 to become general counsel to then–Arizona governor Janet Napolitano. In 2009, after Napolitano was named Homeland Security secretary, Kim was appointed the agency's deputy general counsel. Kim joins Quarles's Phoenix office as a partner. In her corporate practice, she counsels clients on laws at the intersection of international business and national security, on compliance with government regulations affecting transactions in the health care industry, on laws related to the restaurant industry, and on immigration matters.

The Beijing office of Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton has gained YASUE "BECKY" NAO KOBLITZ as special counsel in its corporate group. Most recently with Salans, Koblitz specializes in cross-border antitrust matters, competition law, and white-collar investigations.

Gordon & Rees has lost the cochairs of its life sciences group, GEORGE NG and WILLIAM PEDRANTI, to Snell & Wilmer. The two lawyers join Snell as partners in Orange County, California. Ng works on domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, licensing, and transactional matters. Pedranti performs general company representation for public and private companies in the life sciences industry.

Squire Sanders (sporting its new short moniker) has hired public finance attorney ROBYN HELMLINGER from Sidley Austin. A partner in the firm's San Francisco office, Helmlinger works on health care and school finance matters, with experience as bond, disclosure, and underwriter's counsel.

Two partners have joined Thompson Hine in New York. WILLIAM SCHRAG, a bankruptcy lawyer, comes to the firm from Duane Morris. PETER GENNUSO, who represents public and private companies in financial and stock transactions, last worked at Gersten Savage.

The Churn is compiled from law firm releases and announcements. Moves based on our own reporting will note this. Please send all announcements and news releases to thechurn@alm.com. 

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