October 17, 2008 4:00 PM

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

Posted by Rachel Breitman

With the presidential election in sight and the potential for continued tremors in the banking industry, firms are preparing for a busy winter by opening new offices and pumping up their corporate, energy, and  government relations practices.

Arent Fox added Don Romano to its health care regulatory practice in its Washington, DC office. A veteran for more than two decades at the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Romano wrote the Stark Laws, governing physician self-referral for Medicare and Medicaid patients. He’ll work with hospitals, nursing homes and academic medical centers and health systems on compliance, reimbursement and litigation.

Baker & Daniels is expecting Kay Pashos to bring a burst of energy to her job as counsel in the firm's energy, environment and climate change group. The former vice president of regulatory strategy for Duke Energy's has more than 20 years experience from the company's U.S. franchised electric and gas  unit. Her practice will include regulatory and utilities work, including proceedings before the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission.

Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck added Michael Feeley, a former  Colorado state senator to the government relations group. Feeley was shareholder in Isaacson Rosenbaum's public law and policy and litigation practice groups. He also worked at Baker & Hostetler, where he was a member of the firm's tax group and government policy practice team focusing on commercial transactions and representing clients before government agencies.

The newest firm to open up shop in Dubai, United Arab Emirates is Curtis, Mallet Prevost, Colt & Mosle. The office will handle M&A, private equity, project development, tourism, energy and commodities, sovereign wealth funds, private equity funds, and dispute resolution. Corporate partner Peter Stewart will manage the office.

Far from outsourcing their global technology and sourcing practice overseas, DLA Piper is growing it domestically from the Atlanta office, with the addition of Steven de Groot and Ellen Ray. Both came from King & Spalding's technology transactions practice.

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz  added Patrick Boyle to the commercial litigation group. As a partner at Thacher Proffitt & Wood, he handled complex corporate, insurance, and liability cases in the financial, insurance, transportation, maritime, construction, environmental, and manufacturing industries.

As we reported Thursday, while Heller Ehrman disintegrates, Davis Wright Tremaine has grown. Hogan & Hartson is also capitalizing on the  influx of out-of-work talent to add offices in San Francisco and Silicon Valley, while boosting the number of lawyers at the existing New York City office. The firm added former chair of Heller Ehrman's litigation practice and the former co-chairs of that firm’s securities litigation practice.

Jones Day is also getting piece of the Heller action. Jones Day added 15 Heller partners, ten in San Francisco, three in New York, and two in Washington D.C.

Kirkland & Ellis is playing a game of international musical chairs. The firm will expand its global private funds practice group in Asia by moving London partner Justin Dolling and  New York partner Albert Cho to the  Hong Kong office. Both have counseled funds that focus on Asian investments.

McDermott Will & Emery added Mark Crofskey as partner in the firm's corporate group in London, the eight new appointment to the office this year. Crofskey handled cross-border M&A deals involving private equity transactions and in the Russian market deals for  the London office of Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom.

Shearman & Sterling  added new partners Michael Kennedy, Steve Camahort and Michael Dorf to the Bay Area M&A group and corporate practice, all of whom had previously worked at the firm. More recently Kennedy, Camahort and Dorf were at O'Melveny & Myers's San Francisco office. Kennedy has handled in domestic and cross-border mergers and acquisitions, including negotiated and hostile acquisitions and proxy contests. Camahort represents investment banks as financial advisors in M&A transactions. Dorf has performed mergers, stock and asset acquisitions and divestitures, tender and exchange offers, minority investments and joint ventures.

Former Heller partner Kirt Shuldberg has joined the San Diego/Del Mar office of Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton to handle corporate and securities law, which includes venture capital, private placements, mergers and acquisitions, public offerings, strategic collaborations and licensing transactions, general corporate counseling and restructurings. He has also focused on litigation involving  the life sciences, medical device and clean air technology industries.

Venable's nonprofit organizations practice group hopes to profit from the addition of former New York assistant attorney general Sally Blinken. At the AG's office, Blinken served in the Public Integrity and Charities Bureaus.

Michael Zinder joined Willkie Farr & Gallagher as the co-chair the firm's banking/debt finance practice group in New York. Zinder handled leveraged buy-outs, hostile and friendly tender offers, recapitalizations and spin-offs, workouts and restructurings, and debtor-in-possession financings at Shearman & Sterling.   

Winston & Strawn's Washington, D.C. litigation practice’s latest addition is John Rosenthal, fresh from Howrey's Washington office. Rosenthal handles civil litigation and antitrust matters in federal and state courts across the United States involving trademark, franchise, trade secret, false advertising, contract, tort, and defamation issues.

The churn is constant. Our reports are twice weekly. Send your news to [email protected].

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