April 15, 2009 6:01 PM

Another Akin Defection: Cohead of Litigation Heading to Quinn Emanuel

Posted by Zach Lowe

Andrew Rossman, former cohead of litigation at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, kept bumping into lawyers from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart Oliver & Hedges on various cases, and came away impressed every time. 

So Rossman, who has lived in and around New York city for his entire life, decided to leave Akin Gump this week to take a spot in Quinn's growing New York office. He says the choice to move is unrelated to Akin's recent hemorrhaging of partners; the firm lost 59 partners in 2008, more than any firm we tracked here at The American Lawyer. And many of them left with unhappy feelings for the firm's decision to reduce some practices that management considered less lucrative (such as patent licensing and individual plaintiff employment defense) in favor of an emphasis on the New York office, according to this story from the February issue of The American Lawyer.

Rossman, who worked at Akin Gump for 15 years, says he doesn't share those views. "This is purely about a great opportunity at Quinn Emanuel," he says. "I have nothing but positive things to say about Akin Gump."

Rossman worked with several Quinn lawyers on the Refco bankruptcy, in which he represented the largest creditor and Quinn advised the trustee, he says. "I've gotten to know how talented they are," Rossman says. "And we got along."

He did not use a headhunter for the move. "It came through personal relationships," he says. "That's the best way to do it."

In a separate statement, Rossman said Quinn has "taken the fields of complex financial and bankruptcy litigation by storm."

He's especially happy to be staying in New York, and wouldn't leave the area for any job--except perhaps one.

"Maybe if the commissioner of baseball opened up, I'd consider it," he says.

Rossman was unpacking boxes at his new office at Quinn when we caught up with him. With several active cases now on his plate, he can't take a break to ease into life at Quinn.

"I have to take care of my clients," he says.

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