Wake Up Call: Deals Drive Cadwalder’s Record 2021 Profits

In today’s column, Goodwin and handful of other firms matched the Milbank scale for associate pay hikes; a recent federal court ruling in Texas could inspire more lawsuits against insurers refusing to pay for Covid testing; close to half of U.K. law firms are considering a merger as a shortcut to growth.

• Leading off, Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft rode a big wave of deal work to a 34.55% increase in gross revenue in 2021 to about $608.9 million. Cadwalader’s profits per equity partner soared 71.57% to a record $4.4 million, while its head count rose to 413 from 401. It also added four equity partners reaching 60, according to this report based on preliminary data. (American Lawyer)
• Washington-based Steptoe & Johnson LLP, L.A.-based Irell, trial firm McKool Smith, and California boutique Hueston Hennigan are among the latest firms matching the Milbank salary scale for associates. The scale starts at $215,000 for first years and runs up to $385,000 for associates who started in 2014 or earlier. Goodwin Procter on Friday also said it matched the scale for its associates in the U.S. and Hong Kong. (Above The Law)
• Meanwhile, Latham & Watkins announced market-matching bonuses for 2021 with extra for big billers. (Above The Law)
• A recent Texas federal court ruling could spur more lawsuits by health-care providers fighting insurance companies’ refusal to pay for Covid testing. (National Law Journal) A judge threw out a Connecticut hospital’s insurance coverage lawsuit contending it had suffered property damage due to Covid-19. (Connecticut Law Tribune)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Foley & Lardner elected Detroit-based business law partner and department chair Daljit Doogal as its next chairman and CEO, taking effect in the spring. He replaces Jay O. Rothman, who’s been chair since 2011. (Foley.com)
• Nearly half of U.K. law firms are considering a merger as a way to expand, according to a study. (Global Legal Post)
• Virginia’s new Republican attorney general Jason Miyares fired University of Virginia general counsel Timothy Heaphy, who has been serving on the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack. Miyares also fired George Mason University’s top lawyer. (New York Times) The Jan. 6 committee talked to former Attorney General Bill Barr. (Politico)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Freshfields poached longtime Cravath of counsel Nicole Foster as a partner in New York and co-leader of its U.S. employee benefits and executive compensation practice with current practice co-leads Lori Goodman and Maj Vaseghi; Goodwin added debt finance partner Robby Stein to its private equity team in New York. He’s a former Kirkland & Ellis partner and was recently partner and co-chair of Akerman’s corporate finance and lending practice; Goodwin also got former Justice Department cyber crime coordinator Jud Welle, recently head of digital investigations & cyber defense, chief counsel for cybersecurity and data security at global investigations firm Nardello & Co., as a partner in New York. (GoodwinLaw.com)
• Holland & Knight grabbed Akerman real estate partners Daniel Faust, Adam Zwecker, and Jason Vaupen in Miami; Akerman added real estate attorney Steven Chudnow as a partner in New York. He’s a former Seyfarth partner, was vice president and corporate counsel at PGIM Real Estate and Prudential Mortgage Company and arrives from Watchel Missry; Quarles & Brady brought in former DLA Piper real estate partner Janet Lindeman as of counsel in Chicago. For the last decade, she’s been vice president & assistant general counsel at Ulta Salon, Cosmetics & Fragrance; veteran Big Law intellectual property attorney Pierre Yanney joined Wiggin and Dana as a partner in New York and chair of its patent prosecution group. (Wiggin.com)
• Lathrop GPM hired Quarles & Brady lateral recruiting manager Ed De Castro in Chicago as its first-ever director of lateral partner recruiting; California-based Crossover Health hired its longtime outside counsel, former Latham & Watkins health care and life sciences attorney, Fred Melendres, as general counsel. (Healthcare Tech) The Internal Revenue Service office of chief counsel announced plans to hire up to 200 attorneys. (Accounting Today)