Wake Up Call: Dentons Grows in Latin America, Adds Bolivian Firm

In today’s column, Nelson Mullins launched a data breach response team with four lawyers poached from Baker Donelson; several of the half dozen Big Law firms with headquarters in Missouri posted solid results in 2020; the managing partner at cloud-based FisherBroyles says in a podcast that his firm has expanded during the pandemic.

• Leading off, Dentons, the world’s biggest law firm by head count, said it’s combining with Bolivian law firm Guevara & Gutierrez, which would make it the only global law firm with a presence in that country. Days after tying up with an Ecuadorean firm, Dentons said the new merger gives it offices in Bolivian cities La Paz and Santa Cruz with 25 lawyers, including nine partners, with expertise in banking & finance, corporate, dispute resolution, and energy & natural resources, labor & employment, and tax. Dentons says the combination, pending approval by Guevara & Gutierrez partners, gives it 200 locations across 79 countries worldwide, including 27 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. (Dentons.com)
• In the U.S., Dentons lost a four-lawyer West Coast products liability team to DLA Piper. The team is led by trial partner Jayme Long, who defends companies in energy, chemical, manufacturing, safety and maritime industries in complex cases involving products liability, premises liability, mass torts, and commercial litigation. She’s joined by of counsel Justin Sarno, a certified appellate specialist, as well as two associates and two staff members. (DLA Piper)
• With big cyberattacks growing in frequency and consequences, Nelson Mullins poached a four-lawyer team from Baker Donelson to launch a data breach response team co-led by Atlanta-based partners Gina Greenwood and Brad Moody. Greenwood and Moody, who were co-chairs of Baker Donelson’s data incident response and investigations team, are joined by of counsel Blythe Lollar and associate Ashleigh Smaha. (Daily Report Online)
• Despite a challenging year that hit the energy industry, Haynes and Boone said it had a very strong 2020 as it stuck to its strategic long-term growth plan and benefited from its technology investments and existing remote work policy. The firm grew revenue 6.4% from 2019 to $430.2 million, powered by capital markets, M&A, investment management, financial transactions, bankruptcy, and energy litigation. Its profits per equity partner gained 6.8% to about $1.077 million even as its equity partner head count rose 14.7%. (Texas Lawyer)
• Kevin Broyles, the co-founder and managing partner of cloud-based “distributed” firm FisherBroyles, says that while the pandemic was forcing traditional firms to shift to remote working, his firm was moving to quickly expand hiring. Podcast. (LegalTalkNetwork.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Missouri has at least half a dozen Big Law firms with headquarters in Kansas City or St. Louis and several of them posted solid profit or revenue gains last year. (American Lawyer)
• L.A.-based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips reported $336.8 million in gross revenue for 2020, up 4.6% from 2019, and PEP up 8.9% to $1.54 million. The firm, which is transforming itself into an an integrated professional services firm offering both legal and non-legal consulting services, recently brought on the president emeritus of the Association of American Medical Colleges, Dr. Darrell Kirch, in Washington as a national adviser in its health group. (The Recorder)

Laterals, Moves, In-house

• Goodwin Procter snagged Kirkland & Ellis private equity partner Hugh O’Sullivan in London. O’Sullivan specializes in advising sponsors, corporations, funds, and financial institutions on complex and multi-jurisdictional financing transactions, including leveraged finance, bridge finance, and restructurings. (GoodwinLaw.com)
• Mayer Brown recruited employment & benefits lawyer Erin Cho as a partner in Washington. She specializes in ERISA Title I fiduciary matters, spent 18 years at Davis Polk & Wardwell and was most recently a principal at Groom Law Group; in another employment hire, management-side worklaw firm Littler hired away Squire Patton Boggs employment specialist Isha Malhotra as of counsel in Singapore. She represents clients throughout South Asia and is licensed to practice law in India and is fluent in Hindi language. (Littler.com)
• Blank Rome added insurance recovery partner Seth Lamden in Chicago. He arrives from Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg; in San Diego, Buchalter added insurance coverage litigation shareholder Cecilia Miller. She arrives from Procopio, where she was a partner, and was counsel at Latham & Watkins earlier. (Buchalter.com)