Wake Up Call: Former Godiva Top Lawyer Joins Legal Recruiter

In today’s column, early data from Goodwin, Lowenstein, and BakerHostetler show all three firms had revenue and PEP gains last year; Davis Polk and Norton Rose Fulbright advised the biggest U.S. milk processor, bankrupt Dean Foods, on a $425 million sale of its assets; and two big firms advised as LendingClub bought Radius Bancorp in its bid to become a bank.

• Leading off, legal recruiting company Whistler Partners hired in-house leader Jonathan Drucker, the former top lawyer at Godiva Chocolatier Inc. and Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., as a senior consultant based in New York. Whistler also hired Fenwick & West’s former head of attorney recruiting and diversity, Julieta Stubrin, as head of law firm relationships and chief of its new San Francisco office. Ex-Gibson Dunn partner Dan Mummery, who was that firm’s hiring partner in Palo Alto, also joins as senior consultant. (WhistlerPartners.com)

• Davis Polk advised bankrupt milk processor Dean Foods Co. on its agreement to sell a large chunk of its business to Dairy Farmers of America Inc. for $425 million. (BN via BLAW) Dean Foods is also getting advice from Norton Rose Fulbright. (Businesswire.com)

• San Francisco-based online credit marketplace LendingClub Corp., advised by Sullivan and Cromwell, acquired Radius Bancorp , advised by Hogan Lovells, for $185 million, as part of LendingClub’s plans to become a bank. (Bloomberg News)

• Pennsylvania’ Supreme Court ordered a public reprimand for Penn State’s former general counsel, Cynthia Baldwin, over ethics violations that occurred during the Sandusky sexual abuse probe. (Corporate Counsel)

• Boston-based Goodwin Procter’s focus on private equity and technology and life science deals helped push its gross revenue up 11% in 2019 to $1.33 billion. Its average profits per equity partner grew 5.8% to $2.6 million, while overall lawyer head count increased 14% to 1,091, as it added 34 laterals, a report says. (American Lawyer)

• BakerHostetler said all five of its practice areas showed growth in 2019, with gross revenues rising 9.8% to over $732 million. Average profits per equity partner soared 23.1% to $1.27 million. (American Lawyer)

• Lowenstein’s gross revenues also gained 11%, to $343 million, while its average PEP surged 15.5% to about $2.42 million. (New Jersey Law Journal)

• Kramer Levin got back white collar criminal defense attorney Barry Berke as co-chair of its litigation department. He returns to the firm after serving as special counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during its investigation and impeachment of President Trump. (KramerLevin.com) (Politico)

• Holland & Knight’s former executive partner for Chicago, Steven Elrod, is leaving with nine other lawyers to start a municipal government focused firm that is more flexible on rates. (Crain’s Chicago Business)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• Paul Hastings got two partners from Winston & Strawn: Justin Rawlins, based in L.A.,was chairman of Winston’s national restructuring practice, and Philip Ratner, based in New York, advises on complex financings. (American Lawyer)

• Davis Wright Tremaine’s Los Angeles office added healthcare attorneys Stacie Neroni and Hope Levy-Biehl as partners. They arrive from healthcare firm Nelson Hardiman, where Neroni was co-managing partner. (DWT.com)

Deals

• Proskauer Rose advised Atomico, the London-based tech investment firm started by Skype cofounder Niklas Zennstrom, on its raising of $820 million for its fifth fund targeting European startups. (BN)

• Duo Bank of Canada, a Toronto-based financial services provider advised by Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and others, agreed to purchase all outstanding shares of Montreal-based Fairstone Financial Holdings Inc., from an investor group led by J.C. Flowers & Co. LLC and others. Willkie Farr & Gallagher advised investment management firm Centerbridge Partners in the deal. (PRNewswire.com)

• SJI, advised by Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, completed its sale of Marina Thermal Facility, a power generation facility, to DTE Energy Services for $100 million. (Globenewswire.com)

• Klövern AB of Sweden and GDS Development Management paid $184 million for all 29 units at a co-op building at 417 Park Avenue in New York. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and others advised the buyers, while Stroock & Stroock & Lavan advised the cooperative. (Yahoo! Finance) (The Real Deal)

Laterals, Moves

• Troutman Sanders snagged the former co-chair of Dentons’ U.S. restructuring, insolvency and bankruptcy practice, Gary Marsh, who joins as a partner in Atlanta. (Troutman.com)

• Blank Rome added former K&L Gates partner Maria “Masha” Trainor as a corporate partner in Pittsburgh. Most recently she was vice president, general counsel, and secretary at specialty steel manufacturer Ampco-Pittsburgh Corporation. (BlankRome.com)

• Another Philadelphia-based firm, Fox Rothschild, hired bankruptcy lawyer Brian R. Anderson as a partner in Greensboro, North Carolina. According to his LinkedIn, he was law clerk in federal bankruptcy court, spent two years at Nelson Mullins, and arrives most recently from Nexsen Pruet. (FoxRothschild.com)

• DLA Piper snagged Cooley corporate lawyer Marc Samuel for its Washington and New York offices. (DLA Piper)

• Seattle-based Perkins Coie added trial attorney Renée Rothauge as a partner in Portland, Oregon, in its commercial litigation practice. (PerkinsCoie.com)

• Dykema added commercial litigator Steven Mroczkowski as senior counsel in Chicago in its financial services litigation practice group. He was previously at Carlson Dash. (Dykema.com)

• Loeb & Loeb said consumer finance and fintech compliance lawyer Mercedes Tunstall joined its Washington office as a partner in its advanced media & technology group. She’s a former staff lawyer at Federal Trade Commission and was most recently a partner at Pillsbury. (Loeb.com)

• Haynes and Boone grabbed veteran Vinson & Elkins finance lawyers Jim Markus and Tim Johnston as partners in Dallas. (HaynesBoone.com)

• Alternative dispute resolution services provider JAMS added former Texas appellate judge Michael C. Massengale to its panel in Houston. Massengale was a Baker Botts trial partner before becoming a judge. (JAMSAdr.com)

• Quarles & Brady hired worklaw attorneys Sarah Belger and Hans Riede as partners and Christian Yingling as associate, in Washington. They arrive from Odin, Feldman & Pittleman. (Quarles)

• Brooklyn-based Abrams Fensterman added a seven-lawyer insurance lawyer team, including two partners, plus support staff. (Abramslaw.com)

Legal Actions, Decisions

• A Los Angeles Superior Court judge named a 20-lawyer team for close to 100 California state court lawsuits against Juul Labs, the San Francisco-based electronic cigarette maker. (The Recorder)

Legal Education

• A recent survey said 15-year-olds are losing interest in becoming lawyers, which comes on top of a decline in law school popularity. (BLAW)