Wake Up Call: Weil Rides Big Bankruptcy Work to Revenue, Profit Gains

In today’s column, Steptoe hired a former Obama White House official to co-lead its international trade policy practice; marijuana’s “legal limbo” has many of the country’s top lawyers and law firms sidestepping cannabis business; and the coronavirus has slowed corporate counsel hiring on the West Coast.

• Leading off, work on major bankruptcies including Pacific Gas & Electric, Sears, and others allowed Weil, Gotshal & Manges to expand its gross revenues 3.9% to about $1.52 billion in 2019, while its average profits per equity partner grew 5% to slightly over $4 million. (New York Law Journal)

• Crowell & Moring reported that a strong year for its base business and contingency-fee matters helped the Washington-based firm break a two-year revenue slump in 2019. It posted $433 million gross revenues, up 8.1%, and average PEP jumping 9% to $1.1 million. (American Lawyer)

• Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton, headed for merger next month with Troutman Sanders, saw gross revenue grow 4.5% in 2019, to $349.4 million, after three years of declines. Average PEP jumped 13.6% to $943,000. (Legal Intelligencer)

• A former Obama-era White House, Commerce Department, and United States Trade Representative official, Jeff Weiss, joined Steptoe & Johnson as a partner in Washington. The firm said he’ll serve as co-leader of its international trade policy practice. Weiss was most recently a Venable partner. (Steptoe.com)

• Jenner & Block didn’t say why its chair, Craig Martin, is stepping down after a little more than a year, in the Chicago-based firm’s third major leadership change in a year. Replacing him is partner Thomas Perrelli, the former No. 3 Department of Justice attorney in the Obama administration. (BLAW)

• Many of the country’s top lawyers and law firms are side-stepping business from cannabis companies, because cannabis remains in a legal “limbo.” That limbo exists because 33 states have made cannabis legal, in some form, but it remains illegal under federal law, a report says. (New York Law Journal)

• The coronavirus outbreak has put the brakes on corporate counsel hiring activity on the West Coast, which was surging into early this year, a report says. (The Recorder)

• Meanwhile, Debevoise is the latest firm to suspend non-essential international business travel. (Above The Law)

• Among Big Law firms offering online client resources addressing the spread of the Covid-19 virus, K&L Gates’ coronavirus hub has, among other things, advice for the case of landlords of large buildings, who might have possible reporting and other obligations to protect tenants. (KLGates.com) Paul Weiss’ resource center has a post on mitigating securities litigation risks linked to the virus. PerkinsCoie and Littler offer practical considerations and other advice aimed at U.S. employers. On McDermott Will & Emery’s coronavirus page, one post discusses the role of telehealth in response efforts. (MWE.com) Goodwin’s page has a post on developing medical products for public health emergencies. (GoodwinLaw.com)

Lawyers, Law Firms

• The head of Foley & Lardner’s government enforcement defense & investigations international practice group, Milwaukee-based partner David Simon, recently helped start an international network of 15 compliance law firms, of which Foley is the only U.S. member. (Wisconsin Law Journal)

• Reed Smith started a campaign aimed at fighting the stigma against getting help for mental health problems. (American Lawyer)

• Goodwin Procter added three new partners in its technology practice in Santa Monica, California. It also created a new chief innovation officer position, promoting a director in its program management office, Maureen Naughton to the role. (BLAW)

Laterals, Moves

• The founder and leader of Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton’s transactional intellectual property group, Len Jacoby, jumped to Cooley’s New York office as a partner. (Cooley.com)

• Akerman hired veteran private equity lawyer Ted Wern to lead its corporate practice in Chicago. He arrives from Perkins Coie, where he’d been 16 years, recently as firm-wide vice-chair of the private equity practice. (Akerman.com)

• Perkins Coie added trust & estates planning specialist Akane R. Suzuki as a partner in Seattle. She advises on managing estate planning interests in the U.S., as well as cross-border matters involving Japan. She also works on intellectual property and worklaw matters and advises Japanese business clients on real estate matters. (PerkinsCoie.com)

• Holland & Knight’s corporate practice hired in-house leader Jeffrey Harvey, most recently top lawyer at Dallas-based PrimeSource Building Products, Inc., as a partner in Dallas. (HKLaw.com)

• Haynes and Boone added veteran insurance recovery litigator Stephen Raptis as partner in Washington. He arrives from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. (HaynesBoone.com)

• Barnes & Thornburg added Faegre Drinker employee benefits attorney Michael J. Nader as a partner in its Fort Wayne office. He’s a former in-house compensation and benefits manager at a big company. (BTLaw.com)

• Eversheds Sutherland got three Dentons international arbitration partners for the firm’s litigation practice group. New York-based Meriam Nazih Al-Rashidis the firm’s U.S. lead of public international law & investment dispute. William O’Brien also joins in New York, and John Lomas will join in Washington in a few weeks. (Eversheds-Sutherland.com)

In-house

• Two of the largest U.S. real estate companies, Washington-based CoStar Group Inc., and Jacksonville, Florida-based Regency Centers Corp., announced new top lawyers. (BLAW)

Promotions

• DLA Piper appointed Matt Schwartz, who’s already chair of its West Coast finance practice group and head of its venture lending practice, to add head of the firm’s growth lending practice to his list of roles. (DLA Piper)

• San Diego-based civil defense firm Tyson & Mendes promoted four attorneys (two women) on its complex trial team to partner. (TysonMendes.com)

Legal Education

• Columbia Law School, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and New York University School of Law are the top 3 on Law.com’s latest ranking of the top 50 U.S. law schools that sent the highest percentage of their 2019 juris doctor graduates into associate positions at the largest U.S. 100 law firms. (Law.com)

• Santa Clara University School of Law got $750,000 in donations to expand its privacy law program, with Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati founder Larry Sonsini among the three current and former university trustees donating $250,000 each. (The Recorder)