/>iWelcome to another edition of the National Law Review’s highlight on legal industry and law firm news! Though the summer is winding down, legal industry news continues to be hot. Please read below for the latest in law firm hiring and expansion news and a highlight on legal industry awards and recognition.
Law Firm Hiring and Expansion
Bracewell announced that Brian G. Patterson joined the firm as a labor and employment partner in the Houston office. He joins the firm from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, where he was also a partner in the labor and employment group.
Mr. Patterson represents employers in a range of labor and employment matters, including non-competition agreements, OSHA enforcement, wage-and-hour disputes and whistleblower issues. Mr. Patterson received his J.D. from Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law in 2006 and his B.A. in economics from the University of Richmond in 2002.
“We are excited to welcome Brian to the firm,” said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp. “He is a highly regarded labor and employment practitioner whose broad range of experience in litigation, enforcement actions and investigations will bring additional depth to our nationally recognized labor and employment team.”
“Joining Bracewell is a great fit for me and my clients,” Mr. Patterson said. “I work with many companies in the energy and power infrastructure space, which aligns perfectly with Bracewell’s expertise in these sectors. This move also allows me to tap into the firm’s deep bench of labor and employment and litigation attorneys across Texas, enhancing the service I can provide to my clients.”
Andrew Feller joined Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto as senior special counsel, where he will be an advocate for whistleblowers under the Dodd-Frank Act. His focus will be on those who report securities violations to the SEC, CFTC and other whistleblower programs.
“I have long admired KKC’s work as passionate advocates for their whistleblower clients and champions for strong and effective whistleblower programs and policies. KKC has played the most significant role in ensuring that the SEC’s regulations serve the public interest and have won many of the most important enforcement cases under Dodd-Frank. KKC deserves its reputation as the leading whistleblower firm. I could not be more excited to join the firm,” Mr. Feller said.
Before joining KKC, Mr. Feller spent 12 years as senior counsel in the SEC Division of Enforcement, as well as three years as a senior counsel and policy advisor to SEC commissioner Allison Herren Lee. He demonstrated dedication to the pursuit of justice in investigating and litigating securities fraud during this time.
“I’m thrilled to be working with Andrew again as he now joins the team at Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto,” said Ms. Lee, who serves as of counsel for KKC. “Andrew brings a depth of invaluable securities and commodities experience to our practice. From our time together at the SEC, I know firsthand Andrew’s expertise in these areas, as well as his deep commitment to furthering accountability and protecting both investors and whistleblowers.”
Barnes & Thornburg announced that Phillip W. Goter joined the firm’s Minneapolis office as an intellectual property partner.
Mr. Goter has over 10 years of experience representing clients to help manage, monetize and enforce their IP. Mr. Goter was an investment manager and legal counsel for a global, publicly traded litigation finance and legal risk management company before joining Barnes & Thornburg, where he advanced their IP initiatives and expanded litigation funding.
“With the recent expansions of our IP, labor and employment, and litigation teams, it’s been a fantastic year of growth here in Minneapolis,” said Connie A. Lahn, managing partner of the Minneapolis office. “We’re pleased to welcome Phil to our stellar team, especially considering his strong reputation in the Minnesota legal community and globally.”
Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca announced a merger to create a firm of over 1,300 attorneys in 37 offices across the United States and United Kingdom.
The new firm will operate as Womble Bond Dickinson, starting on its planned effective date of January 1, 2025. The firm will provide clients with enhanced capabilities across practices and sectors including finance, bankruptcy and restructuring, intellectual property, real estate, complex litigation and disputes and corporate and securities. The firm will be led by chair and CEO Merrick Benn and vice chair Kenneth Van Winkle.
“One of the first parallels that emerged between our two firms was a shared strategic vision for serving clients in fast-growing cities and innovation hubs,” said Betty Temple, chair and CEO, and Mr. Benn. “The combined firm’s platform will offer greater depth in these high-growth markets and beyond, empowering our attorneys to deliver sophisticated and multi-faceted legal counsel to companies at the forefront of change and disruption. We have been energized by the strong cultural alignment and connections we’ve experienced already and look forward to further integrating our teams.”
“This combination is a natural fit and a clear win-win, with both firms placing a high value on genuine and long-term relationships with clients and colleagues, a shared focus on collaborating with transparency and integrity, and a wide range of complementary practices that offer a unique value proposition for clients,” said Mr. Van Winkle, managing partner of Lewis Roca.
Polsinelli welcomed Deborah (“Debbie”) Yoon Jones as a principal in the firm’s Los Angeles office. Ms. Jones is the sixth new litigation principal the firm has added to the LA office this year, and is among the 15 new shareholders and 11 associates who joined Polsinelli across its commercial, employment and life sciences products liability litigation practices last month.
Ms. Jones brings her litigation and trial experience to the firm’s commercial litigation practice. She has more than 25 years of experience in handling commercial disputes, ranging from business and real estate disputes to employment issues, in California state and federal courts.
“Debbie is a highly experienced litigator with a well-established practice,” said Noel Cohen, co-managing partner of the Los Angeles office and chair of Polsinelli’s commercial litigation practice. “Her ability to advise clients across a wide spectrum of disputes is a great asset for our growing LA-based team that advises clients around the country.”
Greenberg Traurig opened a new office in São Paulo, Brazil, the firm’s 48th location. The new office will provide legal services to U.S. clients conducting business in Brazil and to Brazilian clients looking to expand to the United States.
“Our firm’s growth has always been strategically focused on locations that allow us to best serve our clients, and this office positions the firm to continue helping our clients do business in the largest market in Latin America,” said CEO Brian L. Duffy and executive chairman Richard A. Rosenbaum in a joint statement. “Our Brazil Practice team draws on attorneys on the ground in São Paulo and is supported by the full capabilities of our Latin America Practice. Clients today want one unified, global firm that offers one-stop shopping to meet their full range of legal needs.”
Greenberg Traurig’s Brazil practice acts as foreign legal consultants under U.S. law and does not practice Brazilian law. The practice advises clients on cross-border transactions, including mergers & acquisitions, real estate, tax and venture capital or other financing.
“The Brazil office is not a new venture for us – it is a natural progression of the work that our Latin America Practice has been doing here for decades,” said Yosbel A. Ibarra, co-managing shareholder of the firm’s Miami office, who is leading the firm’s São Paulo expansion with Antonio Peña, co-chair of the firm’s Latin America practice. “We understand how to do business in Brazil and how to leverage that knowledge to facilitate transactions both in the country and across the globe."
Honigman announced the addition of Christopher Mull as partner in the firm’s real estate transactions practice group in Ann Arbor, Michigan.
Mr. Mull’s practice is focused on commercial real estate law, including drafting commercial real estate purchase and sale agreements for real estate interests. He represents clients in the negotiation of their joint venture relationships with real estate developers.
"We are thrilled to have a high-caliber real estate lawyer like Chris join our ranks, especially given his sophisticated transactional experience and his proven ability to lead teams through this complex work," said Lowell D. Salesin, co-chair of Honigman’s real estate department.
Ballard Spahr and Lane Powell announced their decision to combine, effective January 1, 2025. The combined firm will have more than 750 attorneys in 18 U.S. offices and will be called Ballard Spahr.
This merger will expand Ballard Spahr’s locations into the Pacific Northwest, with new offices in Anchorage, Portland and Seattle. Lane Powell clients will gain the advantages of working with an Am Law 100 firm with enhanced capabilities in corporate transactions, finance, intellectual property, litigation and real estate.
“Lane Powell is a first-rate law firm with strength in areas we want to expand and an excellent reputation in a region that is a strategic priority for our firm and our clients. Their lawyers have the skill and experience to help our clients solve their most complex challenges. Our firms share strength in litigation, transactions, and real estate. And we have a number of clients who would like to see us expand to the Pacific Northwest,” said Peter Michaud, chair of Ballard Spahr.
“The firm we create with Ballard Spahr will leverage the strengths, traditions, and values of both firms. For a period of time, the combined firm will use the name Ballard Spahr Lane Powell in the Pacific Northwest to help introduce the firm to the area. It’s an exciting time for us and for our clients,” added Barbara J. Duffy, president of Lane Powell.
Legal Industry Awards and Recognition
Fast Company named Berry Appleman & Leiden in their list of 2024 Top 100 Best Workplaces for Innovators globally. This is BAL's second consecutive year receiving Fast Company's innovation recognition achievement, which evaluates and considers innovative efforts in the projects, investment, company-wide programs and workplace culture of over a thousand global applicant companies.
“Our mission at BAL is clear: to provide an experience that makes a positive difference in people’s lives,” said CEO Jeremy Fudge. “People-centered innovation helps us solve complex immigration challenges for clients and foreign nationals every day. And that focus helps our clients attract and retain skilled talent, empowering more than 2 million people to work and live in the U.S. and abroad.”
Cannabis Law Report recognized Bradley partner Whitt Steineker in their 2024-2025 Global Top 200 Cannabis Lawyers list. The award honors the top 200 lawyers in the world practicing in cannabis law based on a survey of clients and lawyers in the cannabis legal services sector and editorial experts with Cannabis Law Report & Cannabis Law Journal.
Mr. Steineker is a partner at Bradley's Birmingham office location and co-chair of Bradley’s cannabis industry team, where he advises clients on the evolving legal regulatory frameworks of cannabis in the U.S. and Canada.
Bracewell partner Warren W. Harris won the Texas Center for Legal Ethics’ Chief Justice Jack Pope Professionalism Award for representing the epitome of professionalism and integrity. The award is named for one of the Texas Center for Legal Ethics’ three founders, former Chief Justice Jack Pope.
Mr. Harris is an appellate litigation attorney and head of the Bracewell appellate practice group. He has filed hundreds of appeals and proceedings in the United States Supreme Court, the Texas Supreme Court and other courts of appeals
Latham & Watkins received recognition in The Recorder and Law.com's 2024 California Legal Awards. The awards celebrate exceptional achievement and excellence in California’s legal landscape.
The firm was honored in more award categories than any other firm, with six awards naming individual firm partners and four awards for the law firm. The firm and individual award recipients will be formally celebrated at the California Legal Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on October 15.
