The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times

Chadbourne & Parke Promotes Pair of Lawyers to Partnership in D.C.

Chadbourne & Parke has elected five attorneys to partner, including two in Washington.

John Marciano III and Keith Rosen were elected to partner along with three colleagues from the firm's New York office.

Marciano, a member of the project finance group, focuses his practice on independent power projects with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, tax structuring and foreign investments. He was previously an associate.

Rosen, who joined Chadbourne in February, previously served as chief of the criminal division for the U.S. Attorney's office in Wilmington, Del. He focuses his practice on white collar defense, regulatory investigations and litigation. He advises clients on issues like securities fraud, export control, anti-corruption and anti-money laundering. He was previously counsel with the firm.

At D.C. Pro Bono Celebration, New York Judge Defends Bar Admission Rule

New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman delivers the keynote address via video.

No, New York Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman didn't take a poll or worry about the reaction when he announced a plan in May to require 50 hours of pro bono service for admission to the New York bar. At a moment of crisis for access to justice, Lippman told a gathering of D.C. lawyers today, the judiciary and the legal profession "must be bold and proactive."

Lippman was the keynote speaker at an annual lunch held by the D.C. Bar Pro Bono Program and hosted by Arnold & Porter to honor pro bono work by local lawyers over the past year. Lippman was the driving force behind an at-times controversial plan to require pro bono work for admission to the New York bar, a rule that goes into effect January 1. Introducing Lippman today, James Sandman, president of the Legal Services Corporation, called him "a hero."

Speaking via video – Hurricane Sandy forced Lippman to cancel plans to travel to D.C. – Lippman said the idea for the requirement came out of the dire financial straits facing civil legal services organizations at a time when demand for legal services for low-income individuals is on the rise. In New York, he said that only an estimated 20 percent of civil legal services needs are being met.

Hill Staffers Feel Overworked, Unhappy with Office Cultures, Report Finds

Law firms looking to recruit Capitol Hill staffers might want to stress how their firms offer a better balance between work and personal life, have a good office culture and allow more time for projects, according to a new study released today.

The research report, "Life in Congress: Aligning Work and Life in the U.S. House and Senate," shows that congressional staffers feel they work longer hours than counterparts in the private sector. Two in five staffers say they would leave Congress "[t]o seek better balance between work and personal life."

One out of three staffers said they did not have enough time to get all their assignments done, including almost half of the staffers in policy/legislative/research roles, according to the study by the Congressional Management Foundation and the Society for Human Resource Management.

Real Estate Experts and Lawyers Predict Eastward Shift of D.C. Firms

McDermott Will & Emery's new office near the U.S. Capitol and Covington & Burling's upcoming move east to the new CityCenter DC site are harbingers of things to come, a panel of D.C. real estate experts, lawyers and business community representatives agreed this morning.

The discussion, which was hosted by McDermott, explored the role that law firms play in the local economy, from real estate and jobs to pro bono work and civic engagement. According to data that Bobby Burchfield, co-partner-in-charge of McDermott’s D.C. office, cited from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis in his remarks, the legal industry is the second largest contributor to the city's gross domestic product, second only to the federal government.

Barbara Lang, president and chief executive officer of the D.C. Chamber of Commerce, grouped the legal industry's major contributions to the city into three categories: real estate, taxable income and pro bono work supporting local nonprofits. She noted the "huge impact" law firms have on real estate, but lamented that the city can't tax the income of D.C.-based lawyers who live outside the city.

Chadbourne & Parke Appoints New D.C. Managing Partner

Chadbourne & Parke has named a new managing partner for its Washington office, the firm announced late Tuesday.

Dana Frix, a partner in the corporate department and chair of the firm's communications, media and technology practice group, will take on the new role September 1. Frix, who joined the firm in 2002, focuses his practice on corporate, regulatory and anti-competition matters as they relate to communications, media and information technology companies.

The firm's Washington office focuses on antitrust, tax, insurance, white collar defense, government investigations and environmental law, among others. The firm's Washington office had 54 lawyers at the end of last year, according to the most recent Legal Times 150 survey. Frix is succeeding Mary Lopatto as D.C. managing partner.

Former Legal Search Firm Principal Starts D.C. Area Recruiting Agency

A former principal at the legal search firm Lateral Link has struck out on his own to form Abshire Legal Search.

Jordan Abshire first joined Lateral Link in June 2008. Since 2010, he worked in the agency's Washington office. His new agency is based in Arlington, Va.

"Going out on my own, I should have more flexibility to do more partner work and that is more intellectually challenging and satisfying," Abshire said. "It's a more interesting process, helping partners figure out what pieces of their current platform might be missing and which law firms might have those."

Crowell & Moring Bolsters Tax Practice with Team from Reed Smith

Updated 4:33 p.m.

Crowell & Moring has expanded it tax practice in Washington with the addition of two lateral partners and an associate from Reed Smith.

Partners Donald Griswold and Walter Nagel bring experience dealing with state and local tax matters, mergers and acquisitions, state tax planning and audit defense and litigation. Last month the firm also added partners David Blair and David Fischer to the tax group from Miller & Chevalier and Cooley, respectively.

Griswold was previously the national partner-in-charge of state tax technical services at KPMG. He focuses on consulting and planning, audit litigation and settlement and proactive recovery of tax refunds.

The Morning Wrap

Medicare: New polls show that voters in Florida, Ohio and Wisconsin trust President Obama to handle Medicare. The New York Times reports that the Romney-Ryan proposal to reshape Medicare is deeply unpopular

Viral: A Skadden associate has written an open letter to Rep. Todd Akin criticizing his recent comments on rape and abortion. Our sister publication, Am Law Daily, has the scoop.

No Retrial: The former University of Virginia lacrosse player accused of murdering his ex-girlfriend was denied a new trial after a judge concluded there was ample evidence to support his second-degree murder conviction. The Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

Gift: The Washington National Cathedral plans to announce Thursday that it will receive a $5 million dollar donation to fund repairs sustained during last year's earthquake that also damaged the Washington Monument. The Washington Post reports that the donation comes from the Lilly Endowment, the foundation created by the family that built the Eli Lilly pharmaceutical company. 

New Fundraising Record Set for D.C. Legal Aid Society

In a year fraught with financial uncertainty, the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia recently got some good news: the civil legal services group's annual Generous Associates Campaign blew past its goal and previous fundraising highs, taking in a record $901,000.

Legal Aid, like many civil legal services groups in D.C. and across the country, has been hit hard by the economic downturn, which caused revenue to drop as demand for services grew. Director of Development Gregg Kelley said he was "blown away" by the amount of money raised this summer.

"If you'd asked if we would go over $900,000, I'd say you were crazy," he said. Money earned from the campaign, which is run by associates at law firms across the city, makes up between 20 to 25 percent of the organization's operating budget, according to Kelley.

Husch Blackwell Raises Salaries for First-Year Associates

First year associates starting with Husch Blackwell this fall are going to see a bump in their starting salary — including a $20,000 bump for D.C.-based associates.

The firm announced Wednesday that associates in eight cities across the country will see an increase in starting salaries starting September 1. In Washington, that means new associates will be earning $150,000 per year, up from $130,000.

Chicago-based associates will pull in the most, earning $160,000. First-year associates in Chattanooga, Tenn.; Kansas City, Mo.; Memphis, Tenn.; Omaha, Neb.; Phoenix, Ariz. and St. Louis also will see increases.

Gregory Smith, the St. Louis-based CEO and managing partner of Husch Blackwell, said in an interview that the firm's starting associate salary in Washington had not increased in more than four years.