Law Firm News

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Law Firm News

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Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Katten Launches Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity Web site
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is pleased to announce the launch of its Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity Web site at www.kattendiversity.com. The site was developed as part of Katten’s ongoing commitment to the achievement and promotion of diversity within both the Firm and the broader legal community. The new site serves as an easy access point for timely information about the Committee's events and sponsorships, as well as Firm news and media coverage featuring the Committee and minority attorneys.

The Committee on Racial and Ethnic Diversity Web site is one of the Firm’s many initiatives aimed at the recruitment, promotion, development and retention of minority attorneys in the legal profession. These include the establishment of a firm-wide Minority Attorney Retreat and a minority newsletter, “Connecting Katten.” In addition, acknowledging the issue of women of color leaving law firms at a high rate, the Firm recently created the Katten Leadership Institute for Women of Color. This program, the first of its kind nationally among law firms, was created to provide Katten’s minority female attorneys with the tools they need to succeed in their careers at the Firm.

Katten recognizes the challenges present in creating and sustaining genuine diversity in the workplace. The Firm is dedicated to making significant strides by remaining committed to hiring, retaining and promoting attorneys from diverse backgrounds within the Firm and advancing the value of diversity in all interactions with clients, potential recruits and the broader legal community.

08-20-2007

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Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP

Katten’s Leslie D. Minier Selected as 2008 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow
Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is pleased to announce that Leslie D. Minier, a partner in the Corporate Practice and the Firm’s Chief Diversity Partner, has been selected as a 2008 Leadership Greater Chicago Fellow. Ms. Minier is one of only 36 Chicago business leaders to be named to the organization’s 2008 Leadership Fellows Class. Founded in 1983 to develop a new generation of Chicago leaders, Leadership Greater Chicago creates lifelong partnerships and develops community awareness among leaders in the Chicago metropolitan area.

In this role, Ms. Minier will participate in a 10-month program to study the challenges facing the region and become part of a diverse network of leaders working to make a difference in the greater Chicago community. The organization’s mission is to build relationships among leaders who represent the diverse segments of greater Chicago. Such representation includes race and ethnicity, gender, occupations, and the many communities of greater Chicago. These leaders are presented with multiple perspectives regarding greater Chicago's challenges, opportunities and resources, and are encouraged to remain involved in the community throughout their lives.

“Leslie is an outstanding attorney and a true leader in Chicago business who has demonstrated an extraordinary long-term commitment to fostering diversity in the Chicago legal and business communities,” said Vincent A. F. Sergi, Katten’s National Managing Partner. “Her experience, insight and passion will be tremendous assets to Leadership Greater Chicago.”

Ms. Minier devotes a significant portion of her time to endeavors aimed at promoting diversity in the Chicago legal and business communities, as well as nationally. She serves as co-chair of the Chicago Bar Association’s Alliance for Women, an organization dedicated to advancing the interests of women in the legal profession and the larger community, and is also a member of the Alliance’s Executive Committee. Ms. Minier is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Chicago Committee on Minorities in Large Law Firms, an organization comprised of the 44 largest law firms in Chicago, which has become the preeminent voice for fostering racial and ethnic diversity in the Chicago legal community. She also serves on the Board of Directors of the Joffrey Ballet, where she sits on the Diversity Council and the Corporate Subcommittee.

At Katten, Ms. Minier has been instrumental in developing and implementing many of the Firm’s diversity initiatives and earlier this year was appointed as its first-ever Chief Diversity Partner. She also serves as co-chair of Katten’s Diversity Committee and assisted the Firm in crafting its initial diversity commitment statement and strategic diversity plan.

Ms. Minier became chair of Katten's Diversity Committee in 2003 and since then has led a number of national initiatives aimed at the promotion, development and retention of minority attorneys in the legal profession. These include the establishment of a firm-wide Minority Attorney Retreat and a firm-wide minority newsletter, “Connecting Katten.” Recently, acknowledging the national issue of women of color leaving law firms at a high rate, Ms. Minier created Katten's Leadership Institute for Women of Color in order to provide Katten’s minority female attorneys with the tools they need to succeed in their careers at the Firm. The Institute is the first of its kind nationally for law firms.

As a member of Katten’s Corporate Practice, Ms. Minier concentrates her legal practice in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, private equity and general corporate matters, representing clients in a wide variety of industries. She represents both public and private companies in structuring, negotiating and documenting both mergers with, and acquisitions and dispositions of, public and private corporations. She also represents private equity funds making investments in, engaging in leveraged buyouts of, and selling portfolio companies.

08-20-2007

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Holland & Hart, L.L.P.

Holland & Hart Welcomes Isaac Sutphin
Holland & Hart is pleased to announce that Isaac Sutphin has joined the firm's Cheyenne office.

Sutphin is an associate in the Litigation Department with a practice emphasizing environmental and natural resources issues. He has advised energy sector clients in permitting, licensing, and compliance matters. Sutphin has practiced before the Wyoming Environmental Quality Council, the Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, as well as numerous state and federal courts in Wyoming.

Sutphin received his J.D. (2003) from the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University and his B.A. (1999) from the University of Wyoming.

08-20-2007

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Gray, Plant & Mooty

Robert A. Stein Elected to American Bar Association House of Delegates
Robert A. "Bob" Stein, Of Counsel to the Minneapolis-based law firm of Gray Plant Mooty and the Everett Fraser Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, was elected as one of six at-large delegates to the American Bar Association (ABA) House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the ABA, at the ABA Annual Meeting in San Francisco on August 14, 2007.

Stein is the immediate past executive director of the ABA—the largest voluntary membership organization in the world with over 400,000 members. He is also one of the preeminent estate planning attorneys in the country, and is the former dean of the University of Minnesota Law School.

The House of Delegates, established in 1936, meets twice each year, at ABA Annual and Midyear Meetings. Action taken by the House of Delegates on specific issues becomes official ABA policy.

08-20-2007

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Ford & Harrison LLP

Ford & Harrison Unveils New “Year One” Program
Ford & Harrison, a national labor and employment law firm, unveiled its new “Year One” Associate Development program. This unique 15-month regimen, in which all first year associates will participate, emphasizes on-the-job training through mentoring, hands-on work assignments and direct observation of client matters. It is modeled after the medical school’s resident approach.

The central component of the program is the elimination of billable hours requirements for all participants. Instead, an attorney’s performance is tracked and measured through participation in clinical hours. The firm’s new lawyers will be immediately engaged in the labor and employment law practice by participating in collective bargaining sessions, depositions, trials and hearings, labor or other arbitration cases, EEOC on-site investigations and strategy meetings.

“Our goal is to close the gap between what law schools teach and what clients demand,” said C. Lash Harrison, managing partner of the law firm. “By placing the emphasis on learning rather than billing, Ford & Harrison will increase the capacity of its associates to handle greater responsibility earlier in their careers.”

This year, Ford & Harrison will be bringing on six first year associates. The new lawyers said they were eager to participate in the program.

“Regardless of how much time is spent in a classroom there is no substitute for experience,” said Lauren M. Wherley, an incoming associate with the firm’s Washington, DC office. “Through this program, we will be able to tackle larger tasks sooner than our colleagues at other firms, resulting in higher quality and lower costs for our clients.”

“I am very impressed by Ford & Harrison’s progressive approach and commitment to the development of their associates,” said Regine Zuber, Vice President & Associate General Counsel at Turner Broadcasting System, Inc, a client of the firm. “I would think that this would be a great tool to attract the best and the brightest law school graduates.”

08-20-2007

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Duane Morris, LLP

Duane Morris' James "J." Ferrelli Named Vice Chair of New Jersey Lawyer Magazine Editorial Board
James J. "J." Ferrelli, a partner in the Trial Practice Group of law firm Duane Morris in Princeton, has been named vice chair of the editorial board of the New Jersey Lawyer Magazine. Since 2002, J. has served as an active member of the editorial board and as special editor for a number of editions of the magazine, including issues devoted to federal civil practice, special lands, construction and government contracts litigation, and the upcoming issue on business litigation. Lynn Fontaine Newsome, president of the New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA), appointed him to the position.

The magazine, a publication of the NJSBA, is published bi-monthly with articles focusing on a variety of legal issues. The editorial board is responsible for all aspects of the magazine's production, guiding the focus of each issue through topic approval, author selection and article review.

"I am very pleased and honored by this appointment, and am excited to be serving the magazine and the bar association in a more important role," J. said. "The magazine has established a tradition of excellence. I look forward to continuing this tradition and keeping the magazine a valuable resource for New Jersey lawyers."

A litigator with more than 20 years of experience, J. concentrates his practice on business litigation, products liability and class actions, and practices in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Specifically, he has represented clients in matters including breach of contract, real estate, antitrust, employment disputes, restrictive covenants, franchise and distributorship issues, consumer fraud, copyright and trademark, corporate governance, breach of fiduciary duty and disputes arising from the acquisition or sale of a business. In addition, he has represented class action defendants in cases involving mass tort, breach of warranty and consumer fraud claims.

J. is an active member of several professional organizations, including the Burlington County, Camden County, Philadelphia, New Jersey State and American bar associations as well as the Defense Research Institute. J. is a past president of the Burlington County Bar Association and presently serves as the trustee for Burlington County on the NJSBA Board of Trustees.

J. earned his J.D. from New York University School of Law in 1984 and graduated with a B.A., summa cum laude, from Boston College in 1981.

08-20-2007

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Dickstein Shapiro LLP

Charles Morin, Co-Founder of Dickstein Shapiro & Morin, Passes Away at Age 85
Charles H. Morin, 85, a prominent Washington, DC lawyer and co-founder of the law firm now known as Dickstein Shapiro LLP, died Monday, August 20, 2007, at his home at the Jupiter Hills Club in Florida. He had heart and lung ailments.

Mr. Morin was born in Waltham, Mass., on August 18, 1922. He attended public schools in Weston, Mass. and at Phillips Exeter Academy, and served as an Army Captain and aide to General Thomas Hickey in Southeast Asia during World War II. He graduated with a B.S. from Harvard College in 1943, and received his LL.B., cum laude, in 1949, from Boston University, where he was editor of the Boston University Law Review.

In 1972, Mr. Morin joined the Washington, DC-based law firm Dickstein Shapiro LLP. That same year, he was appointed by President Nixon as Chairman of the Commission on the Review of the National Policy Toward Gambling. This commission, comprising four members each from the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, and seven public members, conducted a comprehensive study of gambling in the United States and foreign countries, and made specific recommendations to Congress and the Executive Branch in October 1976. Many of these recommendations subsequently were enacted into law.

In the late 1970s, Mr. Morin was lead counsel in a lengthy administrative proceeding against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff, which had sought to impose restrictive conditions on investment companies valuing portfolio securities using the “amortized cost method.” As a result of this proceeding, the SEC adopted rules consistent with the position of Dickstein Shapiro’s client, which made possible the subsequent growth of the “money market fund” industry to its present trillion-dollar status.

In the early 1980s, Mr. Morin, then a director of a national bank, perceived the deterioration of banking ethics and the unwise direction of liberalized banking regulation, and thus provided the financing for the founding of the Morin Center for Banking and Financial Law at Boston University School of Law. Through the Center, Boston University offers Master of Law degree programs in banking law and international banking law, and is the only law school in the country to have elevated banking law to this academic level. Mr. Morin served as a lecturer in tax law and estate planning at the law school.

Mr. Morin’s wide-ranging professional accomplishments also included serving as a lawyer in the Central Intelligence Agency, representing the general board of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, serving as counsel to Charles W. Colson in disbarment proceedings in several states, representing former Senators Edward Brooke and John Tower, counseling Bear Stearns Companies in government relations, and, most recently, serving as counsel to the independent directors of one of the largest mutual fund companies in the United States.

Mr. Morin is survived by his wife of fifty-six years, Elizabeth; three sons, Charles of Woburn, Mass.; James of Coral Gables, Fla.; and Peter of Scituate, Mass.; nine grandchildren; and one great-grandchild.

08-20-2007

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