Around the Firms

Winthrop/Pittman Merger Brings Possible Top 20 Ranker

Pillsbury Winthrop LLP and Shaw Pittman LLP will soon merge. After having formal discussions since this past December, the firms signed a letter of intent in the beginning of February. Both parties stress that the driving factors behind the merger are combined practice strength and market reach – not sheer size. Pillsbury Winthrop is one of the oldest California law firms and contains multinational corporate finance and capital markets, along with practices in litigation, IP and technology.

Fifty-year-old Shaw Pittman, which is mostly based in Washington, has established itself in several areas, such as real estate finance, government relations work and global tech sourcing.

The execution of a definitive agreement is expected to close by mid-Spring.

The new firm, known as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, will have about 900 lawyers, situated in 16 international offices. The annual billings will be greater than $600 million. The firm's presence will be on both the East and West Coast, and in Europe, Asia and Australia. In addition, there will be a boost of firm presence in Washington, DC, and in Northern Virginia, as well as in London's legal market.

Mary Cranston, Pillsbury Winthrop chair, will continue in that capacity once the firms are joined. She is extremely enthused about the merger, and feels that it will allow services to excel on both coasts, as well as the ability to keep clients looking for international business: “This merger allows all of our attorneys to immediately offer clients greater resources and depth nationally, with a balanced representation of lawyers on both coasts. It also gives us broader international reach at a time when many of our clients are looking to us for cross-border work and global counsel,” she stated in a press release. “In fact, we have already discussed the merger with a number of existing clients and the response has been uniformly enthusiastic.”

Equally enthused is Stephen B. Huttler, managing partner of Shaw Pittman – who will be a vice chair in the newly created firm along with Pillsbury Winthrop's David Snyder – believes that his firm could not have picked a more appropriate partner than Pillsbury. The firm-wide managing partner will be Marina Park.

This merger will bring a new candidate in the midst of the carefully scrutinized American Lawyer Top 20. As it stands now, Pillsbury Winthrop is position at 39 in the American Lawyer Top 100. BTI Consulting marked it 6 out of almost 300 firms in an independent survey on client service. The American Lawyer Top 200 holds Shawn Pittman at the 99th spot.

A couple of months ago, Ronald Greenspan, the trustee of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison's bankruptcy estate, began filing large individual suits against 200 partners (more or less). He wanted them to repay distributions and bonuses that they received several years ago, including a portion of Brobeck's debt to Citibank. Brobeck disbanded in 2003. According to complaints, Greenspan is holding the partners liable for “approximately $275 million.” Greenspan made his settlement offer initially in November, the terms of which were not made public. After making the offer, he stated he would take a small part of the sum. A series of deadlines had been given for the partners to respond to the offer ' the first being January 31. He offered discounts to those who were prompt in their payment, and presented the partners with a mutual standstill in proceedings during their consideration. At press time, it was unknown whether any of the partners accepted the settlement offer.

One of Greensnspan's biggest demands has been on Warren Lazarow, whom he wants to return over $3 million. Lazarow is a former corporate partner who served on the committee that was responsible for closing Brobeck. In June 2004, Lazarow filed a complaint of his own against the estate, seeking sums that were withheld from him over the past several years.

Brobeck partners differ in their opinions about whether Greenspan's claims are reasonable. Some of them think that the calculations are certainly out of line, and others were trying to make a decision as to whether to pay up or face bigger payments down the road. Some think that the older partners are more likely to settle than the younger ones.

Winthrop/Pittman Merger Brings Possible Top 20 Ranker

Pillsbury Winthrop LLP and Shaw Pittman LLP will soon merge. After having formal discussions since this past December, the firms signed a letter of intent in the beginning of February. Both parties stress that the driving factors behind the merger are combined practice strength and market reach – not sheer size. Pillsbury Winthrop is one of the oldest California law firms and contains multinational corporate finance and capital markets, along with practices in litigation, IP and technology.

Fifty-year-old Shaw Pittman, which is mostly based in Washington, has established itself in several areas, such as real estate finance, government relations work and global tech sourcing.

The execution of a definitive agreement is expected to close by mid-Spring.

The new firm, known as Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP, will have about 900 lawyers, situated in 16 international offices. The annual billings will be greater than $600 million. The firm's presence will be on both the East and West Coast, and in Europe, Asia and Australia. In addition, there will be a boost of firm presence in Washington, DC, and in Northern Virginia, as well as in London's legal market.

Mary Cranston, Pillsbury Winthrop chair, will continue in that capacity once the firms are joined. She is extremely enthused about the merger, and feels that it will allow services to excel on both coasts, as well as the ability to keep clients looking for international business: “This merger allows all of our attorneys to immediately offer clients greater resources and depth nationally, with a balanced representation of lawyers on both coasts. It also gives us broader international reach at a time when many of our clients are looking to us for cross-border work and global counsel,” she stated in a press release. “In fact, we have already discussed the merger with a number of existing clients and the response has been uniformly enthusiastic.”

Equally enthused is Stephen B. Huttler, managing partner of Shaw Pittman – who will be a vice chair in the newly created firm along with Pillsbury Winthrop's David Snyder – believes that his firm could not have picked a more appropriate partner than Pillsbury. The firm-wide managing partner will be Marina Park.

This merger will bring a new candidate in the midst of the carefully scrutinized American Lawyer Top 20. As it stands now, Pillsbury Winthrop is position at 39 in the American Lawyer Top 100. BTI Consulting marked it 6 out of almost 300 firms in an independent survey on client service. The American Lawyer Top 200 holds Shawn Pittman at the 99th spot.

A couple of months ago, Ronald Greenspan, the trustee of Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison's bankruptcy estate, began filing large individual suits against 200 partners (more or less). He wanted them to repay distributions and bonuses that they received several years ago, including a portion of Brobeck's debt to Citibank. Brobeck disbanded in 2003. According to complaints, Greenspan is holding the partners liable for “approximately $275 million.” Greenspan made his settlement offer initially in November, the terms of which were not made public. After making the offer, he stated he would take a small part of the sum. A series of deadlines had been given for the partners to respond to the offer ' the first being January 31. He offered discounts to those who were prompt in their payment, and presented the partners with a mutual standstill in proceedings during their consideration. At press time, it was unknown whether any of the partners accepted the settlement offer.

One of Greensnspan's biggest demands has been on Warren Lazarow, whom he wants to return over $3 million. Lazarow is a former corporate partner who served on the committee that was responsible for closing Brobeck. In June 2004, Lazarow filed a complaint of his own against the estate, seeking sums that were withheld from him over the past several years.

Brobeck partners differ in their opinions about whether Greenspan's claims are reasonable. Some of them think that the calculations are certainly out of line, and others were trying to make a decision as to whether to pay up or face bigger payments down the road. Some think that the older partners are more likely to settle than the younger ones.