Prominent judge joins Chadbourne & Parke

01/02/07

Prominent judge joins Chadbourne & Parke
Retired New York Court of Appeals Judge George Bundy Smith has joined Chadbourne & Parke, LLP, as a partner in the firm's New York litigation group. Serving as a mediator and arbitrator, Smith will focus on appellate and other litigation matters. A distinguished jurist, Smith served New York's highest court for 14 years and was a Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of New York from 1980 to 1986. New York-based Chadbourne & Parke is a full-service law firm with offices scattered across the globe; it has major practices in Central and Eastern Europe, Russia and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), and Latin America.

Orrick strengthens global real estate practice
International finance and real estate attorney Hervé Kensicher has joined Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, LLP, as a partner in its global real estate practice in Paris. Kensicher focuses his practice on French domestic and cross-border commercial real estate finance and securitization and has significant experience in finance and banking. Prior to joining Orrick, Kensicher was a partner at international law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer. The January merger of Orrick with Paris law firm Rambaud Martel has significantly enhanced the firm's practice, especially in the areas of mergers and acquisitions, finance, and corporate law.

Former BAE legal head joins DLA Piper in London
Former BAE Systems General Counsel Michael Lester has joined DLA Piper's London office as Senior Counsel in its newly created global defense practice. Lester served BAE Systems as Head of Legal for seven years and was also the legal advisor to the board. A corporate lawyer, Lester has experience with cross-border alliances, partnerships, and mergers in the defense industry. With its well-established government contracts team in Washington, DC, and defense PPP team in London, DLA Piper is set to take its defense practice a step further.

Arizona attorney to join Gallagher and Kennedy
U.S. Attorney for the District of Arizona Paul K. Charlton has announced that after stepping down from his post in January, he will join law firm Gallagher and Kennedy, PA, as a partner. After being appointed U.S. Attorney by President George W. Bush in 2001 and being confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Charlton served in the position for five years. He has worked on a number of issues, including terrorism, illegal immigration, public corruption, and methamphetamine production and trafficking. Established in 1978, Gallagher and Kennedy has nearly 100 attorneys and is one of the largest law firms in Arizona.

Nixon is back at Kilpatrick Stockton
After working as in-house counsel for an Atlanta-based insurance company, Sharon Nixon has returned to Kilpatrick Stockton. She will practice in the firm's corporate department as counsel and will focus her practice on securities and corporate finance matters. Nixon represents clients in the areas of public and private securities offerings, corporate governance, Securities Exchange Act reporting compliance, mergers and acquisitions, and venture capital financings. A full-service international law firm, Kilpatrick Stockton has 500 lawyers working in offices in Atlanta, Augusta, Charlotte, Raleigh, Winston-Salem, New York, Washington, DC, London, and Stockholm.