December 30 2006 Law Firm News

12/30/06

ILTA survey finds law firms prefer Track-It!
The 2006 Technology Survey conducted by the International Legal Technology Association (ILTA) found that a large percentage of law firms use Numara's Track-It! software for help-desk management and hardware and software auditing. The technology solution provided by Numara Software, Inc., automates activities such as logging and tracking help requests, auditing systems, and reporting statistics, thereby reducing the workload for IT managers. According to the data, 44% of large firms and 37% of medium-sized firms use Numara Track-It! as their primary help-desk management solution, while an additional 34% of large firms and 29% of medium-sized firms utilize the tool in IT inventory control. The survey includes data from 491 respondents representing more than 98,000 attorneys and 230,000 end users.

WOLI program to benefit legal assistants
The Washington Online Learning Institute (WOLI) has launched a new customized specialist training program for law firms, corporations, and government agencies. The program will be tailored to specific needs and will provide legal assistants with knowledge and skills directly applicable to their specialized tasks. The online program will help paralegals to equip themselves with the skills required to handle particular legal applications. WOLI will set up private online classes for individual law firms and corporate legal departments. The nation's first Internet-based school for paralegal education, WOLI is accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools' Commission on Secondary Schools.

Debevoise & Plimpton announces seven promotions
Debevoise & Plimpton has appointed seven lawyers as counsel in its New York and London offices. Jennifer R. Cowan, Suzanne M. Grosso, Huey-Fun Lee, Nandini Mani, and Michael Potenza are resident in the New York office, while Saloni Joshi and Wendy A. Semel are resident in the firm's London office. The new counsel are members of the firm's litigation, corporate, and tax departments. Established in 1931, Debevoise & Plimpton has more than 650 lawyers working in offices in New York, Washington, DC, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Moscow, Hong Kong, and Shanghai.

Brouse McDowell expands in Northeast Ohio
Law firm Brouse McDowell has announced the addition of two Lorain County attorneys as partners. The new hires, Charles Baumgartner and Stephen Bond, are expected to boost the firm's regional practice in Northeast Ohio. Baumgartner comes from the law firm of Baumgartner & O'Toole, where he was a partner for 10 years. Bond presently serves as an attorney for the villages of Wellington and New London and focuses his practice on labor and employment, civil litigation, healthcare, and municipal law. Brouse McDowell, which will maintain a location in Lorain County to serve local clients, has more than 70 attorneys working in offices in Akron, Cleveland, and Elyria.

Mayer Brown hires former state assembly majority leader
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, LLP, has hired former California State Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer to work in its California government practice group in Los Angeles. Having served three terms in the state legislature, Frommer will now work in a group that represents clients in legislative, administrative, enforcement, and contract matters pertaining to the government. Mayer Brown, which employs several notable attorneys from high levels of government, has 1,400 lawyers and is one of the largest law firms in the world.

Anderson Walker adds two associates
Anderson, Walker & Reichert, LLP, has announced the addition of two associates. Larry K. Moore earned his law degree from Mercer University's Walter F. George School of Law in 2006 and will focus on general litigation. Kim Stroup has experience in the areas of wills and trusts, corporations, real estate, and bankruptcy; she has been in private practice since 1988. Macon, GA-based Anderson Walker is a general practice law firm and handles insurance, tax, estate and trusts, wills, probate, real estate, environmental, bankruptcy, employment, and family law matters.

Gibson Dunn adds corporate lawyer in London
Selina Sagayam has been appointed as a partner in Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher's London office. She is presently serving as a UK corporate finance and capital markets partner in Simmons & Simmons' London office and focuses her practice on acquisitions, capital markets, corporate finance, and corporate governance. Having spent two years as Secretary to the UK Takeover Panel, Sagayam also has expertise with UK Takeover Code and public company acquisitions. One of the world's leading law firms, Gibson Dunn has 51 lawyers working in its London office on almost all aspects of corporate work.

Duane Morris opens Baltimore office
Duane Morris has raided DLA Piper to hire four attorneys for its newly created Baltimore office. Three of the new hires will serve as partners, and one will serve as senior counsel. The four will concentrate on the firm's corporate practice group. The three partners—Jay Gordon Cohen, Keli Isaacson, and George Nemphos—will primarily work on venture capital, private equity, mergers and acquisitions, and securities matters. The move was spurred by the firm's decision to reach out to clients in the Mid-Atlantic region. Duane Morris will launch its new office once it hires three associates.

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