Both Rushforth and Rennert are based in McKool Smith’s Washington, DC, office. They will be joined by experienced qui tam litigators, including Senior Counsel Doreen Klein and associate David Schiefelbein, who are based in the firm’s New York office.

Mr. Rushforth served as Deputy General Counsel of the United Stated Department of Defense, and is a former Chairman of the Center for Law in the Public Interest (Los Angeles). Mr. Rennert has focused his practice for more than a decade on representing whistleblowers and governmental entities in high stakes False Claims Act litigation, and has successfully tried such cases to verdict. Previous to that, he served for three years in the United States Department of Justice, helping lead a team of lawyers in the United States’ civil RICO enforcement action against the cigarette industry.

“Brent Rushforth and Stuart Rennert are remarkable attorneys with an impressive track record in qui tam matters, and decades of experience handling commercial litigation and government investigations,” said Co-founder and Chairman Mike McKool. “Their talents and expertise will be extremely valuable to our clients as we launch our whistleblower litigation practice, and continue to expand our white collar and commercial litigation capabilities.

“McKool Smith is a serious trial firm,” said Brent Rushforth. “The firm is formidable on both the plaintiff and defense side, and has a history of litigating against financial institutions. This provides an ideal platform to build our whistleblower litigation practice.”

“McKool Smith has a national reputation for securing big wins in high-profile litigation,” added Stuart Rennert. “We look forward to joining such a distinguished group of trial lawyers.”

With more than 170 litigators across offices in California, New York, Texas, and Washington, DC, McKool Smith has established a reputation as one of America’s leading trial firms. The firm has won more National Law Journal and VerdictSearch “Top 100 Verdicts” over the last five years than any other law firm. McKool Smith represents leading clients across a broad range of practice areas, including complex commercial litigation, intellectual property, bankruptcy, and white collar defense.

The Leading US Law Firm Brands 2012

1. Skadden
2. Jones Day
3. Kirkland & Ellis
4. Sidley Austin
5. Wachtell
6. Latham & Watkins
7. Baker & McKenzie
8. Morgan Lewis
9. Gibson Dunn
10. Sullivan & Cromwell
11. DLA Piper
12. Mayer Brown
13. Hogan Lovells
14. Fulbright & Jaworski
15. Cravath
16. Weil Gotshal
17. Baker Botts
18. Shearman & Sterling
19. K&L Gates
20. Vinson & Elkins
21. White & Case
22. Morrison & Foerster
23. Davis Polk
24. Wilmer
25. Simpson Thacher

For a scholarly analysis of the survey result we direct you to this story from the u’ber purveyor of law firm surveys American Lawyer.

Mega-firms such as White & Case, for example, with nearly 2,000 lawyers around the world, will only be hiring 60 new associates this year compared with pre-recession classes of 90 to 100, according to the article.  Hiring partner Bill Dantzler told the WSJ that not having “armies of young associates” is good for the clients and “good for everybody.”

Well, if law firms aren’t hiring you can always change profession using your law degree, according to the U.S. News.

Scheer brings more than 20 years of Intellectual Property experience to Winston & Strawn’s acclaimed IP group. He has extensive experience assisting clients in patent portfolio development, enforcement, and licensing, as well as providing intellectual property support and advice for M&A activities.

Having been formally trained at IBM to run a corporate IP department, Mr. Scheer has a keen understanding of the demands and pressures facing in-house counsel. His comprehensive knowledge of the processes required to identify, protect, enforce and monetize the intellectual property assets of an organization have earned him the respect as a trusted business advisor to several Fortune 100 clients.

“Michael’s well-known transactional and litigation experience on complex matters is a great addition to our growing international IP team,” said Michael Elkin, managing partner of Winston’s New York office.

“We’re also excited about the special synergies Michael’s IP practice will bring to his new colleagues and their clients on the West Coast,” added Laura Petroff, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Scheer’s arrival follows other recent steps by Winston to expand its global intellectual property litigation practice, including the hiring of prominent IP litigators Alfred Fabricant and Lawrence Drucker to its New York office, also from Dickstein Shapiro LLP.

“I’m delighted to join the Winston teams in New York and Los Angeles,” said Scheer. “Winston is well-known for its talented IP group and demonstrated excellence on behalf of clients when the stakes are at their highest.”

Scheer received his J.D. from George Washington University Law School in 1991, an Electrical Engineering degree. from Clarkson University and a degree in Physics from the State University of New York at Oneonta in 1983.

Winston & Strawn LLP is an international commercial law firm with 15 offices in North America, Asia, and Europe. More information about the firm is available at www.winston.com.

New York, January 23, 2012… Latham & Watkins LLP is pleased to announce that David Broderick has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Finance Department. Broderick has almost twenty years of experience handling complex real estate transactions representing private equity funds and financial institutions.  His practice focuses on all aspects of real estate finance, including mortgage and mezzanine origination, debt syndication, preferred equity, bridge financing and other structured financings, foreclosures and restructurings, private equity investments, and the restructuring and workout of intercreditor and co-lender arrangements as well as the negotiated resolution of disputes across the capital structures of a borrower.

“David has a strong reputation in the industry and fantastic relationships here in New York and globally,” said Jimmy Brandt, Office Managing Partner of Latham & Watkins in New York. “David adds additional depth to our team, and will be a tremendous asset for clients across the firm.”

James Hisiger, Global Co-Chair of Latham & Watkins’ Real Estate Practice Group, added: “David is a perfect addition to our global real estate group with broad expertise covering capital markets, corporate M&A, private equity investments, real estate development transactions and fund formations. Pairing his expertise with those of our colleagues in our preeminent private equity and financial institutions groups will provide clients with additional resources and expertise for their most complex real estate transactions. ”

“I am truly looking forward to joining the real estate team at Latham & Watkins,” said Broderick. “The firm’s global platform, deep expertise advising in the commercial real estate arena and significant strength in the private equity and financial services industries particularly, are the ideal complement to my practice.”

Broderick’s addition to the firm follows on the heels of new lateral partner Kevin Ehrhart, who recently joined the firm’s Los Angeles office. Ehrhart brings a highly regarded transaction real estate practice to the firm. In addition, a group of three prominent real estate partners who joined the firm in Chicago last March.  That group — Robert Buday, Nathaniel Marrs and Gary Axelrod — have more than 44 years of experience, collectively, with expertise in real estate private equity, REITs and private equity fund formation matters, with a particular focus on the hospitality, gaming and leisure sectors.

Broderick received his JD from Fordham University School of Law in 1992 and his BS degree from The American University in 1986.  Broderick, who previously served as Managing Director of Lehman Brothers Inc.’s Global Real Estate Group, joins Latham & Watkins from Allen & Overy LLP.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Jan. 24, 2012) – Further enhancing its commitment and investment in talent development, Bingham McCutchen LLP announces the creation of a new position, Firmwide Learning and Development Director, with the arrival of longtime legal professional-growth authority Susan Manch.

As Firmwide Learning and Development Director, Manch will oversee a new strategic and integrated talent-development initiative that will support the full career lifecycles of the firm’s lawyers and staff.

“We are committed to further investing in the continued success of our associates, ” said partner Tony Carbone, Chair of Bingham’s Committee on Associates. “Sue is a highly regarded leader in her field with proven insight and experience helping lawyers of all levels of experience realize their potential to better serve clients.”

Lynn Carroll, Bingham’s Chief Human Resources officer, noted Manch’s national reputation in also working with senior staff in making law firms the best they can be. “Sue is a pioneer and a visionary, and we’re delighted to have her join Bingham,” said Carroll.

Manch is one of the founding members of Shannon & Manch, a consulting firm focused exclusively on lawyer development and law firm-staff training programs to optimize their service and performance. She has more than 30 years of experience in lawyer recruitment, retention, mentoring, evaluation and career development, including more than a decade of providing Bingham with strategic guidance and training.

“After years of working with Bingham in a consulting capacity, I’ve gotten to know the people and the culture well and it’s no wonder that it is continually recognized as a Best Place to Work,” said Manch. “The firm’s leadership, lawyers and staff are the best of the best, and I’m looking forward to helping them grow even further.”

Bingham offers a broad range of market-leading practices focused on global financial services firms and Fortune 100 companies. The firm has more than 1,000 lawyers in 14 locations in the United States, Europe and Asia. Follow the firm on Twitter @Binghamlaw.

A copy of the ruling can be found here.  For some in-depth analysis read Tom Goldstein’s post at scotusblog.com.

Leading Justice Department Prosecutor Justin Shur and IP Litigator Ben Quarmby

(Washington, D.C. and New York) January 18, 2012 – MoloLamken LLP, a premier national litigation boutique, today announced that veteran trial lawyer Justin V. Shur has joined the firm as a partner from the U.S. Department of Justice. In addition, IP litigator Ben Quarmby, from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP, has also joined MoloLamken as a partner.

Shur arrives at MoloLamken after serving as Deputy Chief for the U.S. Department of Justice’s Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division. In this role, Shur supervised more than 30 federal prosecutors and led numerous sensitive white collar criminal investigations involving members of Congress, senior executive branch officials, and prominent state and local politicians.

During his tenure with the Justice Department, Shur handled a wide range of matters involving bribery, extortion, government program fraud, false statements, perjury, obstruction of justice, and unauthorized disclosure of government information. Shur served as lead or co-lead counsel in numerous important and high-profile cases, including the prosecution of:

• Former U.S.Senator and presidential candidate John Edwards for his role in an alleged scheme to violate federal campaign finance laws; and

• Former White House official David Safavian for obstructing investigations into his dealings with former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Commenting on Shur in connection with the prosecution of a casino lobbyist inAlabama this summer, the Birmingham News called him an “all-star”.

“Justin’s arrival is another step in our strategy of providing clients with superior representation in the most complex matters,” said firm co-founder Steven Molo. “Justin is an accomplished trial lawyer with a strong record of successfully handling not only white collar criminal and regulatory matters, but also high-stakes civil litigation. We’re excited to welcome him to our growing team.”

“Above all else, we are committed to excellence in advocacy,” added firm co-founder Jeffrey Lamken. “Both Justin and Ben are further evidence of that and we look forward to their contributions.”

Explained Shur: “While I will miss working with my colleagues at the Justice Department, I am thrilled to join MoloLamken’s deep bench of talented lawyers. I was attracted to the firm’s innovative and results-oriented approach to litigation, which continues to impress me. In a short period of time, the firm has achieved tremendous success and established itself as a premier national litigation boutique.”

Quarmby joins MoloLamken from litigation law firm Quinn Emanuel inNew York, where he focused on IP litigation as well as other complex business disputes. He is a registered member of the Patent Bar and handles IP disputes both in federal court and before the International Trade Comission. The move reunites Quarmby with firm cofounder Steven Molo. The two previously practiced together at Shearman & Sterling LLP.

“I am very excited to work with Ben again. He is an outstanding lawyer and his patent expertise immediately broadens our IP capabilities,” added Molo.

“MoloLamken already has achieved some great success in patent matters and I look forward to helping grow the firm’s practice in this area,” said Quarmby.

Notably, while at Shearman & Sterling, Quarmby worked with firm co-founders Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken in connection with their successful effort to overturn a $1.6 billion verdict against Morgan Stanley that aFloridajury had awarded to Coleman (Parent) Holdings, a company controlled by financier Ron Perelman.

Winning Victories With a New Model

MoloLamken was formed in October 2009 and focuses exclusively on representing clients in complex litigation – including business and IP disputes, white collar criminal and regulatory matters, and appeals.

Founding partners Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken developed national reputations based on courtroom successes while partners at large full-service firms where they held leadership positions. The firm’s boutique approach is premised on the belief that complex litigation is most effectively handled by smaller teams comprised of smart, highly experienced lawyers focused on results rather than process. Instead of using the traditional hourly billing method, MoloLamken prefers fee arrangements centered on value that provide clients with predictability and reward the firm for results.

The firm has quickly developed an impressive track record in high-profile matters, including three wins in the Supreme Court of theUnited Stateswithin a year of opening its doors. Its clients include leading corporations, boards, hedge funds, executives, and individuals.

The addition of Shur and Quarmby marks continued growth for MoloLamken’s team of experienced trial lawyers. In 2011, respected commercial litigator Thomas Wiegand joined the firm from Winston & Strawn where he was a partner.

MoloLamken views this growth as not only benefiting clients on current matters, but also as contributing to the development of talented, younger lawyers already in the firm. “We take an aggressive approach to training our junior lawyers through programs with the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, early case responsibility, and lots of personal mentoring that occurs with our efficient approach to staffing,” Lamken said. He views the firm’s two newest partners as “great role models who will enhance our efforts to make the most of the exceptional talent of our entire team.”

About Justin V. Shur

In 2011, Shur received the Attorney General’s Award for Distinguished Service for his work on the Jack Abramoff investigation. The investigation resulted in the conviction of 20 individuals for public corruption-related offenses, including a former member of the U.S. House of Representatives, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Interior, and other high-ranking public officials and various lobbyists. Shur successfully served as co-lead counsel in two of the three jury trials stemming from the investigation.  Before joining the Justice Department, Shur was a principal with white collar litigation boutique Kobre & Kim LLP inNew Yorkwhere he represented corporate and individual clients in criminal, regulatory, and complex civil matters. He successfully represented clients in matters covering a wide range of issues, including corporate and securities fraud, accounting and tax fraud, antitrust violations, health care fraud, and FCPA violations. During his time at Kobre & Kim, Shur also handled a variety of complex commercial business cases representing both funds and investors.

Earlier in his career, during four years as an Assistant District Attorney inManhattan, he prosecuted a wide range of cases such as financial fraud, armed robbery, and murder while also serving as lead counsel in more than 20 jury trials.

Outside the courtroom, Shur is a frequent speaker on white collar and regulatory matters as well as trial advocacy. He has held leadership roles with several bar groups and now co-chairs the American Bar Association’s Regional Subcommittee on White Collar Crime.

Shur is a graduate of the Emory University School of Law and received his bachelor’s degree fromIthacaCollege.

About Ben Quarmby

Quarmby has represented some of the world’s largest technology companies in complex IP matters. These have included companies in the telecommunications, computer hardware and software, pharmaceutical, and medical device industries. Quarmby has focused principally on patent infringement litigation, trade secret misappropriation disputes, defenses against online defamation, and IP violations, as well as strategic due diligence in connection with the acquisition of IP assets. He has also handled a wide array of business litigation matters including breach of contract, antitrust, civil RICO, and structured finance cases.

Prior to joining Quinn Emanuel, Quarmby served as law clerk to the Honorable Garrett E. Brown, Jr., Chief Judge for theUnited StatesDistrict Court inNew Jersey. At Shearman & Sterling, Quarmby handled a variety of complex business disputes for financial services institutions, and telecommunications companies.

Quarmby is a graduate of Duke Law School.

About MoloLamken LLP

MoloLamken LLP is a litigation boutique with a national practice focused on complex, high-stakes civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, United States Supreme Court and appellate cases, and regulatory matters before administrative agencies. The firm maintains offices inNew York,Washington, D.C., and Chicago. Firm founders Steven Molo and Jeffrey Lamken were recently again named to Lawdragon’s list of the 500 Leading Lawyers inAmerica. For more information please visit www.mololamken.com.

New York, January 17, 2012 … Latham & Watkins LLP is pleased to announce that Daniel G. Brown has joined the firm’s New York office as a partner in the Litigation Department.  Brown, who specializes in patent litigation involving pharmaceutical and life sciences companies, joins a team of premier IP litigators that has nearly doubled in the last two years.

Brown has a broad scope of pharmaceutical and life sciences capabilities including “Hatch-Waxman” litigation. These high-stakes patent disputes have become increasingly important to pharmaceutical companies.  Brown has more than a decade of experience in this highly complex and business-critical area of litigation for prominent pharmaceutical companies at both the trial and appellate levels, including complex litigation matters that involved simultaneous antitrust litigation and litigation with the FDA.

Brown’s addition to the intellectual property litigation team follows a number of other recent high-profile additions. In the last two years, a group of six prominent intellectual property litigation partners joined the firm’s California offices and three industry leaders with extensive experience in patent litigation, joined the firm’s Washington, D.C. office, including those with expertise before the International Trade Commission (ITC).

Jimmy Brandt, Latham & Watkins’ Office Managing Partner in New York, said: “I am pleased to welcome Dan to the firm.  Having Dan join the New York office will be yet another step forward in bolstering the firm’s growing intellectual property practice, and an excellent addition to our strong New York litigation team.”

“Bringing his depth of expertise in high-stakes ANDA disputes to the firm, Dan helps position Latham as a market leader in the generic pharmaceutical patent litigation segment and will permit the practice group to enhance its rapidly developing position in high-stakes patent litigation,” said Max Grant, Global Co-Chair of the firm’s Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group. “Dan’s extensive knowledge of Hatch-Waxman litigation will be a valuable asset to our clients and to the firm, complementing both our deep bench of patent litigators and our experienced team of counselors to pharmaceutical companies.”

“I am impressed with the growth and success of Latham & Watkins’ Intellectual Property Litigation Practice Group,” said Brown. “The firm’s team-centered approach and continued focus on growing its patent litigation platform makes this an exciting opportunity for me and I look forward to contributing to the firm’s collective effort.”

Brown joins Latham & Watkins from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. He received his JD from University of Cincinnati College of Law in 1993 and BS degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Houston in 1990.

Schwartz has worked closely with Dansko for more than five years, managing Dansko’s intellectual property issues while overseeing other legal matters for the company. Before joining Cozen O’Connor, Schwartz was in-house counsel at Intel Corporation as a senior attorney responsible for implementing and managing global trademark enforcement and protection strategies for marks including the Pentium® and Intel Inside® trademarks.

“As Dansko continues to grow, so has the sophistication of their legal issues, from defense of the Dansko brand to corporate and litigation matters,” said Schwartz. “After working with the company for so many years and developing a strong appreciation for their outstanding executive team, it seemed like a natural fit.”

“We are delighted to bring Scott on board full time,” said Mandy Cabot, Dansko co-founder and CEO. “Our needs as a company have expanded over the years and the time is right for us now to have in-house counsel. Scott has a great balance of legal expertise and business acumen, not to mention that his dedication and commitment to Dansko over the years has been second to none. We are very happy to have him on board.”

“While we are sorry to lose Scott, we are proud of the excellent work the firm has done for Dansko and look forward to continuing our relationship with Scott as a client,” said Cozen O’Connor Chief Executive Officer Tad Decker.

 About Dansko

Established in 1990, Dansko is a leader in providing all day comfort footwear, socks and apparel while standing at the forefront of ethical business practices. Founded by husband and wife team Mandy Cabot and Peter Kjellerup, Dansko is an employee owned company based in Pennsylvania. You can find Dansko products at over 2,500 premium US and international retail locations. For more information, visit dansko.com.