Legal Pad

OMM and Paul, Hastings See Revenue Drops of Near 10%

[Cynthia Foster]

Am Law Daily has posted more 2009 financial information from California firms:

O'Melveny & Myers continues to have problems generating revenue and profits. Revenue declined almost 9% in 2009, and profits per partner were down just over 1%. Chairman Arthur Culvahouse, Jr. called 2009 "the most challenging year" that he could recall.

Paul, Hastings suffered a near-10% drop in revenue, after a mere 1% increase in 2008. Revenue per lawyer, however, actually jumped 1.4% due to cuts in associate ranks.

You can read more about the Am Law 100 results nationwide here.

Paul, Hastings Picking up IP Partners for Palo Alto

Paul, Hastings is beefing up its Silicon Valley office with IP talent, having recently pulled over a handful of laterals from MoFo and Skadden.

The firm’s Palo Alto office has again added to its ranks of intellectual property lawyers with a corporate lateral from Morrison & Foerster’s Tokyo office.

Matt Berger is a corporate transactions lawyer who advises on the IP aspects of complex technology transactions. His clients include Atmel, Fujitsu, Goldman Sachs, Seiko Epson Corp., Teijin Pharma, Toshiba and Zeon Corp.

Adding Berger to other recent lateral moves, after the jump.

Paul Hastings Picks Up L.A.'s U.S. Attorney

Apparently the U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles just couldn’t hold out any longer.

Thomas O’Brien, a George W. Bush appointee who has stayed on into the Obama administration, sent an email to federal prosecutors Monday announcing his intention to join Paul Hastings as a litigation partner, leaving his office on Sept. 1. “I am so very proud to have served with you,” O’Brien wrote in the email. Firm spokespeople did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. (The firm also picked up a star IP litigator and two others from Skadden — See Cal Law.)

The White House has not yet nominated anyone to fill O’Brien’s slot. In San Francisco, U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello — also a Bush appointee — remains at his post.

O’Brien’s spokesman Thom Mrozek said he believes the Department of Justice will appoint an acting U.S. Attorney to serve until the Senate confirms a replacement. Though O’Brien didn’t know who that would be, First Assistant George Cardona would be high on the list.

— Dan Levine