AmLaw 100: Philly Firms Stay Put

The results are in from the latest AmLaw 100 survey from The American Lawyer, and while I haven't seen all the numbers, there are some surprises. Despite a number of firms posting record profits and profits-per-partner, there wasn't as much upward movement on the list as some might have thought. Only one local firm made a significant jump up the list. And one Philadelphia firm fell off the list from last year.

So what gives? How can firms being doing so well and yet not moving ahead of their peers across the nation? Is it all about mergers and opening new offices? Honestly, I don't know the answer. But reporter Gina Passarella is digging into the story and will be able to give you some insight in Monday's edition of The Legal Intelligencer.

And for a preview, just checkout the The Legal's Web site, www.thelegalintelligencer.com later today to get a peek at Gina's story.

–Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief

DLA Piper on the Move…Again

The biggest law firm behemoth with a presence in Philly is showing no signs of slowing down in its quest for growth.

The National Law Journal (http://www.law.com/jsp/nlj/index.jsp) is reporting that DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary – which according to the NLJ 250 has become the second largest law firm in the U.S. – is opening up an office in Atlanta. Frank Burch, the joint chief executive officer of DLA Piper, has said it’s “the last piece of the puzzle” for the firm’s national presence. They’re leasing 46,000 square feet of space and expect to have 50 lawyers by year’s end. Who are they opening the office with? Twelve litigation and finance attorneys.

Sound familiar? DLA Piper – in an earlier incarnation – started out modestly in Philadelphia a few years ago and grew the office around litigation until it had 50-some lawyers.

Reaction in DLA Piper’s Philly office was apparently very enthusiastic.

James M. Brogan, managing partner of DLA Piper’s Philadelphia office, said the office opening is “fantastic” news for the Philadelphia partners.

“We have substantial litigation and other business engagements in Atlanta already,” he said. “This not only fits the firm plan, but the Philadelphia partners are very excited about this.”

According to Brogan, Philadelphia partners have been doing work in Atlanta in the areas of litigation, real estate, intellectual property and other capitalization projects. Brogan said some of the Philadelphia partners were involved in the vetting process of their new colleagues in Atlanta.

– Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief and Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter

Aronchick Takes Role As Policy Chair of Fattah Committee

Hangley Aronchick Segal & Pudlin name partner Mark Aronchick joined the Fattah for Mayor Exploratory Committee last month as chairman of the policy steering committee.

Aronchick will work with policy director Harry B. Cook and other members of the committee in formulating a prospective policy agenda for Congressman Chaka Fattah’s potential run for mayor of Philadelphia.

Aronchick previously worked on policy issued for Governor Edward G. Rendell and was the youngest person ever to hold the post of city solicitor.

“I’m enthusiastic about trying to convince Chaka Fattah to run for mayor,” Aronchick said.  “I’ve known him for 26 years. I’ve worked with him on a large number of policy projects. He personifies leadership and vision.”

Aronchick was previously the Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association and served as chairman of the board of ethics for Philadelphia.

 – Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter

Toll Brothers CEO Gives Penn Law $10 Mil.

Robert Toll, CEO of Toll Brothers Inc., and his wife Jane have given Penn Law School what it says is one of the largest gifts it has ever received.

Toll, a 1966 graduate of the school, gave the school $10 million to increase participation in public service.

The award will be used for students and young alumni who want to pursue careers in public interest law.

They have devoted $5 million to establish the Toll Public Interest Scholars Program and another $5 million to help graduates pay off their law school debt.

The scholars program begins next fall and will help fund full scholarships for the first year and two-third scholarships for the second and third years.

The contribution will also help Penn Law underwrite the expansion of its Public Interest Loan Repayment Assistance program.

“The Law School has given me more than any other institution,” Toll said. “I thought the education and experience so fabulous that I want to give back especially so others who might not have had the chance can enjoy what I got.”

This is not the first time the Tolls have donated to the University of Pennsylvania.

In 1991, in honor of his parents, Robert Toll established the Albert and Sylvia Toll Scholarship Fund at Penn Law School. A year earlier, the Tolls contributed to the Say Yes to Education Program at Penn’s Graduate School of Education, offering to pay for college for students who graduated from a high school in West Philadelphia.

– Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter

Awards — and Advice — for Law Firm Web sites

The Internet Marketing Attorney Awards for 2006-07 are in, and many Philadelphia firms are on the list, for good and for bad.

Law firms from around the country have their sites reviewed by law firm marketing consultant Micah Buchdahl of High-Tech Marketing for Lawyers, and can be awarded a maximum score of 50 points for topics such as design, content and usability.

Reed Smith ranked 2nd among the 249 largest law firms that were put to the test, resulting in a score of 44. Buchdahl said the site was descriptive, navigable and gave a unique touch with the use of pictures of firm attorneys as graphics.

“All large international law firms strive to create a Web site that looks, feels and works like Reedsmith.com. Here is some free consulting advice for Dechert — visit this site and start stealing ideas,” Buchdahl said. “Not every firm chooses the Web as a significant business development tool. Reed Smith has dedicated the time, money and resources. The result is superb.”

Saul Ewing wasn’t too much further down the list with a total score of 40 points.  Buchdahl said he liked the newly redesigned site.

“The site is loaded with content, including promotion of upcoming Webinars. In the firm’s home city of Philadelphia, a bunch of others who shall remain nameless (Fox, Dechert, Cozen, etc., etc., etc.) could take a lesson,” he said. “Excellent integration of design, data and the firm’s brand.”

Speaking of Fox Rothschild, Dechert and Cozen O’Connor, those were the three lowest-ranking Philadelphia firms on the list.

Cozen O’Connor came in second to last among the 249 firms with a total score of 11.

“The copyright 2001 symbol on the site should say it all,” Buchdahl said. “I could not believe that dark, ‘say nothing’ home page was still my introduction online to a firm that is known for doing so much pro-active marketing.”

Dechert racked up a total of 18 points, with comments that the firm’s new office is a much better presentation than its Web site.

“They’ve never gotten it right,” Buchdahl said. “For some reason, the firm’s marketing vision has never matched the enormously successful growth.”

Buchdahl said Fox Rothschild has one of the oldest sites remaining on the list, giving it a total score of 19 points.

He said the only comments he could give were a repeat of two years ago because nothing has changed.

“For the most part, this is that family car that you know you need to replace, but if you could just get 10,000 more miles out of it … next time the engine blows, trade it in,” he said.

– Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter

Altman Weil Adds Professional Development Consultant

Law firms aren’t the only ones that can do a little lateral hiring. 

Consulting firm Altman Weil has just added adjunct consultant Douglas B. Richardson to its Newtown Square, Pa.-based firm.

Richardson will advise law firms and law departments on professional development and leadership.Richardson began his career as a lawyer at Dechert and had stints as state and federal prosecutors.

He then became counsel to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare.Most recently he has worked with several human resources consulting firms.Richardson is a longtime board member and program leader for Leadership Philadelphia, a program providing leadership development to emerging community leaders.

He also serves as a program leader for Altemus, a Brussels-based leadership development program for emerging leaders of Eastern European countries.

– Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter

Interesting Med Mal Case Headed to High Court

The state Supreme Court has agreed to hear a medical malpractice case in which a Superior Court panel ordered a new trial on damages after finding a jury award of $29,207 on the wrongful death claim bore "no reasonable relationship to the proven damages."

But while it was the defendant in Carroll v. Avallone who petitioned for allocatur over the Superior Court's decision to order a new trial, what makes the case one to watch is the expert witness issue that was at the heart of the lower court's opinion.

The three-judge panel, led by Superior Court Judge Joseph A. Del Sole, said it was OK to let a defense expert conclude that drug use caused the plaintiff's fatal stroke. The court said it was following a 2003 Superior Court opinion that permitted experts to extrapolate conclusions based on the facts of a case.

The high court granted allocatur April 4. While it is certainly up in the air as to whether the justices will bother to examine the expert extrapolation issue, the court's order didn't limit its review, and according to Del Sole's opinion, the high court has yet to weigh in on the debate.

– Hank Grezlak, Editor-in Chief

Eisenberg Rothweiler Schleifer Weinstein & Winkler Splits Up

Personal injury firm Eisenberg Rothweiler Schleifer Weinstein & Winkler has split into two different firms, citing divergent visions.

The firm will split down practice area lines, according to Ken Rothweiler.

Rothweiler is leaving the firm he joined in 1998 with Stewart J. Eisenberg. The two will focus their practice on complex litigation involving medical malpractice, products liability, crashworthiness and mass torts, he said.

They will be joined by partners Nancy J. Winkler, Fredric S. Eisenberg and Daniel Jeck, all of whom worked at the firm before its split.  All of their names will be included in the new firm name as well.

In total, the Eisenberg Rothweiler firm will have nine attorneys plus one of counsel, Rothweiler said.

Norman J. Weinstein, Charles Jay Schleifer and Richard T. Kupersmith will be moving out of the firm’s Philadelphia office to focus their practice more in the suburbs, Rothweiler said. They will handle mainly workers’ compensation and general negligence cases.

“It was a question of different visions going into the future,” Rothweiler said, adding that Weinstein and Schleifer wanted to increase their presence in the suburbs.

The firm currently has offices in Reading, Lancaster, Avondale and Lebanon, Pa. as well as Philadelphia and Cherry Hill, N.J.

Rothweiler said his new firm bought the office in Philadelphia and will remain there. Weinstein, Schleifer, Kupersmith and the approximately six other attorneys that are making the move with them will remain in the Philadelphia office until they can find additional space, Rothweiler said.

He said that while the area of personal injury law has been evolving over the years in the face of tort reform, this split had more to do with the different goals of the firm leaders.

Rothweiler said that while there is always difficulty in working through the details, the split was an amicable one. 

The two sides signed an agreement Friday that made the separation official, he said.

Gina Passarella, Staff Reporter 

It’s the Mentoring and the Environment, Stupid

This past Tuesday, The Legal held a roundtable on gender equity and retention issues. The impetus for it was really two-fold. First, in my meetings with management at a number of law firms around town, a frequent concern I heard voiced — primarily by men, mind you — was the inability of firms to recruit and retain women lawyers.

Second, one of our reporters, speaking with female attorneys, had heard that while some would like to think the "glass ceiling" no longer exists, it's still an issue. In addition, he'd heard of tension between older female lawyers and younger female attorneys over a variety of issues.

Given that, we thought it would be a good idea to try to get a room full of lawyers — female and male, partners and associates — and have them talk openly and honestly about gender problems at law firms, and the steps the firms could take to improve their recruitment and retention of women.

To be honest, I wasn't sure if we'd get anybody willing to do it. However, when we sent out an e-mail to our various contacts looking for volunteers, the response was overwhelming. We eventually whittled the list down to 10, which was still a big number for an hour-long roundtable.

One interesting bit:  While we never specified who we wanted, just the issues we wanted to discuss, every single person who volunteered (or who was volunteered by their firm) was a woman. There's nothing wrong with that, but I wanted to get some men in the room as well so they could give their perspectives, but also so they could hear first-hand the views of women. I wasn't looking for confrontation, but I wanted a dialogue. We evetually got two male partners to volunteer.

While we will be publishing excerpts of the roundtable in our upcoming "Women in the Profession" supplement, I can tell you that the most common things I heard were the importance of mentoring, creating an environment that shows it is inclusive of women, and creating work situations that really allow for work-life balance without penalty, as key things firms can do to help hire, retain and promote women.

A common complaint was that women who take part-time status often wind up working full-time, but are treated and paid less than full-time attorneys.

And there was a fascinating story as one participant related how the attorney sitting next to her — from a different firm — had been instrumental in getting her work years ago.

Make sure to check out the supplement in a few weeks when it comes out.

Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief

Russell, Russell, Russell

It's hard not to feel at least a little sympathy for former state Supreme Court Justice Russell Nigro, who was the first sitting justice to be booted from the court in a retention election.

Given that the public was up in arms over the pay-raise fiasco and Nigro was one of the few state-wide candidates they could unleash their fury on, it's understandable if he feels he got a bit of a raw deal. But his comments at the Philadelphia Bar Association this past week might leave some wondering if he's got the right message to win another election if he decides to run again for the high court in 2007.

As reported in Tuesday's Legal by reporter Asher Hawkins, Nigro took his shots at the media and some political activists. He also said the media coverage of the justices' expenses — such as restaurant bills or Justice J. Michael Eakin charging taxpayers $5 in toll fees for traveling in October 2005 to the funeral of Justice Sandra Schultz Newman's husband — had gotten absurd.

For instance, Nigro took issue with a newspaper editorial board questioning how the justices should or should not rule on a case.

"Who is an editorial board to tell me about how I should interpret the Constitution?" Nigro was quoted as saying.

Quick question: If you think you lost mainly because of the media and activists, is it really going to buy you political capital to antagonize them again? And since when can't newspapers — or any citizen for that matter — question the actions or potential decisions of elected officials?

While I'm sure he didn't intend to come across as being high and mighty, it would be easy for the public — or a potential political challenger — to view his comments as suggesting he doesn't answer to anyone.

Beyond that, let me suggest that Nigro's missing the point about the expenses. He might be right. The media might be making a mountain out of a molehill in certain instances.

But the perception is out there among the public that politicians are feasting at the trough at their expense. He has to deal with it. It's not going to go away. To dismiss the coverage of those expenses will no doubt strike some as evidence that Nigro just doesn't get it.

And some might argue that if he thinks the coverage of Eakin's $5 charge for the tolls to the funeral is "crap," that's exactly what some members of the public think of hitting up the taxpayers for $5 to go to the funeral for a colleague's spouse.

But, in all fairness, you have to credit Nigro for his bluntness. While so many politicians are scared to speak what's on their minds, Nigro has never shied away from telling you what he's thinking. That quality, along with the circumstances surrounding his defeat, will make his a compelling story to watch should he decide to run for the court again.

Hank Grezlak, Editor-in-Chief