Law notes: June 18, 2018

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Fox and Rothschild  adds 23-attorney firm with offices in Chicago and Wilmington

 In a move that more than doubles its Windy City presence and adds to its office in Wilmington, Delaware, Fox Rothschild LLP announced a merger, effective June 11, with Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin LLC, a 23-attorney firm with practices in bankruptcy, commercial litigation and real estate.

“Expanding our Chicago presence has been a pivotal component of our strategic growth focus,” said Mark L. Silow, chair of Fox Rothschild. “We opened our doors in Chicago three years ago, and since then we have assembled a team of talented attorneys who provide a comprehensive range of services: corporate, litigation, gaming, cybersecurity and privacy, technology, cannabis law, intellectual property, real estate and taxation. This merger will boost our litigation and real estate capabilities and add a deep bench of bankruptcy lawyers to bolster our national practice in that arena. Shaw Fishman also has two attorneys in Wilmington who will add strength to our Delaware litigation and bankruptcy practices.”

Over the past several years, Fox Rothschild has grown its national footprint. The firm opened in Minneapolis in 2016, welcoming more than 80 attorneys via a merger with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly LLP. In May of 2017, Fox launched a Seattle office through a merger with 39-attorney law firm Riddell Williams LLP.

“The attorneys of Shaw Fishman share Fox’s entrepreneurial ideology to the practice of law and to client service,” said Mark L. Morris, Firmwide Managing Partner of Fox Rothschild. “We are excited to embark upon this next chapter for the firm in Chicago with them.”

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Linter returns to Morris James

Morris James  LLP  announced  that  Matthew F. Lintner  has returned to the firm as a partner in the Corporate and Commercial Litigation Group.  His practice focuses on corporate governance, corporate investigations, unfair trade practices and complex commercial matters.   

In 2012, Matt was appointed by Attorney General Beau Biden to be the Director of the Fraud and Consumer Protection Division for the Delaware Department of Justice, and in that position he was responsible for all civil and criminal enforcement under the securities, antitrust, consumer protection, data security and unfair competition laws in the State.  Matt was also responsible for the prosecution of all corporate fraud, health care fraud, and charity fraud in Delaware. 

Matt worked closely with Attorney General Biden on the Attorney General’s continuing efforts to address the underlying misconduct at the heart of the 2008-09 financial crisis.  The Division operated the Office of Foreclosure Prevention, which has helped thousands of Delawareans evaluate their options when facing the risk of foreclosure. 

After his election, Attorney General Denn carried on Attorney General Biden’s focus upon remediating the impacts of the financial crisis, and Matt continued to coordinate those efforts as the Director of the Fraud Division. 

Prior to his appointment, Matt represented clients in corporate governance, business tort, trust and contract actions, including trade secret and unfair competition claims.  In addition to serving as a partner at Morris James, he previously served as a partner in an AmLaw 100 firm in California.

 Richards, Layton & Finger attorneys make Chambers list

Thirty-seven Richards, Layton & Finger attorneys have been named leaders in their field by Chambers USA. In addition to the firm’s attorney rankings, Chambers has recognized six of the firm’s practice areas for excellence, with Richards Layton’s Bankruptcy/Restructuring, Chancery, Corporate/M&A & Alternative Entities, and Real Estate practices all receiving the guide’s highest Band 1 ranking. 

The Richards Layton attorneys named in Chambers in the Bankruptcy/Restructuring category are Mark Collins — who has received the prestigious “Star Individual” designation for the seventh consecutive year—Daniel DeFranceschi, Paul Heath, John H. Knight, Michael Merchant, Russell Silberglied, Robert Stearn Jr., and Amanda Steele. Ranked on the Chancery list are Catherine Dearlove, Raymond DiCamillo, Anne Foster, Rudolf Koch, Blake Rohrbacher, Gregory Varallo, and Gregory P. Williams. Michael Allen, Stephen Bigler, Donald Bussard, Mark Gentile, William Haubert, and John Mark Zeberkiewiczare named in Chambers’ Corporate/M&A category. On the Corporate/Alternative Entities list are Paul Altman, Doneene Damon, Bernard Kelley, Gregory Ladner, James Leyden Jr., Elisa Erlenbach Maas, Eric Mazie, Mark Purpura,and Srinivas Raju. Recognized in Chambers’ Intellectual Property category are Fred Cottrell, Kelly Farnan, and Jeffrey Moyer. Lori Brewington and Jennifer Jauffret are named in Labor & Employment, and Robert Krapf and Sara Toner are listed in Real Estate. 

Reno joins Eckert Seamans

Eckert Seamans  welcomed  associate  Jessica L. Reno   to the firm’s Wilmington office and Litigation Division. She focuses her practice on mass tort and general litigation matters. Prior to joining Eckert Seamans, Reno was an associate at a national litigation firm where she represented local, regional, and national clients in all aspects of litigation from inception through completion. She has effectively and aggressively defended her clients at depositions, in discovery disputes, and in motions practice.

Prior to joining private practice, Reno served as a judicial law clerk to  John A. Parkins, Jr. of the Delaware Superior Court.

Reno earned her J.D. from Widener University School of Law in 2013 and her B.S. from the University of Maryland in 2008. She is a member of the Delaware State Bar Association and the American Bar Association.

Fish & Richardson receives Band 1 rating

 Fish & Richardson  has received top “Band 1” national rankings for its Intellectual Property (IP) practice and its International Trade Commission (ITC) patent litigation practice in the 2018 edition of Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business. Fish also received a top “Band 1” ranking for its regional Delaware IP practice. Twelve Fish attorneys – including Wilmington principals  Douglas McCann  and  Martina Hufnal  – were selected as IP leaders. 

According to Chambers, the Delaware office is “a strong choice of firm for clients in the pharmaceutical, technology and manufacturing sectors, with significant expertise in acting for both plaintiffs and defendants in high-stakes litigation.”

The Chambers Guides have been ranking the best law firms and lawyers since 1990, and now cover 190 countries across the world. 

Swartz Campbell opens Baltimore office

 Swartz Campbell LLC,  an insurance defense law firm with offices in Delaware, opened a Baltimore office.

The office will be initially staffed by lawyers of the firm who are admitted in Maryland and who represent insurers and self-insured in litigation matters.

The office will be led by partner Edmund K. John, who has practiced complex commercial litigation matters including products liability, for over 30 years.  Joining him on matters will be Beth Valocchi, a partner in the firm’s Wilmington Office, and Lisa Balestrini, an associate in the firm’s Scranton office. 

The Baltimore office will be the firm’s 11th  in the United States.

The office is located at 300 E. Lombard St., Suite 840, Baltimore Maryland, 21202.  Phone: 410-885-4220.

The firm has offices in Pennsylvania as well as in New Jersey, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia and Delaware.

Delaware Rising Star

The national law firm of Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott LLC announced that Peter S. Murphy  of  the Wilmington office was recognized as a 2018 Delaware Rising Star by Super Lawyers.

Murphy  is a member (partner) who focuses his practice in the area of regulated substances. He helps clients navigate licensing and other complex legal and regulatory issue surrounding the fast-growing medical and recreational cannabis industry. Murphy is also an experienced litigator in the firm’s Professional Liability and Mass Tort practice groups, where he represents individual, institutional, and corporate clients in all aspects of tort litigation in Pennsylvania and Delaware state and federal courts.

Manning Gross + Massenburg named to Best Firm for Female Attorneys

The law firm Manning Gross + Massenburg LLP  (MG+M), was recognized as a “Best Law Firm for Female Attorneys” in 2018 by the national law publication Law360.  The designation was part of Law360’s “Glass Ceiling Report,” an annual evaluation of the progress U.S. law firms are making toward increasing opportunities for women at all levels — from associate to equity partner.  MG+M was ranked number 20 in the category of firms with 20 to 149 lawyers.

The firm has an office in Wilmington. In its rankings, Law360 grouped firms based on U.S. attorney headcount, enabling comparisons across similarly sized firms. 

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