An awards luncheon will take place at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza on Thursday, May 23, 2013. For more than 30 years, the Century City Chamber of Commerce has selected a company who exemplifies excellence in corporate and community relations to bestow its highest civic recognition award, Citizen of the Year. Keynote Speaker, Dan Schnur, Director of the Jesse M. Unruh Institute of Politics at USC, will address the audience at this annual event that attracts more than 200 civic leaders and business professionals from the greater Los Angeles area. As an expert in political strategy, campaign communication and government reform, Dan will share insight on the race results for Los Angeles’ Mayor, City Controller and City Attorney, which are held two days prior to the awards luncheon.

The 2013 Corporate Citizen of the Year, Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P., is a litigation firm with clients from Fortune 500 corporations and emerging markets to entrepreneurs and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants. The firm, which is celebrating its 75th anniversary and has more than 240 lawyers located in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Naples, FL, has long been recognized for its pro bono work. ”We are honored to receive this award from the Century City Chamber. The award reflects our firm’s longstanding tradition of making a significant commitment to the communities in which we practice law and we accept this honor on behalf of all of our lawyers and staff whose tireless efforts to make a difference in Los Angeles have made this award possible,” said Los Angeles office Managing Partner, Roman Silberfeld and Partner and Century City Chamber Board Member, David Martinez.

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. has received The National Law Journal’s 2011 Pro Bono Award and was selected as a Pro Bono Firm of 2010 by Law360. The American Lawyer ranked the firm eighth in the country in the 2011 Pro Bono Survey, and twice named the firm to the A-List (2007 and 2004). The firm has also regularly received a top ranking for litigation from Chambers USA and was chosen as a “Go-To Law Firm” by Corporate Counsel. Its Century City office is comprised of approximately 40 attorneys and is the recipient of the corporate Citizen of the Year award.

“We are thrilled to name Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. as our Corporate Citizen of the Year,” says Susan Bursk, President and CEO of the Century City Chamber of Commerce. “They are dedicated to serving the needs of those in the local community and beyond, making them very deserving of the award.”

The 2013 Citizen of the Year Awards Luncheon begins at 11:30 a.m. To reserve your seat or company table, please visit the Chamber’s website at: www.centurycitycc.com or call the office at 310-553-2222.

About Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P.


Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. celebrates 75 years as a litigation firm whose clients include numerous Fortune 500 corporations, emerging markets companies, entrepreneurs, and individuals as both plaintiffs and defendants. With more than 240 lawyers located in Atlanta, Boston, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, New York and Naples (FL), the firm is frequently engaged in high-stakes, complex litigation with significant bottom-line implications for clients. Its business lawyers handle complex transactions in a variety of market segments and industries.

Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi L.L.P. has regularly received a top ranking for litigation from Chambers USA and was chosen as a “Go-To Law Firm” by Corporate Counsel and was named the “Minnesota Firm of the Year” and the Midwest “Intellectual Property Firm of the Year” by the inaugural US Benchmark Awards. In addition, Multicultural Law ranked the firm as one of the top national law firms for diversity in 2012. The American Lawyer ranked the firm eighth in the country in the 2011 Pro Bono Survey, and twice named the firm to the A- List (2007 and 2004).

The announcement was made jointly by Adams and Reese Managing Partner, Charles P. Adams, Jr. and Ellis Lawhorne Managing Shareholder, William P. McElveen, Jr.  McElveen will serve as a Transactions Practice Group Leader in the merged firm. Robert P. Bethea, Jr. will serve as the Partner in Charge of the Adams and Reese Columbia office.

“Our firm’s strategic plan directs selective growth in targeted markets, and from our first meeting with the shareholders of Ellis Lawhorne last November, we knew our firms were a perfect fit,” said Adams. “From the outset, we realized that our firms shared similar values, clients, and a complementary practice mix. We were extremely impressed with Ellis Lawhorne, the caliber of their attorneys, their practice, and their clients from the first time we were introduced.” 

Ellis Lawhorne has been an important member of the Columbia business community sharing in the city’s growth and economic development since the firm’s founding in 1980. Columbia’s business climate ranks 14th out of the Top 40 strongest United States metro economies, according to Bloomberg Businessweek and is one of the fastest growing metro areas in the southeast.

“The merger is beneficial for both firms with Adams and Reese expanding its regional footprint and Ellis Lawhorne extending its reach for its clients into Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas, and Washington, DC,” said Gif Thornton, Chairman of the Adams and Reese Executive Committee. “Adams and Reese is committed to and excited about our future growth potential in the South Carolina market.”

“As we looked to grow our business and better meet our clients’ needs, joining a large regional firm was the most logical and efficient course for us to take,” McElveen said. “We were impressed by the firm’s well-known reputation as a strong, solid, and well-managed regional firm with a well-defined vision and long term strategic plan, which was very attractive to us.”

Bethea added, “As the legal industry changes and the business environment for clients becomes more competitive and complex, we want to continue exceeding our clients' expectations.  We realized that a merger with a larger firm would enable us to provide more resources to meet the higher levels of specialization that our clients are increasingly requiring.  Smaller firms have limitations, simply by virtue of their size or footprint. They (smaller firms) cannot often provide the same highly specialized experience in as wide a range of practice areas, and at the same level, as larger firms with deeper talent pools and experience in more specialized areas of the law.”

Partners joining Adams and Reese include:  John F. Beach, Robert P. Bethea, Jr., Rita Bragg Caughman, F. Earl Ellis, William O. Higgins, Matthew B. Hill, Ernest G. “Ernie” Lawhorne, Jonathan P. Lee, William P. McElveen, Jr., W. Cliff Moore III, Jack Pringle, Louis T. Runge, Jr., Kirby D. Shealy III, Lana H. Sims, Jr., David C. Sojourner, Jr., and Karen Hudson Thomas. Associates include: Jacob S. Barker, Shaun C. Blake, Jennifer Ross MacLeod, Lana H. Sims IV, William M. Umbach, Drew B. Walker, and Lyndey Ritz Zwing.

The Columbia office opening marks Adams and Reese’s second merger in 2013. In March, the law firm expanded its Florida footprint with the addition of a Jacksonville office as its fifth Florida location merging with Volpe, Bajalia, Wickes, Rogerson & Wachs (VBWR). The firm’s other Florida offices include Tampa, Tallahassee, St. Petersburg and Sarasota.

In addition to its new Columbia, South Carolina office, the firm has offices in Birmingham and Mobile, Alabama; Memphis and Nashville (Downtown and Music Row), Tennessee; Baton Rouge and New Orleans, Louisiana; Jackson, Mississippi; Jacksonville, Tampa, Tallahassee, St. Petersburg, and Sarasota, Florida; Houston, Texas; and Washington, D.C.

About the Firms:

Adams and Reese is a multidisciplinary law firm with more than 340* attorneys and advisors strategically located in 16 offices in 15 markets* throughout the southern United States and Washington, D.C.  American Lawyer includes Adams and Reese on its distinguished list of the nation's top law firms – "The Am Law 200". The National Law Journal also includes the firm on the "NLJ 250" list of the nation's largest law firms. www.adamsandreese.com

Founded in 1980, Ellis Lawhorne provides legal services to regional clients and serves as local counsel to numerous national companies. At the heart of our practice is an understanding of the complex issues faced by those who navigate this challenging — and dynamic — businesses environment. The firm is organized  around five practice areas: Business and Finance, Commercial Property, Litigation, Taxation, and Trusts and Estates.

“I am excited to join such a highly respected law firm that focuses exclusively on labor and employment law,” said Williams. “I look forward to applying my expertise at CDF and working with a team of attorneys dedicated solely to assisting employers.”

Prior to joining CDF, Williams honed her labor and employment experience at a notable California law firm working with closely held private and public companies. In addition to wage and hour class action litigation, Williams specializes in the defense of single plaintiff claims for discrimination, harassment, retaliation and related issues. She also counsels employers on preventative measures to avoid litigation, including reviews of general employment policies, and assists employers in conducting internal investigations.

“One of the many benefits of working at CDF is our focus on gender equality and maintaining an environment where women can prosper in leadership roles,” said Leigh Ann White, managing partner of CDF’s Orange County office. “Amy is a welcome addition to the CDF team and her track record and expertise will be great assets to our firm.”

Williams is a graduate of Arizona State University and received her law degree from University of California, Los Angeles School of Law. She was recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyers, Rising Star in 2012 and is a member of the employment law section of the Orange County Bar Association.

To contact Williams, please call 949-622-1661 or email awilliams@cdflaborlaw.com.

About Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP

Carothers DiSante & Freudenberger LLP (CDF) is a California law firm specializing exclusively in labor, employment and immigration law. CDF has distinguished itself as one of the top law firms representing employers in California, with its focus on successfully defending single-plaintiff and class action lawsuits, as well as advising employers on ways to minimize the risk of litigation. The firm has five offices throughout California – in Sacramento, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Orange County and San Diego. For more information, visit: www.CDFLaborLaw.com.

“We are delighted to welcome Steven to our firm,” said Chairman Richard E. Wiley.  “His substantial government and private sector experience further broadens the capabilities of our talented Environment & Safety Group and complements the firm’s strengths in public policy and administrative law.”

Environment & Safety Practice Chair David B. Weinberg added, “Steven’s expertise and client base aligns perfectly with our extensive experience in pesticide-related Endangered Species Act and water quality issues.  His background in federal water policy, National Environmental Policy Act compliance and clean energy siting issues also fits well with our existing team.”

Mr. Richardson was a partner at the law firm of Van Ness Feldman in Washington, DC before joining Wiley Rein. 

Prior to private practice, Mr. Richardson served as an advisor to Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior Bruce Babbitt (1993-2000), and also served as Chief of Staff for the agency’s Bureau of Reclamation and Deputy Director of the Bureau of Land Management.  During his government service, he led the broad-based state, federal, Tribal and private effort that developed the Lower Colorado River Multi-Species Conversation Program to establish a 50-year habitat conservation and endangered species recovery plan.

Mr. Richardson’s significant Capitol Hill experience includes having served as counsel for Senator Birch E. Bayh, Jr. (D-IN.) and legislative counsel for Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA.), and as staff director and counsel for two House committees.

Mr. Richardson received his J.D. from Indiana University School of Law.  He holds an A.B. from Indiana University and a “Senior Managers in Government” Certificate from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.  He regularly writes and speaks on the legal, environmental and social barriers to obtaining authority for new generation and transmission facilities.  Mr. Richardson has been ranked by Legal 500 USA for Environment: Transaction & Regulatory.

Both lawyers were partners at Jenner & Block, where Mr. Oshinsky served as co-chair of the firm’s insurance litigation and counseling practice. Ms. Kornfeld will serve as head of Kasowitz’s Los Angeles office.

 “Jerry and Linda are as good as it gets, and teaming them with our already formidable insurance recovery attorneys creates the elite insurance group in the country,” said Marc Kasowitz, the founding and managing partner of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman.

Kasowitz’s insurance recovery group, one of the largest in the nation, focuses exclusively on policyholder recovery claims.  Led by Ms. Cohen, a nationally recognized trial attorney who has been named as one of the “50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America” by The National Law Journal, the firm’s insurance recovery attorneys are known for implementing innovative and aggressive strategies to maximize coverage for their clients.  Chambers USA named the group the nation’s top insurance practice in 2011.

“Linda and I are delighted to reunite with Robin,” Mr. Oshinsky said. “Kasowitz’s aggressive approach to litigation is a perfect fit for our practice, and we are excited to join the exceptional group Robin has created to push the boundaries of what we can achieve for our insurance recovery clients.”

 Ms. Cohen added, “Jerry continues to pioneer many of the legal theories that underlie insurance recovery law today, and Linda has repeatedly proven her ability to obtain winning results for her clients in high-stakes cases. With their arrival, we will continue to expand nationally, while exploring new, creative strategies to meet our clients’ needs in the rapidly evolving insurance area.”



Mr. Oshinsky and Ms. Kornfeld have worked with a variety of companies in, among others, the chemical, pharmaceutical, financial, food, education and health industries, litigating complex insurance coverage issues and advising clients about how to maximize their insurance assets.  Recently, they have been focusing on issues relating to cyber liability, intellectual property, antitrust and sexual abuse claims, as well as natural disaster cases related to earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes and super storms such as Superstorm Sandy.

Mr. Oshinsky is the only lawyer nationwide to be accorded “Star” ranking by Chambers USA in its national insurance category in 2011 and 2012.  He has a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law and a B.A. from Brooklyn College.



Ms. Kornfeld is widely recognized as a top litigator including as one of the Daily Journal's "100 Leading Women Lawyers in California" and Benchmark's "Top 250 Women in Litigation." She is a frequent speaker and writer on women’s issues.  She has a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School and a B.A. from the University of California, Los Angeles.

 “This is an exceptional opportunity to join forces and to continue to build at Kasowitz the leading insurance recovery practice both in California and throughout the country,” Ms. Kornfeld said.

About Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP


Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP is a national law firm, numbering more than 375 lawyers, primarily focusing on complex commercial litigation.  The firm has offices in New York, Houston, Atlanta, San Francisco, Miami, Silicon Valley, Los Angeles and Newark. For more information, visit www.kasowitz.com

Photo provided by Kasowitz Benson

She attributes her unusually busy practice to the consolidation in the insurance industry. “Berkshire Hathaway is buying up insurance companies, with the avowed business model of delaying or denying payment as much as possible in order to benefit from the resultant float,” Cohen, a 1986 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania Law School, explains. “The insurance industry as a whole has been taking more aggressive positions, risking bad faith damages on the assumption it will cost them less in the end to fight than to pay. Where we used to see settlements, even on the proverbial courthouse steps, we are now seeing a lot more willingness on the part of insurers to test their new theories and more aggressive policy interpretations before a jury.”

But, so far, the strategy has not been successful against Cohen’s clients. Her hot winning streak has continued to 2013. In March, she obtained a major summary judgment victory for client Syracuse University in its fight for coverage of all costs incurred relating to allegations of sexual abuse against the university’s former associate basketball coach. In the same month, she persuaded a federal trial court to reject seven insurance companies' efforts to dismiss a significant coverage case brought by her client, Convergys, which is seeking defense and indemnity coverage relating to California privacy laws.

Cohen also has a hot hand for her law firm. This week, Kasowitz Benson added as partners Jerry Oshinsky, one of her mentors, and Linda Kornfeld (recently part of the Lawyer Limelight series) from Jenner & Block, as reported by the WSJ Law Blog.  

Lawdragon: How did you end up focusing on insurance recovery litigation?

Robin Cohen: It was really by accident. I picked a non-traditional litigation firm, which was full of interesting and colorful people. As soon as I got to the firm I was assigned to work with Jerold Oshinsky and Randy Paar, who already were legends in the area of representing policyholders against insurance companies. It just turned out to be a good fit for me since my personality is much more plaintiff oriented and because policyholder coverage presents really complex questions and issues, which of course is what makes the practice of law satisfying in the first place.

Because our clients are often facing a bet-the-company need for insurance, the practice allows – in fact requires – that we find cutting-edge, out-of-the-box solutions to problems. That gives me the best of both worlds: the ability to be creative and the resources usually found only in an insurer-side firm to turn that creativity into reality.

LD: When you are an insurance defense litigator, it is easy to do business development as you have the insurance industry as a target. How different is it from the plaintiffs’ side? How do you get hired and how do you develop business?

RC: I think business development on the plaintiffs’ side is very different from the insurance side. Insurance defense litigators tend to represent the same insurance companies repeatedly and get retained on the same sort of matters because the insurance companies face them over and over again. In contrast, the last thing most of our clients ever expected to face was a dispute with the insurers who promised to protect them – particularly at the same time that they have to defend an underlying action or actions the insurance was supposed to cover.

I initially developed business through the success of Philips Electronics in one of the first large environmental coverage cases in the 1990’s.  I obtained a number of new clients through the contacts the general counsel and others had with prospective clients that were facing similar problems. Today, the sources vary. I often get referrals from opposing counsel who are conflicted out, professional colleagues and partners. The most gratifying way to get business is when your clients either recommend you to someone else, or hire you for their new company when they’ve moved on.

LD: Switching firms has become a necessity these days because of the instability in the legal sector. Based on your own experience of switching in 2010 from Dickstein Shapiro to Kasowitz, what’s the best advice you can give to a fellow attorney contemplating a change of firms?

RC: I think the most important things are: Do you like the leadership of the firm, do you believe in their business model and most importantly, do they litigate similarly to the way you like to litigate. Kasowitz fits the bill for me on each of these points. The firm leadership has set a tone for savvy and aggressive litigation that not only frees you to find creative solutions, but is particularly well suited to clients facing the unique business problems that mass tort insurance coverage disputes involve. I could not have taken the practice to a firm whose fundamental practice style did not emphasize from the outset of every case that we are preparing for and aggressively moving toward trial. My style of litigation – especially using the motion process very aggressively to get issues decided early and focus the trial on real areas of dispute – would not have meshed with every firm. And, of course, you want to be in line with the firm’s strengths, not a supporting player. I would never, for example, have considered bringing the practice to anything other than a first-tier litigation firm, on the theory that we would establish a “beachhead” in a firm whose strengths were in a different area of the law or type of practice. You want to add strength to strength

LD: Can you describe your path to partnership? Is it traditional or untraditional?

RC: I had a very unorthodox path to partnership. I moved to New York during my first year out of law school and picked a large untraditional firm where everyone was a partner. There was no distinction between partners and associates. Therefore, I have been a partner my whole career.

LD: What made you want to become a lawyer?

RC: I watched and read the book “To Kill a Mockingbird” at a young age and that book had a tremendous impact on me. Then in the fifth grade, I participated in a program where I worked downtown for a Philadelphia State Court judges and got to see how the legal system worked on interesting criminal cases. After that I was hooked.

LD: What was your favorite class in law school?

RC: My favorite class was constitutional law – though, of course, I haven’t really had occasion to use much of what I learned there in my practice. As much as I love practicing insurance law today, if you find someone who tells you that insurance law was their favorite course in law school, I guarantee you, they’re lying.

LD: Like many successful women in the legal profession, you’re a prolific writer and speaker on women’s leadership issues. What’s one thing that you think made a difference in your own career that allowed you to achieve what you have achieved so far?

RC: I think the biggest breaks were twofold. First, I was lucky enough to have a mentor, Jerold Oshinsky, who recognized my talents early and was invested in my professional success. Second, I volunteered to do a stint at a client, Philips Electronics, while the in-house counsel was on maternity leave. I got to know the lawyers at Philips well and after my stay, they asked me to run a large environmental coverage case. The success of that case was the single biggest event that led to my ability to grow the practice. Winning sells.

LD: What do you do for fun?

RC: I spend time with my family. Both my children, who are 11 and 13, compete nationally in tennis so our weekends entail travelling all over the East Coast, watching our kids in matches and cheering them on. At the suggestion of one of my partners, I also started doing meditation and yoga, though to say the least, that hasn’t come naturally to me.

Global Dealmakers Nervous But Positive Signs Emerge from U.S.

The report shows both the volume and value of deals involving offshore targets dropped considerably in Q1 2013 as against the preceding quarter, with volume down 28% and value down 73%. While it is not unusual to see a drop in volume when comparing Q4 to Q1, this year’s first quarter was particularly quiet, with the report revealing that the offshore markets recorded the lowest number of deals in five years. There is room for optimism when considering the average deal size, which though lower than the figures witnessed during 2012, is consistent with the average deal size across 2010 and 2011. Further, comparing the offshore region with the global market, offshore deal volumes were down 10% year-on-year compared with a global average drop of 20%.  

“The fortunes of the offshore world are, of course, entirely entwined with those of the major economic regions in which many of our clients operate, and despite positive economic signs emerging from the United States and a period of stability expected in China now that its political uncertainties have been addressed, global dealmakers remain nervous,” said Cameron Adderley, Global Head of Appleby’s Corporate & Commercial department. “We are cautiously optimistic that history will pick out 2013 as the year in which the international economy entered a gradual upward trajectory, but it did not begin in the first quarter.”

Signs of optimism include the strengthening U.S. economy, the relative health of strategic buyers, the emerging markets and the energy sector, the report notes. Anecdotal evidence suggests that activity levels are strengthening, in part due to deals that are in the pipeline, but also thanks to private equity-related transactions that are not publicly evident yet. The report adds that while the outlook for the remaining nine months of the year is uncertain, the big questions that troubled investors in 2012—including the U.S. presidential elections and immediate threats posed by America’s Fiscal Cliff—are now behind us.

Frances Woo, Appleby’s Group Chairman said, “In all of our jurisdictions, despite conservatism still being the prevailing feature, we are seeing an increasing acceptance of a new reality when it comes to growth prospects, liquidity challenges and pricing levels. Experience tells us that Q2 is usually more robust than Q1 and we expect that to be the case again this year. Certainly the evidence from our business is that pipelines are strengthening and activity levels are on the increase.”

U.S. Insurers Contribute to Potential Upswing in Bermuda M&A Activity

Anecdotal evidence points to an upswing in M&A activity in Bermuda, with a number of deals in the insurance and energy sectors, the report noted. On the insurance side, deals remain large in terms of value, and a few recent transactions have been plays by U.S. insurers to obtain a Lloyd’s syndicate. Because Lloyd’s has essentially closed the door on new syndicates, mergers remain the best option. There is also the feeling that insurers must become bigger to compete.

Michael Kors, Stryker are Among Biggest Offshore Deals

Unlike previous three-month periods, the start of 2013 saw just two deals announced offshore in excess of $1 billion (compared with 10 such deals in Q4 2012). These transactions were Basic Energy’s $2 billion joint venture to create Grandway Group and the announced sale of 25 million shares in BVI-based fashion label Michael Kors for $1.5 billion. In the Michael Kors transaction, shareholders including Hong Kong private equity firm Sportswear Holdings offloaded shares representing about 10% of the company, cashing in on the stock’s strong performance thanks to bullish demand for its high-end handbags, clothing and footwear.

The Michael Kors deal was the largest in the manufacturing sector, which with 70 deals, comprised 16% of those done in the first quarter of 2013, and 26% of the $27.9 billion spent. That sector also saw New York-listed and Cayman-incorporated WSP Holdings, a Chinese manufacturer of casing, tubing and drills used by the oil and gas industry, taken private in a deal that valued the business at $890 million. In another deal, medical devices group Stryker Corporation of the United States paid $685 million for Cayman-incorporated Trauson, the leading trauma manufacturer in China and one of its major competitors in the spine segment.

Carl Icahn Rumored Deal

The largest deals categorized as rumored this quarter are acquisitions, with billionaire investor Carl Icahn’s announced interest in Cayman Islands-based weight management company Herbalife as a potential forerunner to the $3.9 billion acquisition of the company.

Global Offshore Market: Q1 2013

Key themes emerging from the report show that in the first quarter of 2013:

♦       There were 448 deals involving offshore targets completed with an aggregate value of $28 billion, representing a 28% drop in volumes and a 73% drop in values against the previous quarter.

♦       The average offshore deal size was $62 million for Q1 2013, which is lower than we have come to expect based on 2012 figures, but is consistent with the average deal size across 2010 and 2011, which stood at $66 million through those eight quarters.

♦      While financial services dominated in terms of deal volumes, accounting for 135 of the 448 deals done in Q1, the sector is not the frontrunner in terms of value. That is manufacturing which, with 70 deals, accounted for 16% of the deals done in the first quarter of 2013, and 26% of the $27.9 billion spent.

♦    The vast majority of deals that took place offshore in the first quarter were minority stake transactions, comprising 274 of the 448 deals completed, or 61% of the total. The market for initial public offerings offshore remains steady. Eight IPOs were announced in the quarter under review, as against 14 in the three months preceding this one.

♦     Cayman-incorporated targets were the most popular in the offshore market this quarter, accounting for 102 of the 448 transactions.

♦      The British Virgin Islands (BVI) market continues to top deals by acquirer. BVI acquirers spent more than twice as much money this quarter as they did in Q4, completing 125 deals out of a total 352 transactions recorded, worth an aggregate value of USD13.1bn.

Global market comparison

The offshore M&A market continues to perform relatively robustly on the international stage, with the offshore market ranking ninth on the list for deal volume activity and sixth by value this quarter, accounting for 3% of the global total of $909 billion. At $62 million, the offshore market has generated the fourth highest average deal size, considerably ahead of Western Europe at $40 million and Asia at $39 million.

“We continue to find these regional statistics encouraging from an offshore point of view, and we expect the offshore financial centres to continue to perform strongly on the international stage,” said Woo. “That said, as and when a deeper global recovery takes hold of the M&A market, we will not be surprised to see the performance of our markets eclipsed by larger relative growth of onshore economies, and perhaps the 35% aggregate deal value growth seen in North America in Q1 2013 against a year ago should give us all a reason to be cheerful.”

Photo by Hugh Williams

Nothing screams for the weekend like the photograph of an attorney behind a pile of papers. We have taken many of these over the years. Katz, one of the nation's top dealmakers, was photographed in New York by Hugh Williams just about six years ago. Katz is also a regular commenator on corporate legal issues. You can read a sampling of Katz's recent contributions to the Columbia Law School's "Blue Sky Blog" on corporations and capital markets. 

According to Keller, “One of our key strengths is the diverse backgrounds of our lawyers, who come from small/local to large international firms. We include a former assistant U.S. attorney, a deputy district attorney, a deputy public defender, an elected and appointed national and state government official, and two managing partners of a major law firm’s Orange County offices.” Zipser adds: “It would be difficult to find a group of lawyers with more experience winning bet-the-company cases than our firm.” Keller and Rackauckas were partners at their own firm, Keller Rackauckas LLP, before joining with Umberg and Zipser, who both came from Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP in Orange County, and Morrison & Foerster before that.

Jennifer L. Keller, the former President of the Orange County Bar Association, has tried over 150 cases to jury verdict, ranging from complex civil matters — including business and intellectual property cases — to white collar to murder. In 2011, as last-minute lead counsel for MGA, Keller won the retrial of Mattel v. MGA (aka “Barbie v. Bratz”), a billion-dollar “bet the company” copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation case. In 2009, again as lead counsel, she won a $350 million plaintiff jury verdict in Los Angeles in a five-month business fraud trial; it was the largest business jury verdict in California in 2009 and one of the largest in the nation. She currently represents Standard & Poor’s in United States v. McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. Keller is listed annually in “The Best Lawyers in America ®” and is among the Lawdragon 500 Leading Lawyers in America. In 2012, she was named a “California Attorney of the Year” by The California Lawyer for extraordinary achievements in litigation. She appears repeatedly in the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals as one of California’s Top 100 Lawyers. She is the only person ever to be named by the Orange County Trial Lawyers Association as Business Litigation Trial Lawyer of the Year (in 2010) and as Criminal Defense Trial Lawyer of the year (in 2000). And just yesterday the Los Angeles and San Francisco Daily Journals again named her to their list of California’s Top Women Lawyers.

With over two decades of trial experience and nearly 100 cases to jury verdict, Kay Rackauckas has earned a reputation as a leading trial attorney. She began her legal career 23 years ago in the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, and spent 12 years as one of its most respected prosecutors. In 2004, Rackauckas entered private practice as a criminal defense attorney, using her negotiation and trial skills to become one of the most effective defense lawyers in Southern California. She has handled all types of cases but emphasizes white-collar criminal defense. Recently, Rackauckas has extended her practice to include civil litigation. In 2013, she was co- lead plaintiff counsel on a business fraud trial which resulted in a jury award of $3,375,798 in economic and $1,465,528 in punitive damages. Rackauckas is listed in the elite “The Best Lawyers in America ®” in both white collar and non-white collar criminal defense.

Before joining KRUZ, Thomas J. Umberg was a partner at Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, and prior to that was the Orange County office managing partner at Morrison & Foerster, LLP. He has extensive trial experience in both federal and state courts and has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” for Southern California. He has also been selected as one of the “Best Lawyers in America ®” in commercial litigation. Umberg is a former Assistant U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles and Orange County. As a federal criminal prosecutor, he tried numerous white collar and civil rights cases. Umberg served three terms in the California Legislature, ending in 2006. In addition, he serves on the California High Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA), which is responsible for developing the high speed rail system from Anaheim to San Francisco. In 1997, Umberg was selected by President Clinton to serve as Deputy Director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). He is also a colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. Umberg served with the 2nd Infantry Division in South Korea and with NATO forces in Italy, as well as a paratrooper with the US Army Special Operations Command, US Army Special Warfare Center and the XVIIIth Airborne Corp. During his military career, he tried over 50 felony cases as a JAG officer in Korea, Italy and the United States. Umberg was recalled to active duty in 2004 as a war crimes prosecutor, and in 2009 as the Chief of Anti-Corruption in Afghanistan.

Dean J. Zipser is a recognized leader in the Orange County legal community, having served as President of the Orange County Bar Association and the Association of Business Trial Lawyers- Orange County Chapter. Prior to joining KRUZ, Zipser was a partner with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP (co-chair of the firm’s Class Actions and Financial Services Litigation practice groups), and before that was the was the managing partner and head of the Litigation Department at the Orange County office of Morrison & Foerster LLP. Zipser is known for his handling of large, complex, and “bet the company” cases, from preliminary consulting, through pre-trial, trial, and appeal. His civil business litigation practice includes complex matters in intellectual property, consumer class action, contract, business torts, real estate, construction, and lender liability. In addition, Zipser was named as one of the 176 lawyers nationwide to the BTI Consulting 2009 Client All-Star Team. The survey was the result of interviews with more than 270 general counsels at Fortune 1000 and other companies. In 2003, he received the Jurisprudence Award from the Anti-Defamation League of Orange County and Long Beach. He has been listed for years as one of the “Best Lawyers in America ®” in the fields of Commercial Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Bet-the-Company Litigation. In addition, he has been chosen as a “Super Lawyer” for Southern California since 2005.

“The Law Foundation is poised to expand its impact in the legal services community, and the board of directors sought a leader ready to guide the organization through its new five-year strategic plan,” said Vicki Veenker, president of the Board of Directors for the Law Foundation.  “Working through The Bridgespan Group, our search committee vetted many highly qualified candidates, and ultimately we believed it was Alison who had the right set of skills and experience to fulfill our vision.”

Brunner, 42, currently serves as directing attorney for the Mental Health Advocacy Project and Health Legal Services, two of the five programs offered by the Law Foundation.  She worked her way through the ranks of the organization, which she joined in 1996, after serving as a legislative assistant to U.S. Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

“I am excited by the opportunity to lead the Law Foundation and its dedicated staff in this next phase of its growth.  I was drawn to the mission of the Law Foundation 17 years ago, and I’m as inspired today as I was then by its charge to provide the highest quality free legal and public interest advocacy services to our Silicon Valley community in need,” said Brunner.

Brunner earned her bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California at Los Angeles and went on to obtain her juris doctorate from Santa Clara University School of Law.  She is completing a OneJustice Executive Fellowship and is deeply engaged in the region’s legal services community, serving on the advisory board for the Katherine and George Alexander Community Law Center and the executive committee of the Association of Mental Health Contract Agencies for Santa Clara County.  Born and raised in San Jose, California, she now resides in nearby Los Gatos with her husband and two children.

ABOUT THE LAW FOUNDATION OF SILICON VALLEY: The Law Foundation of Silicon Valley is a nonprofit agency established in 1974 and last year provided more than 6,700 individuals in Silicon Valley with free legal services. The Law Foundation’s mission is to advance the rights of under-represented individuals and families in our diverse community through legal services, strategic advocacy, and educational outreach. The Law Foundation’s services are available through five programs: Health Legal Services, Fair Housing Law Project, Legal Advocates for Children & Youth, Mental Health Advocacy Project, and Public Interest Law Firm.