Lawyer Limelight: Neal Manne

May 20, 2012 By
Photo provided by Susman Godfrey

When Neal Manne, 56, was formally introduced as co-managing partner of Houston-based Susman Godfrey in September 2011, the legal press more than took note. Steve Susman and Lee Godfrey are the only lawyers at the 32-year-old world-class boutique to hold the title of managing partner. As both are now in their 70s, adding Manne as a third managing partner effectively anointed him the heir apparent.So it's not surprising the news of his ascendancy to the helm of the litigation powerhouse known for multimillion-dollar … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Nanette Heide

May 13, 2012 By
Nanette-Heide

Since moving to Duane Morris in 2009 as a partner specializing in private equity and venture capital, Nanette Heide has combined two of her greatest passions: building companies and working with fashion entrepreneurs. Duane Morris is just one of a handful of law firms that has built a niche practice within its private equity and venture capital practice group catering to fashion and apparel startups. As founding sponsor of FashInvest, an annual conference in New York that draws more than 300 attendees from the fashion and investing … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Peter Afrasiabi

May 6, 2012 By
Photo provided by One LLP

Given his paying job, one might not expect Peter Afrasiabi to be the author of a passionate new book about the inadequacies of our immigration system. As a founder of the entertainment and intellectual property law firm One LLP, Afrasiabi is often busy representing artists and entertainment companies in copyright, trademark and other IP disputes. But the Newport Beach-based attorney has been irked by immigration cases ever since he clerked at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, where he witnessed cases as they arrived from immigration … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Ethan Klingsberg

May 2, 2012 By
Photo provided by Cleary Gottlieb

As an aspiring ultra-marathon runner, Cleary Gottlieb partner Ethan Klingsberg has a taste for speed. But when it comes to his M&A practice he longs for the days when people would sit down and negotiate deals in the same room, or at least the same time zone. “I've done a half-dozen deals with some firms and never met a single lawyer from these firms in person,” Klingsberg said. “I try to encourage boards to meet in person as much as possible. But, due to the speed of deals and the ability to connect virtually, even … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Marcia Backus

April 15, 2012 By
Photo provided by Vinson & Elkins

The U.S. shale gas boom has dramatically affected everyone in the energy industry. Of the $317 billion worth of oil and gas deals struck in 2011, $66 billion were shale-related transactions, according to a recent Ernst & Young industry report. And Marcia Backus, the head of Vinson & Elkins’ Energy Transactions/Projects Practice, is right at the center of the current transaction boom. The Texas-based firm, which is widely known for its energy practice, reports that it has handled 60% of shale joint ventures in the U.S. in the last … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Thomas H. Kennedy

April 8, 2012 By
Photo provided by Skadden Arps

When Skadden Arps partner Thomas H. Kennedy was appointed as the firm’s Global Head of Knowledge Strategy in 2009, he knew it would be a challenge. Global law firms of Skadden’s proportions (more than 1,800 lawyers spread across 23 offices) have long struggled to harness their vast internal resources to share knowledge among lawyers across diverse practices, create effective communication strategies for meaningful client engagement and cross sell. 
“One of the things I aspire to in the job is for us to clearly understand … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Steven Browne

April 1, 2012 By
Photo provided by Bingham

Steven Browne wasn’t in need of any extra work last year when he assumed the position of managing partner of Bingham McCutchen’s Boston office, which dates back to 1891. Browne, a 1988 graduate of Cornell Law School, is co-chair of the firm’s corporate practice group and handles an impressive stream of M&A deals for major clients like Citrix Systems, Oracle Corporation and Volition Capital, among others. But the type of talent it takes to oversee billions of dollars worth of complicated transactions might well apply to … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Steven M. Strauss

March 18, 2012 By
Photo provided by Cooley LLP

Cooley LLP (then Cooley Godward) knew it had added serious depth to its litgation practice in 2005 when it acquired Steven M. Strauss for its San Diego office. Strauss had chaired the litigation department of Procopio Cory Hargreaves & Savitch, where he already counted technology company Qualcomm as a regular client. His practice focusing on complex business and intellectual property litigation has thrived at the national platform, where he continues to handle a diverse range of interesting legal matters for Qualcomm and other … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: Susan Saladoff

February 13, 2012 By
Susan Saladoff

Not many lawyers can claim to have rubbed shoulders with the likes of Robert Redford and Susan Sarandon. Even fewer can say that they’ve been interviewed by Stephen Colbert and managed to hold their own. But Susan Saladoff has earned bragging rights to both thanks to her documentary film “Hot Coffee,” which turned her into an instant indie celebrity filmmaker after screening at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The fact that Saladoff’s documentary tackles a subject as serious and heavy as tort reform and the American civil justice … [Read more...]

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Lawyer Limelight: David Berten

January 10, 2012 By
Lawyer Limelight Dave Berten

The $4.5-billion winning bid in the Nortel patent auction was one of the most extraordinary business and legal events of 2011, one that moved the stock prices of some of the world's biggest technology companies and made the captains of corporate America take notice. It was also a stunning market debut for little known Chicago law firm, Global IP Law Group, which was founded in 2009 by veteran patent litigator David Berten, and his partner Steven Steger, a longtime in-house IP counsel for various technology … [Read more...]

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