Dissolution, Heller Ehrman

Winston & Strawn Reaps Heller Rewards

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Winston & Strawn is expanding with the help of Heller refugees. A tipster reports on the latest internal Winston communication:

[We] are extremely pleased to announce that the firm has added a number of former Heller Ehrman attorneys who will greatly enhance Winston’s practices and international presence. Winston has acquired three partners in Hong Kong from Heller and Heller’s international trade group in D.C. In addition, we welcome Joe Armao, a well-known environmental litigator, as a partner in our San Francisco office.

In Hong Kong, we are joined by capital markets and M&A partners Simon Luk and Michael Phillips and commercial litigation partner David Hall-Jones. Subject to local regulations*, these partners will be supported by additional associates and other professionals. Winston is also pursuing and fully expects to expand its presence in Asia with one or more offices in mainland China, likely to be in Shanghai and Beijing. We have begun the application process for this expansion. More details will follow as they become available.

In Washington, we have added four high-profile international trade partners: William Barringer, Daniel Porter, Christopher Dunn and James Durling, as well as associates Valerie Ellis, Matthew McCullough, Yu Li, and Ross Bidlingmaier. The international trade group will be supported by a number of non-lawyer trade professionals on the ground in Beijing.

Core practices primarily affected include complex commercial litigation, international arbitration and cross border deal-making capabilities. The firm has expanded materially in 2008 with the opening of the Charlotte office in January, the addition of prominent lateral attorneys to our existing offices and practices throughout the year, and this most recent expansion to Asia.

A press release will be available tomorrow morning on winston.com. An office page for our new Hong Kong location will be posted as well and will include address information and profiles of our new group.

We expect to take over existing Heller office space only as necessary. A full integration effort is underway; please take a moment to welcome our new team.

Regular readers of ATL will not be surprised by Winston capturing some top Heller talent.

Recent history after the jump.


Many of you will remember that Heller was once a merger target for Winston:

“Winston Heller” has a nice ring to it. But if the firms do merge, will Heller get to squeeze its name in? Or will Winston, occupying what Miles describes as a “position of strength,” simply swallow Heller whole, without any name change?

Despite the merger falling through, Winston had been viewed as a soft landing spot for some Heller people ever since dissolution became a reality. The question was whether there would be a lot of room, or just a little:

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Peter Benvenutti, the chairman of the dissolution committee now controlling the firm, confirmed whispers that Baker & McKenzie and Winston & Strawn, both one-time merger candidates, had withdrawn proposals to pick up large groups of lawyers and their expensive real estate. While Benvenutti would not say whether deals on this scale are being discussed with any other firms, he did say there’s interest in taking over certain of the firm’s leases, and “we expect to have clarity in a day or two.”

One large practice group — and apparently an office lease — down, which Heller department is next to get picked up off the side of the road?

Good luck to those still waiting for their lifeboat.

Earlier: Anatomy Of A Dissolution: Why Buy The Cow When You Can Get The Milk For Free?

Law Firm Merger Mania: Winston and Heller, Sitting in a Tree? M-e-r-g-i-n-g?

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