Last month, Philly-based midsized firm Wolf Block joined Thacher, Thelen, Heller, & Morgan & Finnegan as victims of the Great Recession. The firm officially dissolved on March 23.

The press release at the time said:

WolfBlock will remain in the practice of law for several months to protect the interests of its clients, employees and creditors. The decision to unwind was reached in view of a confluence of unfavorable factors: the economic recession, especially in the firm’s core real estate practice; the constriction of credit occasioned by the ongoing banking crisis; and the intended and anticipated departure of significant partners and practices.

We now know where some of those partners and practice groups went. Duane Morris is picking up 50 of 290 WolfBlock attorneys, including the firm’s Trial Practice Group, Employment & Immigration Practice Group, and Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group.

It’s not a good time to be part of a Real Estate Group, but two Real Estate partners and one associate managed to make the jump.

From the Duane Morris press release:

“When this unique opportunity materialized to add such a prominent group of lawyers from a venerable institution, we acted immediately,” said John J. Soroko, Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris. “These lawyers bring an impressive level of experience, knowledge and business acumen that will integrate well with Duane Morris’ international platform. Our collective goal is to take their already significant practices to the next level.”

The lawyers will be joining Duane Morris’s offices in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill, N.J., and New York. See the full press release and the names of the saved, after the jump. As to the other 200+, WolfBlock attorneys, we’ve not seen any press releases as to their fates.

PRESS RELEASE FROM DUANE MORRIS

50 Lawyers from WolfBlock Join Duane Morris

PHILADELPHIA, April 17, 2009 - Duane Morris LLP announced the addition of 50 lawyers this week across its litigation, employment, corporate, real estate, bankruptcy and government affairs practice groups. The lawyers join Duane Morris in Philadelphia, Cherry Hill, N.J., and New York from WolfBlock LLP.

“When this unique opportunity materialized to add such a prominent group of lawyers from a venerable institution, we acted immediately,” said John J. Soroko, Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris. “These lawyers bring an impressive level of experience, knowledge and business acumen that will integrate well with Duane Morris’ international platform. Our collective goal is to take their already significant practices to the next level.”

Trial Practice Group
The former WolfBlock litigation attorneys serve a wide variety of industries, including gaming, energy, construction, financial services and healthcare. Among the group are Hersh Kozlov in Cherry Hill and Alan Kessler in Philadelphia, both members of the executive committee at their former firm.

Kozlov focuses his practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation, federal and state regulatory matters and gaming law. He has served on the boards of directors of several NASDAQ-listed institutions. In addition, Kozlov is a member of the Finance Committee of the Republican National Committee and was appointed by President Bush to serve a two-year term as a member of the President’s Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations. He earned his J.D. in 1972 from Case Western Reserve University and his B.A. from Temple University in 1969.

Kessler focuses his practice in commercial litigation and government relations. He represents a wide range of clients, including Fortune 100 companies, real estate developers, healthcare providers and alternative energy companies. In addition to his private practice, Kessler is currently the chair of the board of governors of the U.S. Postal Service. He previously served as a member of the Clinton/Gore Presidential Transition Team in 1991-1992 and as a presidential appointee as the vice chair of the Presidential/Congressional Commission on Risk Assessment and Risk Management (1994-1998). A 1975 graduate, with honors, of the University of Maryland School of Law, Kessler earned a B.A., with honors, from the University of Delaware in 1972.

Kessler and Kozlov are joined by 20 other litigators, including the former chair of WolfBlock’s Litigation Practice Group, Dana Klinges, who is ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a top litigator in Pennsylvania.


Employment & Immigration Practice Group
The additions represent the core of WolfBlock’s Labor and Employment group in Philadelphia. The group, led by partners Jonathan Segal, James Redeker and John Nixon, was one of WolfBlock’s leading practices. Redeker and Segal, co-chairs of Wolf Block’s Employment Services Practice Group, were both members of their former firm’s executive committee.

Segal, who was also the managing principal of the Wolf Institute, the training and educational arm of the Employment Services Group, is ranked in Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business as a top employment lawyer in Pennsylvania. He practices in the area of employment law with a focus on preventive counseling, training and policy development.

“We have a passion for prevention and we are excited to be with a firm that does too,” said Segal, whose group provides training and other preventive services to in-house counsel, HR professionals and managers on myriad employment issues. “Of course, employment issues don’t exist in isolation. By being part of a full-service law firm, we can reach out to other Duane Morris partners on corporate, intellectual property, tax and other issues that may be implicated.”

Redeker, who was named last year by Human Resource Executive magazine as one of the nation’s top 50 employment attorneys, represents companies in their personnel and labor relations. He has served as special counsel to some of the nation’s largest companies to assist in solving unusual and difficult personnel and culture-change issues.

“We feel strongly that our clients require sophisticated securities, corporate, tax and other areas, all strengths of Duane Morris,” said Redeker. “Not only did we connect with Duane Morris partners, but we also are closely integrated with the other WolfBlock partners who are joining Duane Morris. It will be a seamless transition for our clients.”

Nixon is the former vice chair of WolfBlock’s Employment Services Practice Group. A frequent lecturer, commentator and author on executive compensation and employee benefits issues, he practices in the area of employment law, counseling employers, executives, plan sponsors and ERISA providers in the design and operation of executive compensation, pension and retirement programs. The group also includes partner Valentine Brown, chair of WolfBlock’s Immigration Services group.

Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group
Two partners join the firm’s growing New York office in its Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. The addition of Gerard Catalanello and James Vincequerra, both of WolfBlock’s Bankruptcy and Creditors’ Rights Practice Group, gives Duane Morris critical mass in the New York bankruptcy area.

Catalanello represents debtors, creditors, creditors’ committees, financial institutions, liquidation trusts, equity holders, trustees and acquirers of assets of troubled companies in formal bankruptcy proceedings as well as in out-of-court workouts. Vincequerra focuses his practice on business reorganizations, creditors’ rights and general counseling. He represents debtors, creditors’ committees, individual creditors, trustees and acquirers of assets of troubled companies in formal bankruptcy proceedings.

In addition, two partners join the firm’s Corporate Practice Group and two others join in the Real Estate Practice Group.

The group includes the following attorneys.

Partners/Of Counsel:
Alan Kessler, Trial
Hersh Kozlov, Trial
Gilbert Brooks, Trial
Frank DiGiacomo, Trial
Charles Hart, Trial
Dana Klinges, Trial
Gregory Lomax, Trial
Patrick Matusky, Trial
Catherine Sakach, Trial
Charlotte Thomas, Trial

Jonathan Segal, Employment & Immigration
James Redeker, Employment & Immigration
Caroline Austin, Employment & Immigration
Jennifer Blum Feldman, Employment & Immigration
Valentine Brown, Employment & Immigration
Michael Cohen, Employment & Immigration
Philip Garber, Employment & Immigration
Linda Hollinshead, Employment & Immigration
John Nixon, Employment & Immigration

Gerard Catalanello, Bankruptcy
James Vincequerra, Bankruptcy

Darrick Mix, Corporate
Howell Reeves, Corporate

Harvey Johnson, Real Estate
Dante Romanini, Real Estate

Special Counsel/Associates:
Dawnn Briddell, Trial
Eric Frank, Trial
Zachary Glaser, Trial
Rafael Haciski, Trial
Vincent Nolan, Trial
Myles Seidenfrau, Trial
Brian Slipakoff, Trial
Christopher Soriano, Trial
Timothy Stauss, Trial
Francesco Suglia, Trial
Victoria Varrasse, Trial
Daniel Walworth, Trial

Jonathan Wetchler, Employment & Immigration
Andrea Kirshenbaum, Employment & Immigration
Kathryn Larkin, Employment & Immigration
Amanda Layton, Employment & Immigration
Lauren Mazur, Employment & Immigration
Marc Scheiner, Employment & Immigration
Vjera Silbert, Employment & Immigration
Ralph Smith, Employment & Immigration

Heather D. Carmody, Corporate
Chad Rubin, Corporate
Peter Visalli, Corporate

Hunter Kintzing, Real Estate

Jamie Dyce, Estates & Asset Planning

About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with more than 700 attorneys practicing in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today’s evolving global markets.

Earlier: Nationwide Dissolution Watch: WolfBlock

How Wolf Block imploded [The Philadelphia Inquirer]