Cooley Godward

Joe Russoniello to… $245K?

By

Joseph Russoniello Joe Russoniello Cooley Godward Kronish Abovethelaw Above the Law online legal tabloid.jpgVeteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, recently nominated to serve as U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California, previously served as senior counsel in the San Francisco office of Cooley Godward Kronish. If he’s confirmed, which is looking likely, one would expect him to take a big pay cut as he moves from private practice to government service. The current Attorney General, Michael Mukasey, earned $1,993,367 over 21 months while at Patterson Belknap; now, as AG, he takes home $186,600 a year.
But Joe Russoniello won’t be taking such a huge pay cut. A reader observes:

Buried at the end of a Recorder article (subscription) about a DOJ report about Joe Russoniello’s possible conflicts or interest due to his $1.5 million stock portfolio is Joe’s last year’s compensation from Cooley Godward. This is the part that I found interesting. Why? Because it’s so low.

What do you think Cooley Godward was paying the ex-U.S. Attorney to serve as counsel to the firm? Half a million? A million? No…. $244,802!

In light of that paycheck — which, while handsome by normal standards, is a pittance by Biglaw ones — we hope that Russoniello’s Cooley gig was super-cushy, with minimal billing required. His paycheck is pretty much equal to that of a third-year associate at Cravath, all in (base of $180,000, year-end bonus of $45,000, and special bonus of $20,000). But how many Cravath third-years can claim to have served as U.S. Attorney in a major city for eight years, as Joseph Russoniello did (1982-1990)?
Fighting Crime May Not Pay [The Recorder (subscription)]
Taking Stock of The DOJ’s Next Targets [Legal Pad]

19 Comments

Fall Recruiting Open Thread: Vault 56-60

By

Exchange Place 53 State Street Boston Goodwin Procter Above the Law blog.jpgLaw firm mergers have transformed the Biglaw landscape over the past decade. Several of the five firms in our latest open thread on Vault 100 firms have been involved in merger mania.
Here are the firms to talk about this morning:

56. Fish & Richardson P.C. (5.868)
57. Fulbright & Jaworski LLP (5.863)
58. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP (5.825)
59. Goodwin Procter LLP (5.807)
60. Cooley Godward LLP (5.794)

Pillsbury Winthrop is the product of Pillsbury Madison & Sutro (San Francisco), Winthrop Stimson Putnam & Roberts (New York), and Shaw Pittman (Washington). Goodwin Procter swallowed up Shea & Gardner, just as Cooley gobbled up Kronish Lieb.
Please exchange information and opinion about these five firms in the comments. Thanks.
The Vault Top 100 Law Firms [Vault]
Earlier: Vault 1-5; Vault 6-10; Vault 11-15; Vault 16-20; Vault 21-25; Vault 26-30; Vault 31-35; Vault 36-40; Vault 41-45; Vault 46-50; Vault 51-55

52 Comments

U.S. Attorney Joe Russoniello? Not So Fast

By

Joseph Russoniello Joe Russoniello Cooley Godward Kronish Abovethelaw Above the Law online legal tabloid.jpgYesterday we passed along the rumor that Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, would be returning to a post he held years ago: U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
We remain fairly confident in this tip. But for the record, there is nothing official to report just yet. Mr. Russoniello kindly got back to us, but only to advise that he has no comment at this time and can neither confirm nor deny that he has been offered the U.S. Attorney position.
Meanwhile, our friends over at Legal Pad picked up on our post. Check out their analysis, in which they refer to Russoniello as “the frontrunner” per “conventional wisdom,” by clicking here.
Russoniello Takes the U.S. Attorney Gig? [Legal Pad / Cal Law]
Earlier: Musical Chairs: A New U.S. Attorney for San Francisco?

2 Comments

Musical Chairs: A New U.S. Attorney for San Francisco?

By

Joseph Russoniello Joe Russoniello Cooley Godward Kronish Abovethelaw Above the Law online legal tabloid.jpgVeteran litigator Joseph Russoniello, of Cooley Godward Kronish in San Francisco, was recently rumored to be a contender for the post of U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
We’re now hearing that the job — which Russoniello previously held, from 1982 to 1990 — may be his once again. From a tipster:

I have on good authority that Joe Russoniello was offered and accepted the US attorney position for the N. District of CA. I don’t think its been announced yet.

If Russoniello does get the job, it would be very “Fred Fielding”-esque: bring back an elder statesman, from the Reagan Administration, with impeccable credentials. At least the Dems won’t be able to give him a hard time over a lack of prosecutorial experience.
We’ve contacted Joseph Russoniello, but we haven’t heard back from him yet. We’ll let you know if and when he gets back to us.
P.S. We’re sad that the fabulous Eumi Choi apparently didn’t get the nod.
Who’d Want This Job, Anyway? [National Law Journal via Law.com (subscription)]
Joseph P. Russoniello bio [Cooley Godward Kronish]
U.S. Attorney Kevin V. Ryan Announced Departure [U.S. Attorney's Office (Northern District of California)]

2 Comments

West Coast Pay Raise Watch: Cooley Is Confirmed

By

Cooley Godward Kronish LLP Above the Law blog.JPGWe have confirmed the rumor from the comments that Cooley Godward Kronish raised associate salaries yesterday.
Actually, here’s a better way of saying it: Cooley has matched the market. Because, let’s face it, the $160K scale is the new going rate in California.
(And it effectively is in Washington, DC, where Hogan & Hartson, Akin Gump, and all the D.C. offices of New York and West Coast firms pay on the $160K scale. We’ll have to wait and see, however, with respect to Chicago, Texas, and a few other major legal markets.)
We confirmed the fact of the raise with a source at the firm; but we don’t have a copy of the Cooley memo yet (assuming there was one). If you have one, please email it to us (or post it in the comments). Thanks.
Update: No memo; but more details. From a tipster: “The raise is effective June 1. All offices. No discussion of effect on bonuses.”

171 Comments

Musical Chairs: 12.01.06

By

musical chairs 2 Above the Law legal blog above the law legal tabloid above the law legal gossip site.GIFLateral Moves:
* Antitrust lawyer Paul Kaplan, to Bryan Cave (NY). from Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton.
* Bankruptcy lawyer Alan Gover, to White & Case, from Dewey Ballantine, where he was co-head of the bankruptcy practice.
(Dewey Ballantine is the process of becoming Dewy Orifice. Perhaps Gover’s departure is related to the merger.)
* Same move, different city: energy lawyers Earle O’Donnell and Donna Attanasio, to White & Case from Dewey Ballantine, but in Washington rather than New York.
* Government contracts lawyers Gregory Smith and Kevin Mullen, to Cooley Godward Kronish, from DLA Piper.
New Office:
* Howrey has opened a New York office, headed by Thomas Engel and James McCarney, formerly of the litigation boutique Engel McCarney & Kenney (which Howrey swallowed up).
On The Move: Paul M. Kaplan to Bryan Cave [Antitrust Review]
Paul M. Kaplan Joins Bryan Cave in New York [Bryan Cave]
NY Practice Leader Switches Firms [NYLawyer.com]
Bonus Season Doesn’t Stop Partner Pair From Switching Firms [NYLawyer.com]
With Boutique Raid, Firm Opens NY Office [NYLawyer.com]
The Churn [New York Times]

0 Comments

Musical Chairs: 11.30.06

By

musical chairs 2 Above the Law legal blog above the law legal tabloid above the law legal gossip site.GIFAt the White House:
Positions in the White House Counsel’s office are some of the most prestigious and interesting jobs in the entire legal profession. And now two new lawyers are coming on board as associate counsels to the president:
* Christopher Oprison, formerly of Skadden Arps (Washington, DC); and Cheryl Stanton, a former law clerk to then-Judge Alito, and most recently of Olgetree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart (Morristown, NJ).
The arrival of Oprison and Stanton will mean that the lawyers in the office will reshuffle their portfolios for judicial nominations. We hear that Stanton will be in charge of Fifth Circuit nominations — a subject of great interest to us.
* Also, a third lawyer — Alan Swendiman, previously general counsel of the GSA, everybody’s favorite government agency — is joining the White House staff. He’ll serve as special assistant to the President and director, Office of Administration.
At Google (which is arguably more powerful than the White House these days):
* John Kent Walker Jr., formerly deputy GC of eBay, joins the search engine giant as general counsel.
Unusual structure: Walker will report to David Drummond, Google’s senior vice president of corporate development, who will take on the title of “chief legal officer.” But hey, Google is an unusual company.
Biglaw moves, after the jump.

double red triangle arrows Continue reading “Musical Chairs: 11.30.06″

0 Comments

And What About Mr. Lieb? An Update

By

richard lieb.jpgIn our post last month about the merger of Cooley Godward and Kronish Lieb, we wondered aloud: And What About Mr. Lieb? His name was unceremoniously dumped from the moniker of the new entity, which will be known as “Cooley Godward Kronish.” Ouch.

Readers have subsequently informed us of what Richard Lieb is up to these days. He can be found alive and well, teaching a full load in the Bankruptcy LLM program at St. John’s University School of Law. He also still maintains an office at the firm, where he’s a retired partner (of counsel).

It seems that the academic life agrees with Lieb, at least according to one correspondent:

[H]e puts a lot of time and attention into his courses and, based on his reputation from many years of practice, has successfully enticed numerous”‘name” bankruptcy lawyers professors and judges to come and speak to his classes. As far as I know, St. John’s is the only LLM program in bankruptcy anywhere, and Mr. Lieb still has a remarkable command of legal principles and reported case law at his fingertips.

Glad to hear it. We hope to still have command of our bowels at age 76, to say nothing of “legal principles and reported case law.”

But still, the question remains: How does Mr. Lieb feel about having his name axed post-merger? According to time-honored law firming naming principles, one would expect the post-merger entity to be called either “Cooley Kronish” (a la “WilmerHale”) or “Cooley Godward Kronish Lieb” (a la “Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman”).

Our suggestion: Just call the firm “Suri Cruise LLP.” Publicity avalanche — and massive Google traffic — guaranteed!
(That would be almost as good a firm name as our reigning favorite: Saxena White.)

Earlier: And What About Mr. Lieb?
Richard Lieb [Kronish Lieb]
Richard Lieb bio [Martindale-Hubbell]

0 Comments

And What About Mr. Lieb?

By

cooley godward logo.gif

Merger mania continues inside the world of Biglaw. Here’s the latest pair of firms to tie the knot:

Cooley Godward LLP, a 445-lawyer law firm known for its representation of West Coast technology companies, plans to merge with Kronish Lieb Weiner & Hellman LLP, a 110-lawyer New York firm specializing in commercial litigation, bankruptcy and white-collar defense.

The merger, which is expected to be announced today, will become effective Oct. 1. The new firm will be called Cooley Godward Kronish LLP.

kronish lieb logo.gifKronish who? In the Big Apple, a 110-attorney shop doesn’t count for much. There are national firms with New York branch offices bigger than that.
Cooley Godward is a much bigger firm, both in terms of headcount and reputation, than Kronish Lieb. It’s a victory for Kronish that this is being called a “merger” rather than an “acquisition,” and that the Kronish name — although not Lieb — will make its way into the new entity’s moniker.
Seems like Cooley was so desperate for a New York presence that it was willing to make such concessions. And Cooley isn’t what it once was:

During the 1990s, Cooley Godward gained a reputation as one of a handful of go-to law firms for West Coast technology companies in need of venture financing or intellectual-property help. But after the tech bubble burst in late 2000, the firm, like others that had focused on technology, struggled. Its revenue fell, and, in August of 2001, the firm laid off 86 associates. About a year later, the firm laid off 27 more.

So back in her heyday, Cooley could have probably landed herself a much more desirable suitor. But then she gained all that weight, and she let her looks go…
If you have any good scuttlebutt on this merger, please drop us a line (via email).
Law Firms Cooley Godward, Kronish Lieb Plan to Merge [Wall Street Journal]
Cooley Godward, NY’s Kronish Lieb Merging to Create 550-Lawyer Firm [New York Law Journal]

0 Comments
Page 4 of 41234