Our coverage of the London legal market tends to be episodic. We tried offering more regular coverage for a while, with our Letter from London column, but we put the feature on hold to focus on domestic developments. (We might revive the London column if we can find a sponsor for it.)

We will, however, cover major news out of London — such as last week’s massive defections from White & Case to Latham & Watkins.

Earlier this morning, we reported that three (or four) real estate partners were on their way out of Paul Hastings. Now we’re hearing that the partners weren’t “forced out.” Instead, they were actively recruited by Haynes and Boone and gave notice to Paul Hastings management on Monday.

Haynes and Boone sources confirm that Bob Grados, Ken Friedman, and Walter Schleimer will start at Haynes and Boone’s New York office on Monday.

And a fourth Paul Hastings partner will be joining them. It might help to explain why Paul Hastings sources thought the first three partners were pushed out in the first place.

Details after the jump.

UPDATE: We have additional coverage on this story here.

Associate layoffs are sometimes conducted in a stealth manner. Partner layoffs are always conducted in secret. Forcing out partners has been a big part of the Great Recession. But when firms “quietly ask partners to leave,” the information actually stays pretty quiet.

But last night, the Above the Law inbox started buzzing with news that four real estate partners had been asked to leave Paul Hastings.

UPDATE: Sources now report that only three partners are being asked to leave.

How do we know this? Well, Paul Hastings may have quietly asked these people to leave, but their offices were packed up loudly.

We understand that all of the departures are in Paul Hastings’s New York real estate department. We’ve got the names, details, and a firm statement, after the jump.

Kirkland & Ellis is known for its powerful litigators and leading litigation department. Though Gibson Dunn was happy to knock Kirkland from its Amlaw “Litigation Department of the Year” throne this year.

Kirkland is suffering another big knock this week. Litigation co-chair David Bernick has developed a tobacco addiction. Here’s a quote from Bernick included in an official firm statement and in an internal memo sent around the firm yesterday (both available in full after the jump):

“I have spent my entire career at Kirkland & Ellis and I am proud to have contributed to the growth and success of one of the top law firms,” said David Bernick. “I will remain close to my many friends and colleagues at the Firm, but I look forward to pursuing new challenges during the next phase of my career with Philip Morris International.”

After 31 years at Kirkland, Bernick is leaving to become senior vice president and general counsel of Philip Morris International, and he’s going very far away. He’ll be relocating from New York to Switzerland.

Bernick is a powerhouse at Kirkland. He has a smoking résumé. His firm bio recounts victories for big pharma, nuclear weapons plants, breast implants, and tobacco….

Perhaps Herb Wachtell and Marty Lipton wanted some company as Legendary Old Dudes at 51 West 52nd Street. From the Associated Press:

Former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau has joined the New York-based law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Morgenthau retired at age 90 as district attorney, after 35 years in the job.

In a release Wednesday, Morgenthau said he’s long admired Wachtell Lipton. He said it has helped to advance the law and the legal profession.

As well as the residential real estate markets in Manhattan and Westchester County. Wachtell Lipton routinely tops the American Lawyer’s list of the nation’s most profitable large law firms. The firm had profits per partner of just over $4 million in 2008, according to the 2009 Am Law 100 survey.

The firm represents many financial institutions.

That’s an understatement. The firm’s financial institutions group, led by the unstoppable Ed Herlihy, is second to none in the field of banking M&A (with the possible exception of Sullivan & Cromwell’s FIG group, headed by Rodge Cohen).

So what can Bob Morgenthau expect while working at the CBS Building?

Time for a belated bonus announcement. A few weeks ago, associate bonuses were announced at Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft.

The bonuses were basically on the Cravath scale, provided you meet “the bonus criteria set forth in the bonus policy.” We’re advised that the bonus criteria focus for the most part on hours, with bonuses triggered at around 2000 hours (1900 billable).

In other CWT news, we hear that two real estate partners — Alan Lawrence and John Busillo — are leaving the firm for Arnold & Porter. Sources describe them as “heavy hitters” who “still have some business.”

The CWT bonus memo, after the jump.

Back in April, we wondered about the departure from Sullivan & Cromwell of John O’Brien, a highly regarded and well-liked corporate partner who focused on M&A work. This development captured our interest because it’s unusual for lawyers to leave the (highly lucrative) partnership of a top firm like S&C.

When partners leave a place like Sullivan & Cromwell, there’s often a story behind the departure. E.g., Carlos Spinelli-Noseda (partner left S&C after billing clients and firm for more than $500,000 in fraudulent travel and entertainment expenses).

In addition, word on the street was that O’Brien was escorted from the building by security personnel. Partners are being asked to leave their firms with increasing frequency during the recession — but they’re not usually walked out by muscle.

So we decided to do a little digging.

We received this info last night, from several readers in attendance. One of them wrote:

For the patent nerds out there, including me, Chief Judge Paul R. Michel of the Federal Circuit is retiring effective May 31, 2010. Just personally announced it at the FCBA annual dinner. Sent his resignation letter to Obama this morning.

Why is Chief Judge Michel stepping down? Is it due to inadequate judicial pay?

Apparently not, according to our source:

[H]e said he’s motivated to retire instead of moving to senior judge status because he hates the muzzle that comes with being an Article III judge. He wants to lobby. He feels pretty strongly that certain parts of the pending patent reform act are outrageous.

Read more at Patently-O and the BLT (links below).

Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel Announces that he is Leaving the Bench [Patently-O]
Federal Circuit Chief Judge Paul Michel Announces Retirement [The BLT: Blog of the Legal Times]

The rumors circulated back in August, but now it looks like it’s finally happening. From Marc Ambinder, shortly before 11 on Thursday night:

Sources in government say that White House Counsel Gregory Craig has decided to resign, and that the president’s personal lawyer, Robert Bauer, will take his place. A formal announcement is slated next week, though word might drop tomorrow.

Looks like that announcement is getting sped up. More after the jump.

UPDATE: Greg Craig’s resignation letter, also after the jump.

We’ve covered in these pages the many challenges faced by standalone intellectual property firms. One of them is competition from Biglaw shops seeking to scoop up top talent in the IP field.

Yesterday morning, Robert C. Sullivan Jr., president and managing principal of Darby & Darby, sent around an internal email announcing the departure of two prominent partners, Joseph Robinson (pictured) and Robert Shaffer. Robinson and Shaffer, who specialize in patent litigation, counseling and procurement, are joining the New York office of McDermott Will & Emery.

It’s not happy news for Darby, which a tipster describes as “one of the last IP boutiques of any meaningful size, [but] gasping for breath as it is.” Robinson, a biotech expert and noted patent litigator, is said to have been one of the firm’s top-grossing partners, “probably to the tune of about $4 million.” Darby is holding a town hall meeting to discuss the defections.

A source issues this warning to Robinson’s new colleagues at MWE:

[Robinson] is a control freak who wields the power he gets from high earnings with an iron fist…. He is a significant reason for the many partner and practice group defections at Darby in the past few years, and now he’s gone too. McDermott will love the revenue, hate the attitude.

In Robinson’s defense, does he sound all that different from many top partners or successful litigators?

Robert Sullivan’s email announcing the departures, after the jump.

Reed E. Hundt, who served as chairman of the Federal Communications Commission from 1993 to 1997, will be joining Skadden Arps. He most recently served as a senior advisor on information industries to McKinsey & Company, the elite consulting firm. (For a more detailed description of Reed Hundt’s illustrious career — Yale College ‘69, Yale Law School ‘74, partnership at Latham & Watkins, etc. — see the biography on his personal website.)

Hundt made the announcement this morning at the YLS alumni reunion, where he was serving on a panel on the regulatory process. Professor Thomas Merrill, moderator of the panel, introduced Hundt as a senior adviser to McKinsey. Hundt interjected to note that he’s moving to Skadden — and joked that this was a good opportunity to plug his new practice. He didn’t specify which office he’ll be based out of, but we’re assuming D.C.

It doesn’t seem that the move was public before this morning (at least based on Google News, a search of the Skadden website, and a search of Law.com). But it is now.

Congratulations and good luck, Chairman Hundt!

Alumni Weekend - Schedule of Events [Yale Law School]

Last week we participated in a panel discussion at Georgetown Law that was skillfully moderated by Eileen O’Connor, the Emmy-nominated journalist turned high-powered lawyer. After the talk, we tried to play the “name game” with O’Connor regarding colleagues of hers over at Orrick. But O’Connor seemed strangely uneasy about Orrick, and she quickly changed the subject.

Could this have been why? From Am Law Daily:

Lanny Davis, a longtime Washington, D.C., lawyer who supported Hillary Clinton’s presidential bid and was a fraternity brother of George W. Bush, is taking his unique practice from Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe to McDermott, Will & Emery.

Davis, who previously moved to Orrick in 2003 from Patton Boggs, will bring counsel Eileen O’Connor, a former ABC News and CNN reporter, with him.

Beltway dwellers know that Lanny Davis is a big deal. He served as White House Special Counsel during the Clinton Administration, but he has friends on both sides of the aisle. As Bobby Burchfield, cohead of McDermott’s Washington office, told Zach Lowe of Am Law Daily, “Lanny is the only person I know who considers both Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush good friends.”

In addition to practicing law, Davis writes for the Washington Times and for The Hill. In one recent column, he scolded bloggers for inadequate fact-checking. If anything in this post is inaccurate, Mr. Davis, please email us and we’ll fix it ASAP.

Press release after the jump. Good luck to Davis and O’Connor in their new professional home.

Yesterday the news broke that Steven Molo, of Shearman & Sterling, and Jeffrey Lamken, of Baker Botts, were leaving their respective firms to start a new litigation boutique. It will be called MoloLamken and start out with offices in New York and D.C. Am Law Daily reports that the firm represents the new recession model for business generation:

If there is a firm model built for the dawning post-recession era, it’s probably a litigation boutique with low overhead and a flexible billing structure….

The firm will start with four partners and two associates, and will work on both plaintiffs and defense cases. Within five years, Molo says he hopes to have around 50 lawyers. “Over time, clients have become far more sophisticated in hiring firms,” he said. “They understand how a firm like this can be small but every bit as efficient or even more so than a larger firm.”

But are they hiring? Details after the jump.

Last month, DLA Piper lost a prominent former lawmaker from its ranks when Dick Armey had to step down due to controversy over his remarks about healthcare reform. This week, DLA has a new Republican to tout: former U.S. Senator Mel Martinez.

Martinez, who hails from the Sunshine State, announced last month that he was ending his senatorial term early. From the BLT:

A Florida Republican and the first Cuban-American elected to the Senate, Martinez announced in August that he would resign with more than a year remaining on his first term, saying that “it’s time I return to Florida and my family.”

The BLT says Martinez will be a partner in DLA’s offices in both Washington and Tampa, though in DLA’s press release Martinez emphasizes the time he’ll be spending in Florida: “Working in DLA Piper’s offices in Florida, I look forward to helping the firm grow its practice in Latin America and collaborating with a team of distinguished lawyers and professionals with the highest level of legislative knowledge and diplomatic skill.”

Specifically, Martinez might want to help DLA Piper grow its practice in Cuba. When Martinez resigned from Congress, he told the Washington Post:

“Even though I will no longer hold public office, my passion to work to see the day when people in Cuba will live in freedom will continue,” he said.

Over at Politico, Kenneth Vogel discusses the quick jump from the Hill to the Piper.

Sources at Skadden report that Robert S. Bennett, the legendary litigator, will be leaving Skadden for Hogan & Hartson. Skadden partners were informed yesterday; Skadden associates are being told right now.

Bob Bennett is one of the most famous trial lawyers in the world. His client list reads like a CNN promo: Enron, Bill Clinton, Judith Miller, Caspar Weinberger! That’s right, I kicked that list with the Cold War winning, Contra-loving SecDef.

Carl Rauh will also join Bennett at Hogan. Rauh has worked with Bennett on many of his high-profile cases, so that’s of little surprise.

But tipsters report that the two will not be taking any other Skadden - D.C. personnel with them.

Bennett started his private practice at Hogan & Hartson. So the move is a bit of a homecoming.

The associates’ meeting is about to kick off. We hope to have official confirmation from the firm and more news after the associates are informed.

The top brass at Hogan are surely excited about the Bennett acquisition — but might he be to blame for their missing out on the opportunity to meet Sex and the City stars?

First the good news. Cooley Godward has hired three IP litigators away from White & Case. Cooley’s press release explains that the three new partners will bolster Cooley’s Palo Alto office:

Cooley Godward Kronish LLP announced today that Heidi Keefe, Mark Weinstein and Mark Lambert, previously partners with White & Case LLP, have joined the firm’s national IP litigation practice. The three partners will be resident in the Palo Alto office. “We are delighted to welcome such an accomplished and respected team of litigators to Cooley’s IP litigation practice,” said Frank Pietrantonio, head of Cooley’s IP litigation practice. “Their experience in the technology and life science sectors complements Cooley’s established platform in these areas and will enhance our ability to meet the growing demands of our clients.”

The situation at White & Case has been well-documented. So the partner defections are not totally shocking.

For Cooley, it doesn’t look like the good partnership news translated into positive associate outcomes. Details after the jump.

Name partner Jerold Oshinsky is leaving Gilbert Oshinsky for Jenner & Block’s Los Angeles office. Gilbert Oshinsky will now be known as “Gilbert LLP.” According to the firm’s press release, long distance relationships aren’t easy for law firm partners either:

Founding partner and chairman Scott Gilbert announced today that Jerold Oshinsky is leaving the partnership to join the Los Angeles office of Jenner & Block, where he will concentrate on policyholder work and expand Jenner’s West Coast practice. The DC-based law firm’s name will be Gilbert LLP, and the firm will continue to serve its West Coast and other clients from its Washington DC headquarters. “Although our firm has active litigation and other business in most regions of the United States, including California, virtually all of our lawyers are headquartered in Washington, DC. Jerry and we found that, notwithstanding our mutual best efforts, this long-distance relationship was not practical for either of us.”

When Above the Law talked with a spokesperson for Gilbert, the firm again emphasized Oshinsky’s desire to build up his west coast practice. The spokesperson said that there was a logistical issue. Oshinsky’s family lives in L.A. and he didn’t want to continue going back and forth from the west coast to Gilbert’s headquarters in D.C.

Oshinsky will be the only Gilbert lawyer making the move to Jenner & Block.

Oshinsky joined Gilbert just this past October. The move to Jenner ends the delightful firm name abbreviation Scott Gilbert highlighted when Oshinsky came to the firm in October:

[A]s soon as Jerry is able to join the partnership, the firm will be changing its name to Gilbert Oshinsky LLP. This name best reflects our new, or in some cases reestablished, relationship with Jerry, as well as the merger of our two substantial practices. And yes, on several levels, we henceforth will be known as the GO to firm.

It was fun while it lasted.

Read the full Gilbert press release after the jump.

Back in March, we reported that two big time Skadden D.C. partners were splitting off from the mothership and forming their own firm. Yesterday, we received word that their new firm, BuckleySandler, made a significant new hire:

After 20 years with General Electric, Stephen Ambrose, Jr., former General Counsel of GE Capital’s consumer finance unit, is joining BuckleySandler, as Partner-in-Charge of the firm’s New York office, effective July 1, 2009. This move coincides with the opening of the firm’s New York office.

G.E., we bring good things to life.

A new New York office run by a finance guy? Are they hiring?

Actually, if I was an unemployed corporate attorney in NYC I wouldn’t wait for an answer to that question. Sending a cold, unsolicited resume to a person you haven’t met can’t really hurt. Not in this market.

A spokesperson for Buckley Sandler had this to say about the importance of the hire:

Steve’s reverse commute will provide the firm with not only an accomplished, well-respected addition but an industry insider with a complete understanding of the financial services landscape and huge sector experience. As Steve notes, “Joining BuckleySandler provides me with a superb opportunity to employ as outside counsel the client-focused service and cost management skills I’ve developed during my career, as well as the chance to practice with my longstanding and highly respected legal colleagues at the firm.”

Oh come on, he’s practically begging to be inundated with resumes from young lawyers who also want a complete understanding of the financial services landscape — and a paycheck.

Check out the full BuckleySandler press release after the jump.

Wait, there are people out there who want banking lawyers? Really? This is excellent news!

Morgan Lewis & Bockius announced today that it has acquired eleven people: five partners and six associates, from Bingham McCutchen’s Boston office. But the real shocker is that all of the lawyers are from Bingham’s Banking and Leveraged Finance Group:

Morgan Lewis today announced the addition of five partners and six associates from Bingham McCutchen’s Banking and Leveraged Finance Group—including a former co-chair of the practice—to its Business and Finance Practice, resident in the firm’s Boston office. Partners Robert A.J. Barry, Jonathan K. Bernstein, Sula R. Fiszman, Matthew F. Furlong, and Sandra J. Vrejan, will focus their practice on corporate finance, as well as restructuring. Their experience across a broad range of industries—including retail, manufacturing, food and beverage, energy, media, communications and sports—add to the depth of knowledge Morgan Lewis offers clients as they face today’s rapidly changing economic conditions. In addition, their arrival significantly increases the firm’s presence in Boston.

Isn’t it great to live in a world where law firms need corporate finance lawyers?

“Particularly in light of the difficult credit markets faced by both our lender and borrower clients, there is an ever-increasing need for us to be able to provide additional top-flight financing expertise across a multitude of industries” said Firm Chair Francis M. Milone. “This expansion reflects our continued commitment to providing clients with the kind of counsel they need to execute credit transactions in any business environment.”

It seems right to focus on “any” business environment, considering that the politicians seem to be making it up as they go along.

A statement from Bingham and the the Morgan Lewis press release after the jump.

Lost in yesterday’s Quinn kerfuffle was the fact that Skadden has officially deferred its class of 2010 associates to 2011. That move will help stem the influx of fresh talent into Skadden,

But what about the all of the talent leaving Skadden? Friday, we learned that David Fox and Daniel Wolf were leaving Skadden for Kirkland & Ellis. Today, the word is that restructuring partner D.J. (Jan) Baker is leaving Skadden for Latham & Watkins. AmLaw reports:

The lateral move comes on the heels of two lateral departures from Skadden’s M&A practice reported on Friday — partners David Fox and Daniel Wolf have joined Kirkland & Ellis.

But Skadden executive partner Eric Friedman sees no connection between Baker’s lateral move and that of Fox and Wolf. When asked whether the three departures allude to any larger issues at Skadden, Friedman simply responds, “none whatsoever.”

Anybody in the mood for some positive spin? Let’s take a look at some after the jump.