The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200

Kirkland & Ellis has continued its push to be a major player in the mergers and acquisitions space, this time by hiring two new partners from major competitors on the West Coast: MICHAEL RINGLER in San Francisco and RICK MADDEN in Los Angeles.

Ringler, who focuses on mergers and acquisitions, particularly in the technology industry, joins from Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati. Madden, previously a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, specializes in mergers and acquisitions for public and private companies and private equity firms, as well as out-of-court restructurings and securities offerings.

While at Wilson Sonsini, Ringler worked on teams representing Meraki Inc. in its $1.2 billion sale to Cisco Systems Inc.; salesforce.com in its $750 million acquisition of Buddy Media Inc.; and Taleo Corporation in its $2.1 billion sale to Oracle Corporation, according to a press release announcing the hires. Madden’s resume includes work for Centro Properties Group in its $9.4 billion sale of its U.S. shopping centers to The Blackstone Group; Leonard Green & Partners and Texas Pacific Group in connection with their acquisition of PETCO Animal Supplies Inc.; and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. in a $4 billion prepackaged bankruptcy.

The move reunites Madden with former partners David Fox and David Wolf, who made a splashy move from Skadden to Kirkland on the East Coast back in 2009. Since then, the pair have helped increase the profile of Kirkland’s M&A group, which recently earned spots near the top of year-end league tables ranking legal advisers that handled the highest deal volume in 2012 (Skadden, meanwhile, came ahead in three lists ranking deals by total value). In December, Kirkland also hired former Cravath, Swaine & Moore M&A partner Sarkis Jebejian to be a partner in its New York office.

In other Churn news …

Fulbright & Jaworski has lost another partner ahead of its merger with Norton Rose, as RICHARD FARMER moves to Bracewell & Giuliani’s energy practice to advise clients on energy and infrastructure finance, partnerships, development, and acquisitions. Farmer will be based in the firm’s New York office.

Chadbourne & Parke has welcomed SEAN DAILEY, a former associate with Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. At Chadbourne, Dailey will work on domestic and offshore hedge, hybrid, and private equity funds matters. He joins as counsel based in the New York office.

WENDY HULTON has joined Dickinson Wright as a partner in the firm’s corporate group, based in Toronto. Hulton’s practice focuses on product regulation, advising a wide range of clients including manufacturers, importers, and retailers. Previously, Hulton was a partner at Canadian firm Miller Thomson.

DLA Piper has added former Baker & McKenzie partner UTE KRUDEWAGEN to its labor and employment practice. Krudewagen’s practice includes employment agreements, social media, discrimination, and harassment claims. A partner, she will be based in the firm’s Silicon Valley office.

ALLEN KADISH has left Greenberg Traurig’s business reorganization and financial restructuring group, which he joined in 2003, to work with DiConza Traurig. The five-attorney firm is based in New York and specializes in corporate restructuring and bankruptcy litigation.

Labor and employment firm Fisher & Phillips bolstered its Philadelphia office with RICK GRIMALDI and LORI ARMSTRONG HALBER, two new partners snatched from rival labor and employment firm Jackson Lewis. Grimaldi was the founding managing partner of Jackson Lewis’s Philadelphia office, and Armstrong Halber was a partner. Sibling publication The Legal Intelligencer has more on the moves.

JONATHAN ISRAEL has left his position as a partner with Greenberg Traurig for Foley & Lardner, where he joins the sports industry team and labor and employment practice as a partner. Israel is based in the firm’s New York branch.

Holland & Knight has expanded its New York office with the recent addition of three lawyers. Partner ROBERT BERNSTEIN, previously a partner with McCarter & English, and of counsel ERIC YECIES, formerly an associate at Goodwin Procter, both join Holland & Knight’s litigation group. WALTER DUNN also joins as a partner, and will advise clients in the energy industry as a member of the business practice group. Most recently, Dunn was a partner with McGuireWoods.

K&L Gates has hired capital markets and M&A partner CHARLES STRAUSS to head its newly formed Houston office. Strauss was previously the head of the securities practice at Fulbright & Jaworski, a firm he joined more than 20 years ago. K&L Gates also recently announced the hire of two partners who joined the firm in Boston in January: MARK JOHNSON, a capital markets lawyer most recently a partner at Cooley; and PAULO MARNOTO, a private equity and fund formation lawyer previously counsel at Ropes & Gray. Two associates from Cooley followed Johnson to K&L Gates this week.

King & Spalding has hired JESSE AUSTIN III as a partner in its financial institutions practice in Atlanta. Austin, who specializes in bankruptcy and restructuring matters, is the third partner from Paul Hastings to join the practice this month, as sibling publication Daily Report has covered. CHRIS MOLEN and CRAIG LEE also joined the Atlanta financial institution team in the beginning of February, along with two associates.

New partner BERNADETTE RAPPOLD has joined the energy and environmental practice of McGuireWoods, where she will represent clients in compliance, enforcement, and other strategic matters. Rappold was most recently the director of the special litigation and projects division in the office of civil enforcement at the Environmental Protection Agency. She will be based in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office.

Intellectual property lawyer JAMES SOONG has lateraled to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton from Greenberg Traurig, where he was a partner. Joining Sheppard Mullin’s Palo Alto office, Soong will focus his practice on the technology sector.

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan has seen former counsel TODD LARD return to the firm’s Washington, D.C., office. For the past five years, he worked with the Council on State Taxation, a nonprofit trade association, most recently as its vice president and general counsel. Lard rejoins Sutherland as a partner along with three associates to work in the state and local tax practice.

Two Greenberg Traurig partners and an associate have left the firm for Troutman Sanders, where they join the firm’s lending and structured finance practice. JEFFREY ROSENTHAL and THOMAS DUIGNAN both join as partners, specializing in asset-based lending capabilities from the firm’s New York office.

Venable has hired WILLIAM BRIGGS II in its Los Angeles branch to counsel and defend clients in the film, television, and music industries. Briggs, who joins the firm as a partner, was previously a partner at entertainment litigation boutique Lavely & Singer. Joining Venable’s environmental practice in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office are partner KATHRYN FLOYD and of counsel JAY JOHNSON. The two attorneys join from Dorsey & Whitney, where they held similar positions. Finally, ELIZABETH KEENAN has returned to Venable, where she was an associate between 1996 and 2005, after serving as general counsel for a tissue-based cancer diagnosis company, Biomarker Strategies. Keenan will be working with the health care industry companies as of counsel and residing in Baltimore.

Winston & Strawn has welcomed new partners CHRISTOPHER FERAZZI and RICHARD WYNNE to corporate and transactional practice, based in Houston. Ferazzi and Wynne join from Porter Hedges, where they were also partners.