The Churn: Holland & Knight Scatters Five Partner Hires, Plus More Lateral Moves

A pair of real estate lawyers have lateraled from Brown Rudnick to Arent Fox in New York. The two new partners are MARK FAWER and CAROLYN AUSTIN, who are joined by one associate. The three-lawyer team represents property lenders as well as investors, developers, real estate investment trusts and others parties in real estate transactions.

Burr & Forman is adding four health care attorneys to its Birmingham office. DAVID PROCTER and ANGELA CAMERON are joining the firm as partners and RICHARD BROCKMAN will be of counsel. The group, which also includes an associate, handles a range of matters, including the defense of medical malpractice claims, for such health care industry clients as nursing homes, pharmacies, hospices, rehabilitation providers and hospitals. The new new arrivals come aboard from Johnston Barton Proctor & Rose.

BAIRD FOGEL is now a partner with Crowell & Moring in Washington, D.C. Fogel, previously with Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, joins Crowell’s corporate and energy groups. A former general counsel of BP Solar, he advises clients in energy project development, project finance and construction, commercial law and other matters.

Dickinson Wright has added former Hamrick & Evans litigator ERIC DOBBERSTEIN as a member in its Las Vegas office. Dickinson Wright also recently announced that JEFFREY YORK and JOHN SOMMERDYKE have left Miller Canfield to join the firm’s Grand Rapids, Mich., office as a member and of counsel, respectively. York handles transactions for clients in such industries as construction, finance and manufacturing.

The Phoenix office of Hinshaw & Culbertson now counts RANDY AOYAMA as a partner. Previously with Phoenix firm Renaud Cook Drury Mesaros, Aoyama has a broad business and commercial transactions practice.

Holland & Knight’s two newest partners are LATOUR LAFFERTY and DONALD BLY, both in Tampa. Lafferty, previously a shareholder at Fowler White Boggs (which just finalized a merger with Buchanan Ingersoll), is a former federal prosecutor who represents organizations and individuals in matters related to white-collar regulatory enforcement and fraud, the False Claims Act, and corporate compliance and ethics. Bly, most recently a principal at Squire Sanders, focuses on commercial real estate and related federal and state tax matters.

Holland & Knight also recently announced the arrival of new partners in its Miami, New York and San Francisco offices. Corporate and financial services attorney WILLIAM MCCULLOUGH is joining the firm in Miami from Shutts & Bowen, where he advised clients on transactional and regulatory matters. New York–based XAVIER RUIZ, who moves over from K&L Gates, will work in Holland & Knight’s international cross-border transactions and Latin America practices. Finally, the firm has added West Coast land use and environmental practice attorney TARA KAUSHIK in San Francisco. Kaushik, who was previously at Manatt Phelps & Phillips, represents energy companies in proceedings before the California Public Utilities Commission.

The Denver office of Husch Blackwell is expanding with the arrival of energy and natural resources partners JAMES MUCHMORE and STEVEN LEVINE, both of whom previously worked at Messner & Reeves. Muchmore advises oil and gas, technology and health care clients on general corporate matters, while Levine specializes in corporate and securities matters.

McGuireWoods is bolstering its New York office with the addition of BARRY BIGGAR as a partner in the debt finance department. Previously with King & Spalding, Biggar specializes in airline finance, having represented creditors in the bankruptcies of both United Airlines and Northwest Airlines.

Three litigation partners have landed in the Jacksonville office of Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough. FRANK MORREALE and TROY SMITH arrive from Holland & Knight, while LEE WEDEKIND previously worked at Smith Hulsey & Busey. The three attorneys will advise a range of clients on business disputes in federal and state courts.

Paul Hastings has officially announced the arrival of partner JOHN COBB in New York from Weil, Gotshal & Manges. Cobb, a former Dewey & LeBoeuf partner, joins the leveraged finance practice at Paul Hastings, focusing on leveraged loan and capital markets transactions. The Am Law Daily first reported on Cobb’s move March 3.

The Legal Intelligencer reported this week that JOSEPH LINCOLN has left his position as senior counsel for GE Capital to become counsel in the Philadelphia office of Reed Smith. Lincoln, who will be part of the firm’s financial industry group, was a partner at Pepper Hamilton before joining GE Capital in 1995.

PETER OXMAN has jumped from King & Spalding to Seyfarth Shaw as a partner in Houston. Oxman is experienced in real estate transactions that include the development, leasing, financing, acquisition and disposition of retail, industrial and residential projects in the U.S. and Latin America.

Miami-based SANTIAGO ECHEMENDIA has left Tew Cardenas to become a partner at Shutts & Bowen, where he will focus on municipal law matters involving land use and zoning, property rights, public records and administrative law.

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom announced the hire of NILI MOGHADDAM as counsel in the firm’s litigation group in Los Angeles. Moghaddam joins Skadden after nearly six years with the U.S. attorney’s office, where she oversaw cases related to racketeering and financial crimes.

MICHELLE CHEN is the newest partner at Squire Sanders. Based in London, Chen was previously the director of China business at Berwin Leighton Paisner. Qualified to practice in England, Wales, and China, she advises on foreign direct investment, including obtaining the proper approvals on investments both into and out of China.

Litigator MICHAEL SHERMAN has left Bingham McCutchen to join Southern California firm Stubbs Alderton & Markiles as a partner. Sherman will be based in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and will lead the firm’s newly created business litigation practice.

A former Morgan, Lewis & Bockius partner, P. GEORGIA BULLITT, is now a partner at Willkie Farr & Gallagher in New York. Bullitt joins the firm’s asset management group, where she will focus on securities and derivatives trading issues, regulation of broker-dealers and trade-related documentation. Earlier in her career, she worked in-house at Morgan Stanley.

Sara Randazzo contributed reporting to this Churn.