Vinson elects new managing partner and first-ever chairman
US energy leader Vinson & Elkins has elected a new managing partner and the first chairman in its history, writes the AmLaw Daily. Scott Wulfe, a corporate partner in Vinson's Houston office, will begin a two-year term as managing partner in January, while Mark Kelly, a capital markets partner also based in Houston, will start his own two-year term as the top 50 US law firm's first chairman at the same time.
September 08, 2011 at 08:45 AM
3 minute read
US energy leader Vinson & Elkins has elected a new managing partner and the first chairman in its history, reports the Am Law Daily.
Scott Wulfe, a corporate partner in Vinson's Houston office, will begin a two-year term as managing partner in January, while Mark Kelly, a capital markets partner also based in Houston, will start his own two-year term as the top 50 US law firm's first chairman at the same time.
Wulfe and Kelly inherit the leadership reins from longstanding Vinson managing partner Joseph Dilg. The 60-year-old Dilg, who joined the Houston-based firm in 1976 and became partner in 1983, has served as managing partner for the past 10 years.
Once the lead outside counsel for Enron, Dilg has been credited with keeping Vinson on track after the company – at the time one of the firm's largest clients – dissolved in scandal.
Kelly, who has been with Vinson for 30 years, and Wulfe, who joined 29 years ago, said the decision to move to a dual-leadership structure was driven by the two men's desire to maintain their busy practices.
"We both want to lead the firm, and keep working with our clients, keep an active practice," said Kelly. "So, for us, this made sense."
During Dilg's tenure, Vinson made a sustained international push, establishing an Asia presence by opening offices in Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tokyo, as well as a Middle East foothold with branches in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and, most recently, in Riyadh. The firm also launched an office in Palo Alto, California, last year. Kelly and Wulfe intend to continue Dilg's efforts on that front.
Vinson currently has a seven-partner practice in London headed up by Alexander Msimang and earlier this year recruited energy and projects partner Kimberley Wood from Dewey & LeBoeuf.
"We think Joe has done a terrific job," said Kelly. "And we want to build on that, to keep expanding." Kelly says the firm is eyeing office openings in Brazil, Canada, and Denver in the near future.
Over the past year, Vinson has seen several high-profile lawyers leave the firm, including four partners who jumped to Gibson Dunn & Crutcher's Dallas office in January. Other partners departed to join the new Houston branches of Latham & Watkins and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.
Those defections notwithstanding, Vinson had a successful year financially in 2010, with gross revenue increasing 7.2% to $602.5m (£372m) and profits per partner rising nearly 6% to almost $1.4m (£869,000), according to Am Law 100 financial data.
The Am Law Daily is a US affiliate title of Legal Week.
For more, see Vinson hires Dewey partner for London energy group.
- Related: Global 100 – Oil in the blood
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllCox & Palmer to Merge with Benson Buffett in St. John’s, Canada’s Easternmost City
2 minute readAsia's Top Stories 2024: Departures, Layoffs and Breakups at the Likes of Kirkland, Skadden and Mayer Brown
A&O Shearman’s South African Lawyers in Last-minute Talks To Find Jobs Before Closure
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1Call for Nominations: Elite Trial Lawyers 2025
- 2Senate Judiciary Dems Release Report on Supreme Court Ethics
- 3Senate Confirms Last 2 of Biden's California Judicial Nominees
- 4Morrison & Foerster Doles Out Year-End and Special Bonuses, Raises Base Compensation for Associates
- 5Tom Girardi to Surrender to Federal Authorities on Jan. 7
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250