Friday, March 11, 2011

More Departures

New developments in AmLaw Daily:

  • Kostas Katsiris (NY) to Venable
  • 13 (!!) IP lawyers to Arnold & Porter, including Matt Wolf (DC), Ed Han (DC) and Jennifer Sklenar (LA) as partners, and John Nilsson (DC), Marc Cohn (DC), and Wallace Wu (LA) as counsel.  Several unnamed associates will follow.
  • Apparently, there are upcoming moves to Dewey and Arent Fox.
Stay tuned.

29 comments:

  1. With both Matt Wolf and Ed Han gone, Ruyak is going to have to start buying toilet paper for the first time in years.

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  2. 5:59--so true. Actually, I think Matt Wolf is probably going to lapse into a deep, deep depression when he gets to A&P and is a nobody instead of the "in line to be managing partner" jackoff that he was at Howrey.

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  3. Um Matt Wolf was NEVER in line to be Managing Partner anywhere but in his own mind. We all laughed behind his back and sometimes in front of his face when he said this.

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  4. @5:59, 7:32 & 10:08 - Wow. Envy: it's ugly. Did you take a team of 13 partners and associates, plus secretaries, staff attorneys, paralegals, and IT crew anywhere? I doubt it. Your petty, jealous, small-minded, bitter, rancor-filled comments speak for themselves. I pity those who have to look at your faces & listen to your bile everyday.

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  5. @5:59, 7:32, 10:08 - Let me add: it's so cowardly to hide behind the veil of anonymity and spew your hatred. I understand why you do it, though. It's because you know there is not a single professional who would choose to work with someone like you if they heard you speak these words. You would have to look people in the eyes and know that they know what a base and petty person you are. So, go ahead: hide in your cramped, soulless, anonymous cesspool -- from the looks of this blog, it's getting pretty damn crowded in there.

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  6. Who the hell is jennifer knight and why is she off her meds? Anyway, if you dont like it, dont read it. There are literally dozens of people who have gotten shit on by matt wolf over the years, who havent been lucky enough or kiss ass enough to avoid the abuse. He is finally getting his comeuppance, and he is really going to get it when he gets to a&p.

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  7. I'm pretty sure that Jennifer Knight is the spouse of one of the attorneys who is being taken by Matt Wolf to Arnold & Porter. Not exactly a pillar of objectivity.

    So let me be the first to say, Ms. Knight (Mrs. Nilsson), how DARE you come on here and call people ugly names? YOU are not losing your job and neither is your spouse. Hundreds of people are left adrift now DIRECTLY because of the actions of Matt Wolf and his cronies, and you have the AUDACITY to get on here and blast us? Some of us have to remain anonymous so we can find a new job, because not all of us are being taken to another firm.

    YOU should be ashamed of yourself. Absolutely appalling behavior. Go back to lunching with your friends and shopping, some of us aren't going to have health insurance for our kids or a roof over our heads in a few short weeks.

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  8. To blogger Howrey: Please start a string with helpful information to staffers, such as what's happening with insurance benefits, COBRA, and earned leave credits. Thanks.

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  9. It is incredibly unfortunate and sad that many good people will be left behind at Howrey with nowhere to go. But 3:00 is right. Whatever your personal opinion or experience with these partners, they are taking a very large group with them -- and not just attorneys. Let's talk about the partners who got out of Howrey early. Those who left last year, and many who left in January and February, took very few people with them, if anyone at all. Part of the reason some of the commenters will be left behind is for that very reason.

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  10. @Jennifer Knight -- I think you might have posted on here before, albeit anonymously.

    I think it's great that a bunch of attorneys and staff have found a solid place to land post-Howrey. But you have to understand that while your husband might have made a soft landing, there are many people who have been psychologically abused by and had run ins with some of the dreadfully unpleasant personalities making the move to Arnold & Porter. I personally understand where these commenters are coming from, and trust me, this is not a matter of mere sour grapes or begrudging the success of others.

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  11. Who is Kostas Katsiris?

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  12. My wife (yes, Jennifer is my wife) alerted me to her involvement in these posts this morning. Although her language was a little strong and sweeping, I think it was really directed just at the previous posts (not all the posts on this site). Those posts seem to me to be needlessly mean-spirited and petty, and I'm glad she took them to task. The fact is that this team really did stay to the end and then tried to find job opportunities for as many people as possible, on both coasts. We're still trying to search for opportunities for people, and we're going to keep doing that. I personally couldn't feel worse about the people who are concerned about their positions, their benefits and their families. It has been the most tragic aspect of this entire situation. I'd welcome communications from any former Howrey employee (preferably, not anonymous ones though).

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  13. Wait, mean spirited and petty? Lawyers? Oh come now.

    Hold on, I have a cop eating a donut joke all lined up, keep reading.

    Anyway, to John Nilsson and any other Howrey person reading: Please go to the benefits post above this one and weigh in. Thanks.

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  14. Jennifer, did you know that Matt Wolf was the leader in screwing fellow partners concerning compensation or dismissing level 1 partners as petty revenge to inflict harm on other partners? That foolish "management" caused many partners with business to conclude that Howrey was doomed and they left. Did Matt Wolf's master plan to be king work or not work? If you think it is a good idea for your husband to link his future to such a bitter little man, you will be very sorry in the future.

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  15. Who is Keyser Soze?

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  16. John: I wish you the best of luck at Arnold & Porter. What posts specifically do you think are unfair or off target?

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  17. I don't think it's at all mean-spirited and petty to speak the truth, and if I recall even the Federalist Papers were written anonymously. There can be no serious dispute that Matt Wolf and Ed Han have spent their entire careers kissing up to Ruyak. In recent years, they moved into the inner circle of yes-men and synchophants who did nothing but praise the words and actions of the Great Leader. Many fondly remember the panel discussions at the 2010 partners' retreat at which Wolf, et al. did everything they could to defend the Great Leader against the impertinent questions coming from the peanut gallery.

    Wolf (and by extension Han) owe everything to Ruyak, who handed Wolf Boston Scientific as a client. John Nilsson, who is obviously a Level 1 partner with no business, is effectively accepting a demotion at A & P by joining as a counsel. Unlike the many about-to-be unemployed at Howrey, however, John will at least be kept busy by Matt Wolf, and wife Jennifer will be able to keep up appearances. So you see, it all comes back to the Great Leader. The scolding of the Nilssons is simply part of the Great Leader's propaganda machine that will continue to fuction while the less fortunate line up for unemployment benefits.

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  18. who is going to Arent Fox?

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  19. Totally unfair 4:56. I do not work with John but he is widely known as one of the nicest partners at Howrey, and is an incredibly smart guy as well. I too think it is bizarre to focus so much hatred on Wolf, when he did in fact stay until the end, and is taking a large team, including staff, with him. It is sad that this blog seems to have become a vehicle for people to say vicious things about individuals. It is one thing to criticize people's business decisions, it is quite another to attack their characters. I hope that the people who are being attacked understand that these comments absolutely do not reflect the opinions of most people at Howrey.

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  20. @4:56-Nilsson's reputation is as a stand-up guy and as a quality attorney. I can imagine your frustration (I got out of Howrey a few years back), but it's unfair to Nilsson, who has done nothing wrong.

    @Ms. Knight-Your husband is not only talented, but very lucky. The person for whom your husband works, however, is viewed as having caused a lot of harm to a lot of people. I, like you, lack any first-hand knowledge to know whether such a view is fair. But your post displays a very real "let them eat cake" mentality; as your husband moves on to A&P, others will be moving on to unemployment. Have some empathy.

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  21. @3:23: Mr. Nilsson does not appear to be all that lucky from what I'm reading.

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  22. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/blogger_beware_you_can_be_sued_over_anonymous_posts

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  23. Ahh! A veiled threat from 1:26! How devious ...

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  24. To be fair - the majority of the people at Howrey, including Ruyak, Moll, etc - could have left AGES ago, but stayed to try their best to fix what was happening.

    The ONLY mistake that I will say the executive team made, was trying to fill the positions of people like Mark Wegener and Cecilia Gonzalez with laterals who didn't care about the firm and then left. Bad years came to Howrey after they did to other firms, but other firms had major partners who were willing to weather the storm. Ruyak and his people made this firm incredibly mroe profitable than it possibly could have been, but unfortunately scumbags like Bunsow and Bendinger didn't care about the firm, only money, and so left when money was drying up a little. This didn't have to happen, it was all the shitty laterals.

    Ruyak is awesome, btw. Nicest guy. Love to see how jealous everyone is of Matt Wolf, just because Ruyak helped his career. boohoo.

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  25. Wow, you've got to be kidding 11:19. IMO Ruyak stayed because he was extracting $3 million per year from the firm, plus untold extra benefits. As to profitability, take a look at old news reports of the firm's PPP. Profits were down and the firm was missing budget for the past four years, 2007-10. The only upward blip was 2008, and that was generated by a late-year contingency win. Gross revenue growth was via acquisition, but revenue-per-lawyer was declining.

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  26. Hold on just a goddamn minute. What do you mean Ruyak helped Matt Wolf's career? I'm sure a Yale-graduated WORLD DEBATE CHAMPION needs no man's help.

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  27. @11:19 - a little late posting this but "amen".

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  28. Nope, 6:42 doesn't = 11:19. I just agree with what's being said. You don't have to be the same person to agree with what someone else says.

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