Duane Morris Expands Employment and Bankruptcy Practices by Adding 18 More Lawyers from WolfBlock LLP
April 8, 2009
44 Lawyers from WolfBlock Join Duane Morris
PHILADELPHIA, April 8, 2009 - Duane Morris LLP announced today that it is adding 16 lawyers to the firm in Philadelphia in its Employment & Immigration Practice Group, as well as two lawyers to the firm in New York in its Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. With the 26 lawyers who joined Duane Morris yesterday, a total of 44 lawyers from WolfBlock LLP have joined the firm this week.
"We are very pleased that these excellent lawyers from the WolfBlock firm have joined Duane Morris," said John J. Soroko, Chairman and CEO of Duane Morris. "The practices of the WolfBlock lawyers are very consistent with both the Duane Morris labor and employment group as well as our bankruptcy group. In addition, these attorneys are already closely aligned with the WolfBlock lawyers who joined our firm yesterday in our trial, corporate and real estate groups. Expanding a core area in employment and achieving critical mass in the New York bankruptcy area is a tremendous opportunity for our partners and our clients."
Employment & Immigration Practice Group
The additions represent the core of WolfBlock's Labor and Employment group in Philadelphia. The group, led by partners Jonathan Segal, James Redeker and John Nixon, was one of WolfBlock's leading practices. Redeker and Segal, co-chairs of Wolf Block's Employment Services Practice Group, were both members of their former firm's executive committee.
Segal, who was also the managing principal of the Wolf Institute, the training and educational arm of the Employment Services Group, is ranked in Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a top employment lawyer in Pennsylvania. He practices in the area of employment law with a focus on preventive counseling, training and policy development.
"We have a passion for prevention and we are excited to be with a firm that does too," said Segal, whose group provides training and other preventive services to in house counsel, HR professionals and managers on myriad employment issues. "Of course, employment issues don't exist in isolation. By being part of a full-service law firm, we can reach out to other Duane Morris partners on corporate, intellectual property, tax and other issues that may be implicated."
Redeker, who was named last year by Human Resource Executive magazine as one of the nation's top 50 employment attorneys, represents companies in their personnel and labor relations. He has served as special counsel to some of the nation's largest companies to assist in solving unusual and difficult personnel and culture-change issues.
"We feel strongly that our clients require sophisticated securities, corporate, tax and other areas, all strengths of Duane Morris," said Redeker. "Not only did we connect with Duane Morris partners, but we also are closely integrated with the WolfBlock partners who recently joined Duane Morris. It will be a seamless transition for our clients."
Nixon is the former vice chair of WolfBlock's Employment Services Practice Group. A frequent lecturer, commentator and author on executive compensation and employee benefits issues, he practices in the area of employment law, counseling employers, executives, plan sponsors and ERISA providers in the design and operation of executive compensation, pension and retirement programs. The group also includes partner Valentine Brown, chair of WolfBlock's Immigration Services group.
Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group
Two partners join the firm's growing New York office in its Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group. The addition of Gerard Catalanello and James Vincequerra, both of WolfBlock's Bankruptcy and Creditors' Rights Practice Group, gives Duane Morris critical mass in the New York bankruptcy area.
Catalanello represents debtors, creditors, creditors' committees, financial institutions, liquidation trusts, equity holders, trustees and acquirers of assets of troubled companies in formal bankruptcy proceedings as well as in out-of-court workouts. Vincequerra focuses his practice on business reorganizations, creditors' rights and general counseling. He represents debtors, creditors' committees, individual creditors, trustees and acquirers of assets of troubled companies in formal bankruptcy proceedings.
Yesterday, 26 lawyers had joined Duane Morris from WolfBlock across four practice groups: litigation, corporate, real estate and government affairs, where they serve a wide variety of industries, including gaming, energy, construction, financial services and healthcare. That group included Hersh Kozlov in Cherry Hill and Alan Kessler in Philadelphia, both members of the executive committee at their former firm, as well as 18 litigators, including the former chair of WolfBlock's Litigation Practice Group, Dana Klinges.
The group includes the following attorneys.
Partners:
Jonathan Segal
James Redeker
Caroline Austin
Jennifer Blum Feldman
Valentine Brown
*Gerard Catalanello
Michael Cohen
Philip Garber
Linda Hollinshead
John Nixon
*James Vincequerra
Special Counsel/Associates:
Jonathan Wetchler
Andrea Kirshenbaum
Kathryn Larkin
Amanda Layton
Lauren Mazur
Marc Scheiner
Vjera Silbert
*Lawyers joining the Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group in New York. The other lawyers all join the Employment & Immigration Practice Group in Philadelphia.
Full List of WolfBlock Lawyers Joining Duane Morris
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, a full-service law firm with almost 700 attorneys practicing in 24 offices in the United States and internationally, offers innovative solutions to the legal and business challenges presented by today's evolving global markets.
