Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
Type Limited liability partnership
Founded 1868
Headquarters San Francisco, California with 13 other offices worldwide
Industry Law
Products Legal advice
Employees Approximately 800 lawyers
Website www.pillsburylaw.com

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP is an international, full-service law firm with strengths in the energy, financial services, real estate and technology sectors and offices located throughout the United States and the world, including key financial centers such as New York, London, Tokyo and Shanghai.[1]

Contents

[edit] History

Pillsbury, Madison & Sutro was established in San Francisco following the California Gold Rush, helping to create such giants as Chevron and Pacific Bell, now known as AT&T. Mergers with Los Angeles-based Lillick & McHose in 1990 and Washington, DC-based Cushman Darby & Cushman in 1996 created a presence on both coasts for the firm, and a 2001 merger with Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts expanded the New York office.[2]

Pillsbury as it is known today is the product of a 2005 merger between Pillsbury Winthrop and DC-based Shaw Pittman, a large 300 lawyer law firm with strengths in global sourcing, energy, real estate, technology and communications.[2] Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, the New York precursor to Winthrop, can trace itself back to 1868 by future Secretary of State and Nobel Peace laureate Elihu Root.[2]

[edit] Practices

  • Aviation
  • Climate Change & Sustainability
  • Communications
  • Corporate & Securities
  • Employment & Labor
  • Energy
  • Environment, Land Use & Natural Resources
  • Estates, Trusts & Tax Planning
  • Executive Compensation & Benefits
  • Finance
  • Global Sourcing
  • Government Contracts & Disputes
  • Health Care
  • Indian Law
  • Insolvency & Restructuring
  • Intellectual Property
  • International
  • International Trade
  • Litigation
  • Nonprofit Organizations
  • Public Policy & Political Law
  • Real Estate
  • Tax
  • Wine, Beer & Spirits Law

[edit] Offices

Pillsbury currently has 14 offices worldwide in:[3]

[edit] Significant clients

[edit] Misconduct

Controveries have developed related to Pillsbury's representation of a corporate debtor in the bankruptcy case of SONICblue. The federal judge ordered the firm to step down citing the "complete breakdown of creditor confidence" due to the firm's failure to make a required disclosure of a conflict of interest involving a number of hedge funds. Counsel for the official creditors committee gave tacit approval of the conflict as neither law firm brought the matter to the attention of the court. Pillsbury may be forced to disgorge $4 Million in legal fees that it already received in the case.[4]. The lawyer representing the successor to SONICblue subsequently learned that in addition to the failure to disclose the conflict, the firm also failed to discloses their own withdrawal of funds from the Debtor during the pre-petition preference period and has petitioned the Federal Judge to refer the firm's responsible lawyers for criminal prosecution[5] and is seeking $30 Million in damages from Pillsbury Winthrop and associated parties on the official creditors committee as well as their counsel. [6]

[edit] Layoffs

In April 2006, Pillsbury had a round of layoffs. These layoffs were in connection with the merger with Shaw Pitman in April 2005. [7] The layoffs included its unofficial mascot, Martin Macy. [8] Macy, who had started with the firm at the age 17, had been in the San Francisco office for 41 years prior to his dismissal. His was terminated from his position as messenger to save his annual salary of $34,000. [9] At the time, the combined revenue for the partners at the firm had droped from $780,000 to $760,000 [10] and the firm's assets were over $6 million. [11] To assist Macy, the legal community created a trust fund to which former co-workers, clients and other members of the legal community donated money. [12] The San Francisco Chronicle reported that "His dismissal has become something of a cause celebre in the San Francisco legal community." [13] By April 2007, the alumns had gathered $160,000 for Macy. [14]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Welcome page. Official website. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
  2. ^ a b c History of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman (JSP). Official website. Retrieved on 2007-05-07.
  3. ^ Offices (JSP). Official website. Retrieved on 2007-05-10.
  4. ^ BigLaw Firm Bounced From Bankruptcy Case. New York Lawyer. Retrieved on March 27, 2007.
  5. ^ Motion Asks Judge to Refer Pillsbury Partner for Possible Perjury Prosecution. Retrieved on April 17, 2008.
  6. ^ Trustee Seeks $30 Million Hit for SonicBlue Law Firms, Creditors. Retrieved on April 17, 2008.
  7. ^ "One Year In, Pillsbury Merger Not an Easy Fit", The National Law Journal, Leigh Jones, April 17, 2006
  8. ^ "Beloved staffer downsized at Pillsbury," by Marie-Anne Hogarth, The Recorder, 04/03/2006
  9. ^ "Legal world conjures up a conscience" by Joan Ryan, San Francisco Chornicle, 04/06/2006
  10. ^ Jones
  11. ^ Ryan
  12. ^ Ryan
  13. ^ Ryan
  14. ^ "BARometers," The Recorder, 04/13/2007

[edit] External links