Where to After Squire Patton Boggs?
Not every lawyer stayed with Squire Patton Boggs after its mega-merger. (Is this the plot of HBO's The Leftovers?) We caught up with some of the lawyers who didn't join the 1,500-lawyer firm.
Mike Schaengold joined Greenberg Traurig after nearly 23 years at Patton Boggs; he's government contracts and projects co-chair with fellow lateral Bob Brams. He tells us the practice is in a growth mode. Suspensions and debarments—which can be a "corporate death sentence"—are up. Meanwhile, contractors are cutting costs and fighting much harder for limited federal dollars; bid protests are very active. The government is also cracking down harder on False Claims Act violations. Mike tells us he's excited to be at a firm that's very focused on government contracts; his goal is taking a group that's very good and making it a national powerhouse.
At Holland & Knight, we snapped DC managing partner Paul Kiernan with new partners Mary Beth Bosco, Jeff Haas, and Norm Antin. Norm and Jeff specialize in financial services and Mary Beth (a former graphic designer) is a government contracts lawyer. Back at Patton Boggs, she was the first chief diversity partner. Former Patton Boggs government contracts head Bob Tompkins also joined H&K in January.
Former Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Import Administration and USTR chief negotiator David Spooner joined Barnes & Thornburg from Squire Sanders. After helping negotiate the Central America Free Trade Agreement and chairing macroeconomic reform talks between the US and China, he now lobbies and represents corporate clients, trade associations, and governments. We snapped him with fellow lateral Christine Sohar Henter.
Jones Day brought in high-profile, election-law experts: former FEC chairman Donald McGahn, national counsel to Bush 43's presidential campaigns in 2000 and 2003 Benjamin Ginsburg, and former National Republican Senatorial Committee GC Bill McGinley. They're with government regulation practice head Noel Francisco, second from right.
And at Akin Gump, we snapped several laterals with public law and policy chair Don Pongrace, right, and healthcare practice and firmwide government regulatory practice head Jorge Lopez, center: senior policy advisor M. Todd Tuten, healthcare policy partner Martie Kendrick, healthcare policy head John Jonas, communications and IT partner Jennifer Richter, and communications group senior counsel Michael Drobac.
