LOS ANGELES, October 17 - Duane Morris LLP is pleased to welcome Russell W. Roten as a partner in the firm's new Los Angeles office. Roten, formerly of Coudert Brothers LLP, joins the firm's Trial Practice Group and is heading the firm's Los Angeles office. Accompanying Roten from Coudert Brothers are four other former Coudert lawyers.
The lawyers joining Roten from Coudert Brothers are special counsel Robert J. Zapf and Peter B. Ackerman and associates J. Robert Renner and Jeff D. Kahane. Zapf, Renner and Ackerman will join the Trial Practice Group, and Kahane will join the Business Reorganization and Financial Restructuring Practice Group.
"The addition of Roten and his team demonstrates the firm's commitment to growing in Los Angeles and on the West Coast. We expect to initially add lawyers in our Los Angeles office who practice in the areas of commercial litigation and intellectual property. We are committed to building a significant presence in the Los Angeles legal firmament," said Sheldon M. Bonovitz, the firm's Chairman, noting that "the firm is presently seeking new office space in Los Angeles which will initially provide space for 35 lawyers and is now actively engaged in the recruiting process."
Duane Morris recently announced that it will merge with Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft LLP, an expansion which will double the number of lawyers in Duane Morris' California offices. On January 1, 2006, the effective date of the merger, the firm will have a total of ten lawyers in Los Angeles, taking into account Russell Roten and the other former Coudert lawyers, as well as the Hancock lawyers, and 90 lawyers in San Francisco in addition to its current 30+ lawyer office in San Diego.
For more information about the merger, please contact Joshua Peck at 215.979.7300.
About Duane Morris
Duane Morris LLP, one of the 100 largest law firms in the United States, is a full-service firm of over 600 lawyers. In addition, Duane Morris affiliates have over 50 professionals engaged in ancillary service businesses. The firm represents clients across the nation and around the world through a combination of offices in major U.S. markets and in London and a relationship with an international network of independent law firms.