Your Money Adviser: Annual Enrollment for Medicare Opens

Traditional Medicare covers hospital stays and outpatient visits on a fee-for-service basis, and you don’t need to do anything if you’re satisfied with your coverage. But if you buy an additional Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, or if you have chosen coverage through a private Medicare Advantage managed care plan, it’s wise to pay close attention, because details can change significantly from year to year. Premiums may go up, drugs may be dropped from the menu of covered medicines and doctors you like to visit may leave your network.

“The decisions you make in open enrollment can impact you for the entire year, or even longer,” said Nicole Duritz, the vice president of health education and outreach at AARP.

Medicare Advantage plans often carry low or even no premiums and most include prescription drug coverage, so they’re often attractive to people on fixed incomes. They usually restrict care to a network of doctors, however. Offerings vary widely from state to state, and even within states. About 14 million people, or more than a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries, are enrolled in the plans.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services says the average Medicare Advantage premium for 2014 is expected to be $32.60 a month, up $1.64 over this year. But premiums vary and it’s possible some plans may have much larger increases. The federal government has been cutting payments for the plans to bring costs into line with those for traditional Medicare.

Fred Cicetti, a 72-year-old retiree in Lincoln Park, N.J., said he was dismayed to learn that his insurer had discontinued his no-premium Advantage plan for 2014; a plan being offered with relatively comparable coverage came with a premium of $153 per person. That meant more than $300 a month to cover himself and his wife.

By calling around, he was able to find another plan with roughly the same coverage through a different insurer, with a premium of about $70 a month. “We found a solution that works for us,” he said. “But people really have to dig.”

If you have traditional Medicare and buy a stand-alone plan for prescription drug coverage, there are more choices this year, according to an analysis from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation. Medicare beneficiaries will, on average, be able to choose from 35 drug plans, up from 31 last year, the report found. Most plans now use “preferred” pharmacy networks, so you’ll pay more if you buy your medicine elsewhere.

Most people don’t change drug plans, even though those who do switch often save money, a separate report from the Kaiser Foundation found. “People do tend to stick with the plan they’ve selected,” said Patricia Neuman, a Medicare policy expert and one of the study’s authors.

That may be because it is time-consuming for seniors to sit down with all their medications and calculate what their costs would be under a new plan, compared with their current plan, she said. “A lot of people think the juice is not worth the squeeze,” she said.

The federal government estimates that the average monthly premium for Medicare drug coverage in 2014 will be $31.

Here are some questions about Medicare open enrollment:

¦ Will the current federal government shutdown affect Medicare open enrollment?

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the government agency that oversees Medicare, says open enrollment won’t be delayed.

¦ Where can I review my Medicare options?

Go to the Medicare Plan Finder at Medicare.gov. (Don’t go to the new federal health care exchange created by the Affordable Care Act; that’s for people under 65 who want to shop for private insurance coverage, not for people on Medicare.)

¦ What if I’m confused about my choices?

You can call Medicare at 800-633-4227. Or if you prefer help in person, try the State Health Insurance Assistance Program, known as SHIP. A list of programs by state is available on the program ‘s Web site.

Bits Blog: Code to Joy: The School for Poetic Computation Opens

McKenna Long Opens Va. Office With 12 Laterals

McKenna, Long & Aldridge has added 15 attorneys to its litigation practice, including 12 in northern Virginia. Five partners and seven associate counsel will join the firm in its new office in McLean, Va. All the laterals were previously with Dombroff Gilmore Jaques & French. The firm is also adding an office in Miami.

Joining as partners are Thomas Almy, Morgan Campbell, Mark Dombroff, Dane Jaques and Mark McKinnon. Joining as associate counsel are Shaleeza Altaf, Matthew Clark, James Eastwood, Camilla Lee, Cecilia Littleton, Darcy Osta and Erin Slusser.

The team adds experience in the areas of contract disputes, warranty claims, employment litigation and Federal Aviation Administration enforcement actions.

The relationship between the two firms was not immediately clear, and a firm spokeswoman was unable to say whether Dombroff Gilmore was dissolved or absorbed by McKenna Long. However, visitors to the Dombroff website are automatically forwarded to McKenna Long's website.

"Adding their experience and our presence in Northern Virginia and South Florida positions MLA to provide a broader base of services and reach to our clients -- a goal toward which we continually strive," McKenna Long Chairman Jeff Haidet of the firm's Atlanta office said in a written statement.

Haidet was not immediately available for comment.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

McKenna Long Opens Va. Office With 12 Laterals

McKenna, Long & Aldridge has added 15 attorneys to its litigation practice, including 12 in northern Virginia. Five partners and seven associate counsel will join the firm in its new office in McLean, Va. All the laterals were previously with Dombroff Gilmore Jaques & French. The firm is also adding an office in Miami.

Joining as partners are Thomas Almy, Morgan Campbell, Mark Dombroff, Dane Jaques and Mark McKinnon. Joining as associate counsel are Shaleeza Altaf, Matthew Clark, James Eastwood, Camilla Lee, Cecilia Littleton, Darcy Osta and Erin Slusser.

The team adds experience in the areas of contract disputes, warranty claims, employment litigation and Federal Aviation Administration enforcement actions.

The relationship between the two firms was not immediately clear, and a firm spokeswoman was unable to say whether Dombroff Gilmore was dissolved or absorbed by McKenna Long. However, visitors to the Dombroff website are automatically forwarded to McKenna Long's website.

"Adding their experience and our presence in Northern Virginia and South Florida positions MLA to provide a broader base of services and reach to our clients -- a goal toward which we continually strive," McKenna Long Chairman Jeff Haidet of the firm's Atlanta office said in a written statement.

Haidet was not immediately available for comment.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

McKenna Long Opens Va. Office With 12 Laterals

McKenna, Long & Aldridge has added 15 attorneys to its litigation practice, including 12 in northern Virginia. Five partners and seven associate counsel will join the firm in its new office in McLean, Va. All the laterals were previously with Dombroff Gilmore Jaques & French. The firm is also adding an office in Miami.

Joining as partners are Thomas Almy, Morgan Campbell, Mark Dombroff, Dane Jaques and Mark McKinnon. Joining as associate counsel are Shaleeza Altaf, Matthew Clark, James Eastwood, Camilla Lee, Cecilia Littleton, Darcy Osta and Erin Slusser.

The team adds experience in the areas of contract disputes, warranty claims, employment litigation and Federal Aviation Administration enforcement actions.

The relationship between the two firms was not immediately clear, and a firm spokeswoman was unable to say whether Dombroff Gilmore was dissolved or absorbed by McKenna Long. However, visitors to the Dombroff website are automatically forwarded to McKenna Long's website.

"Adding their experience and our presence in Northern Virginia and South Florida positions MLA to provide a broader base of services and reach to our clients -- a goal toward which we continually strive," McKenna Long Chairman Jeff Haidet of the firm's Atlanta office said in a written statement.

Haidet was not immediately available for comment.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

BP Trial Opens, With Possible Deal in Background

James P. Roy, the lead lawyer of private plaintiffs, started the trial with a scathing attack on BP for ignoring multiple signs of problems on the rig and in routine maintenance of safety tests and equipment that led to the Macondo well accident.

“BP made a series of decisions to save time and money that substantially increased risk,” Mr. Roy told a packed courtroom. He said the decisions were typical of “a culture of profit and production over safety.”

In more than an hour of testimony, Mr. Roy noted that BP had decided to employ single-walled drill pipe, which provided inferior barriers to leaks, and it decided that it was not necessary to circulate drilling mud, a method designed to strengthen cement, before installing a seal on the well. He reminded the court that BP opted against conducting a cement bond test, an acoustics test that could have identified the gas that had leached into the piping during the well cementing process.

And finally, he said, using information that has previously been described in numerous government and private reports since the accident, BP ignored the results of a failed pressure test shortly before the well was sealed and blew out.

But Mr. Roy also argued that Transocean, the owner and operator of the Deepwater Horizon rig, had failed to adequately train its employees in emergency operations, and Halliburton was deficient in testing and mixing the cement to seal the well.

The first phase of the trial, which was expected to last three months under Judge Carl J. Barbier of Federal District Court in New Orleans, will determine whether BP or its contractors were “grossly negligent” in causing the accident. The private plaintiffs in the trial, including thousands of businesses and individuals, are suing for damages from all the companies.

In his opening statement, Michael Underhill, the Justice Department’s lead attorney, said the government would prove that BP was grossly negligent. “Reckless actions were tolerated by BP, sometimes encouraged by BP,” he said. “These damages were caused by actions that cannot be seen as anything but inexcusable behavior.”

He discussed a phone call between Donald Vidrine, a BP supervisor on the rig who has already been criminally charged, with Mark Hafle, an onshore engineer, in which Mr. Vidrine described problems with a critical test less than an hour before the explosion. But neither man took action to stop operations to prevent the eventual blowout.

Separately, details of a settlement offer by federal and state officials to the oil company began to emerge over the weekend. The plan, worth a total of $16 billion, would limit the fines paid by BP under the Clean Water Act to $6 billion, a proposal that could help reduce its tax liability, one person briefed on the plan said Sunday, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

BP would also pay $9 billion in penalties to cover damages to natural resources as well as the cost of restoration, that person said. The remaining $1 billion would be set aside in a fund that could be tapped if unanticipated environmental damages related to the spill developed.

No one at BP, the Justice Department or the states involved has commented on any settlement proposal, but several lawyers briefed on the negotiations said that a $16 billion proposal had been made. The affected states are Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, although only Alabama and Louisiana are participating in the trial.

Even if settlement talks slow or stall, the proposal represents a big breakthrough for several reasons, lawyers briefed on the talks said. For one, it represents the first time that Louisiana, which was hardest hit by the spill and would receive the largest payout of any state from a settlement, has participated in an offer.

In addition, the proposal signals the first agreement among states and the federal government on two other crucial issues: a rough plan for how the states would divide any settlement money, and how the settlement would balance fines and penalties against BP.

BP pleaded guilty last year to 14 criminal charges, including manslaughter; admitted negligence in misreading important tests before the blowout; and agreed to pay $4.5 billion in fines and other penalties. The Justice Department has also filed criminal charges against four BP employees.

Last February, a trial to resolve claims against BP by individuals and businesses affected by the spill was delayed by Judge Barbier on the eve of trial because of settlement talks. BP subsequently agreed to create a fund now valued at $8.5 billion to settle those claims. However, numerous individuals and businesses chose not to participate and are also parties to the trial that started Monday.

Australia's Gadens Opens in Singapore

By Tom Brennan All Articles 

The Asian Lawyer

January 17, 2013

Australian firm Gadens Lawyers has opened an office in Singapore.

Gadens has recruited former Clifford Chance energy counsel Marc Rathbone to serve as managing partner of the new office. Gadens real estate partner Laresa Koscharsky has also relocated from Sydney to Singapore.

"Australian companies are looking at Asia for their growth. So consequently it's a natural progression for us" to open in Singapore, Rathbone said in an interview. He added that the office initially would focus on the two partners' specialty areas but expected to expand into other areas with time.

Rathbone specializes in oil and gas, petrochemicals, mining and power-related transactions, particularly in Southeast Asian emerging markets such as Vietnam, Indonesia and Myanmar. Prior to joining Clifford Chance six years ago, he was an in-house counsel at Australia's national science agency, Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation.

Koscharsky joined 550-lawyer Gadens slightly over a year ago from DLA Piper, where she was also a partner and had worked at the firm for 11 years.

The Singapore office is Gadens' first operation outside of Australia aside from an office in Papua New Guinea.

Duane Morris Opens Silicon Valley Office

Karineh Khachatourian, Duane Morris partner
Image: courtesy photo

Duane Morris has opened a new office in Palo Alto, Calif., making for the firm's fifth outpost in California.

The new location will focus, to start, on intellectual property litigation. To that end, the firm hired K&L Gates partner Karineh Khachatourian and associate Patrick S. Salceda.

Duane Morris already has offices in San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Diego and Truckee, Calif., which is near Lake Tahoe. The firm said the Palo Alto office will give Duane Morris attorneys more efficient and direct access to clients across the high-tech hub that is the Silicon Valley. Attorneys in the firm's existing four offices will help to service clients in the Palo Alto location.

The firm said Palo Alto is a natural fit for Duane Morris' work in patent litigation and prosecution, trademarks, copyrights, venture capital, private equity and related commercial litigation.

The intellectual property practice, particularly in California, has been a strategic growth target for Duane Morris recently.

L. Norwood "Woody" Jameson, chairman of the practice, said in a statement that the launch in Palo Alto was a direct response to client feedback. He said the IP practice leadership is making a "substantial commitment" to the West Coast with a priority on hiring in Palo Alto and other California offices.

Duane Morris Chairman John Soroko told The Legal Intelligencer the firm wanted to get closer to the types of clients that fall into the firm's IP "sweet spot," which he said was in the computer, high-tech and telecommunications space. Khachatourian said she would be bringing clients with her to Duane Morris, including video game makers, video game console makers and software manufacturers.

Duane Morris changed the leadership of the IP practice in early 2012. Lewis F. Gould Jr. stepped down and Atlanta-based Jameson took his place.

Jameson's practice has a strong emphasis on patent litigation for electronic engineering companies, making the firm's goals in Palo Alto and San Francisco a natural evolution for the practice, Soroko said.

"Companies are being much more circumspect about where they are willing to invest dollars in litigation efforts, but things that continue to be important to our clients are issues that surround intellectual property," Soroko said.

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Wilson Sonsini Opens Beijing Outpost

Beijing
Source: Getty Images

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati opened its third China office in Beijing on Thursday.

The new office is led by partner Kefei Li, who came to the firm last year from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. A few IP and licensing attorneys joined Li in Beijing to work with clients in technology and life sciences, said Douglas Clark, co-managing partner of the firm.

Wilson Sonsini opened the Beijing office in part to further Li's capital markets practice, which is key to the firm's strategy in China, Clark said in an interview. Beijing is a hot spot for capital markets as well as private equity, venture capital and international M&A transactions, co-managing partner John "Jack" Sheridan said in a statement.

"Our three offices are very tightly integrated and work almost as one," Clark said. "We are focusing more on capital markets and transactional work than we have in the past."

Partner Weiheng Chen, leader of the firm's China practice, has assembled a team to concentrate on that work along with private equity, Clark said. Chen, who heads up the firm's Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, came to Wilson Sonsini in 2010 from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

Chen took the reins of the China practice after partner Carmen Chang left Wilson Sonsini in February to split her time between venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and the Silicon Valley office of Covington & Burling. Partners Eva Wang and Michelle Edwards followed her to Covington. Chang's practice centered on companies founded in China with Chinese-American, Taiwanese and mainland roots.

Wilson Sonsini first staked out its presence in China by opening a Shanghai office in 2007, its first international office, followed by an outpost in Hong Kong in 2010. New York firms have handled the lion's share of U.S. IPOs by Chinese companies so far, but Silicon Valley firms are jostling to land a larger share of the work when the market bounces back, according to The Asian Lawyer, a Recorder affiliate. Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian also plans to open an office in Beijing.

"It's an important time for firms who see China in their future to be building there," said Peter Zeughauser, a legal consultant.

But competition in the market is stiff, with a number of up-and-coming Chinese law firms seizing business once handled by American lawyers, Zeughauser noted. And the downturn in Chinese capital markets has limited the amount of work to be done.

"We have long-term faith in global capital markets and a belief that they will remain robust," Clark said.

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World's Longest High-Speed Rail Line Opens in China

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Wilson Sonsini Opens Beijing Outpost

Beijing
Source: Getty Images

Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati opened its third China office in Beijing on Thursday.

The new office is led by partner Kefei Li, who came to the firm last year from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom. A few IP and licensing attorneys joined Li in Beijing to work with clients in technology and life sciences, said Douglas Clark, co-managing partner of the firm.

Wilson Sonsini opened the Beijing office in part to further Li's capital markets practice, which is key to the firm's strategy in China, Clark said in an interview. Beijing is a hot spot for capital markets as well as private equity, venture capital and international M&A transactions, co-managing partner John "Jack" Sheridan said in a statement.

"Our three offices are very tightly integrated and work almost as one," Clark said. "We are focusing more on capital markets and transactional work than we have in the past."

Partner Weiheng Chen, leader of the firm's China practice, has assembled a team to concentrate on that work along with private equity, Clark said. Chen, who heads up the firm's Shanghai and Hong Kong offices, came to Wilson Sonsini in 2010 from Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy.

Chen took the reins of the China practice after partner Carmen Chang left Wilson Sonsini in February to split her time between venture capital firm New Enterprise Associates and the Silicon Valley office of Covington & Burling. Partners Eva Wang and Michelle Edwards followed her to Covington. Chang's practice centered on companies founded in China with Chinese-American, Taiwanese and mainland roots.

Wilson Sonsini first staked out its presence in China by opening a Shanghai office in 2007, its first international office, followed by an outpost in Hong Kong in 2010. New York firms have handled the lion's share of U.S. IPOs by Chinese companies so far, but Silicon Valley firms are jostling to land a larger share of the work when the market bounces back, according to The Asian Lawyer, a Recorder affiliate. Gunderson Dettmer Stough Villeneuve Franklin & Hachigian also plans to open an office in Beijing.

"It's an important time for firms who see China in their future to be building there," said Peter Zeughauser, a legal consultant.

But competition in the market is stiff, with a number of up-and-coming Chinese law firms seizing business once handled by American lawyers, Zeughauser noted. And the downturn in Chinese capital markets has limited the amount of work to be done.

"We have long-term faith in global capital markets and a belief that they will remain robust," Clark said.

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Manko Gold Opens Central Pa. Office Despite Region's Drilling Lull

Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based environmental, energy and land use firm Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox has opened a new office in Williamsport, Pa., with an eye toward better serving its North Central Pennsylvania client base, which has grown in conjunction with the rise of the natural gas industry in the region.

Linklaters Opens Washington, D.C., Office

By Matthew Huisman All Articles 

The National Law Journal

November 29, 2012

The presence of British Magic Circle firms in Washington has grown now that London-based Linklaters has announced the opening of a D.C. office. This marks the second time the firm has expanded into the Washington market.

Linklaters' U.S. co-managing partner Jeff Norton said in an interview that the Washington office was a natural extension of the firm's New York office and is aligned with the firm's vision of forming "one office, one market."

"Given the increase in the regulatory environment, we felt it was important to have people on the ground in D.C.," Norton said. The new office will focus on government, litigation, regulatory, tax and antitrust matters, among others.

The firm previously operated a Washington office from 1992 to 2002. According to a media report at the time, a firm spokeswoman said the branch was closed because, "There was no economic justification to keep the office open."

Norton said that the firm re-tooled its U.S. strategy about seven or eight years ago with the goal that New York and Washington offices would operate as a single unit rather than as separate outposts. "We've always wanted to be in D.C., but we weren't ready," he said.

Currently the D.C. office has six attorneys, but Norton said the firm is looking to grow based on the needs of its clients. Among the residents in the new office are competition partner Jeffrey Schmidt and tax partner Joseph Pari. Norton and U.S. co-managing partner Conrado Tenaglia serve as leaders of both offices. The new digs are located at 601 13th Street, in the heart of the Metro Center neighborhood.

Linklaters is the fourth Magic Circle firm to plant its flag in the nation's capital. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy opened D.C. offices in 1998, 2000 and 2011, respectively. Slaughter and May is the only Magic Circle firm without a Washington presence.

"It really is a natural progression," Norton said. "The U.S. practice is at a point where we need a D.C. office."

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

Atlanta IP Firm Opens D.C. Office With Former Sterne Kessler Lawyer

By Matthew Huisman All Articles 

The National Law Journal

November 12, 2012

Atlanta-based Parks IP Law has opened a Washington, D.C., outpost with the help of a former Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox director.

Theodore Wood will serve as the lead partner in the firm's second office. Firmwide, Parks IP includes 11 attorneys. Wood is joined in Washington by of counsel Corey Mack.

The firm originally focused on patent and trademark law, but has since expanded to include practices like IP litigation and technology transactions.

Wood helped start the grid industry group at Sterne Kessler before joining Parks IP. In an interview, Wood said he met founding partner Cynthia Parks during a patent bar study course in 2001 and that the two kept in contact. Parks founded her firm in 2004 and the two would often discuss opportunities for collaboration.

But despite the change in scenery, Wood said he would continue to pursue much of the same work that he did at his previous firm.

"At Sterne Kessler, most of my time was focused on managing portfolios important to the firm," Wood said. "I focused some of my time on writing and speaking."

He said he hopes to be able to devote more time to speaking engagements and writing at his new firm. Wood said that despite their size, the firm has notable clients like AT&T and General Electric. He said the firm is currently in talks to expand its Washington office.

"As we build those clients and focus in on the grid, we think there will be a tremendous opportunity to add bodies here in the D.C. office," Wood said.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

Ford & Huff Opens D.C. Office Centered on Postal Affairs

Ford & Huff is opening a new office in Washington, D.C., focused on a unique practice -- postal affairs.

The practice is led by former U.S. Postal Service general counsel Harold Hughes, a senior attorney. Hughes is joined in Washington by new hires Robert Brinkman and Arthur Slacker.

"We're very excited about adding federal legislative and regulatory matters to our broad range of practice areas, and especially about starting with postal affairs," managing partner Adam Ford said in a written statement. "With Art and Bob joining Hal, we will have the deepest postal bench of any firm in the country."

A quick search of Washington firms showed that Patton Boggs and Husch Blackwell have practices involving postal regulation and postal service contracting, respectively. On its website, Husch Blackwell touts seven attorneys in the practice compared to Patton's one practitioner.

"The postal service is an organization that is going to be around for a long time," Brinkman said in an interview. "Big hunks of its first-class products are going away and it has to adapt [to the modern era]."

The postal service butted up against its $15 billion borrowing limit in September and has seen a sharp decline in first-class mail during the past few years. The new practice hopes to capitalize on some of those challenges.

"The Postal Service, despite its recent concerns, remains a huge and indispensable institution, on which a $1 trillion industry depends," Slacker said in a written statement. "We are looking forward to jointly helping members of that industry navigate legal and public policy challenges at the Postal Service, the Postal Regulatory Commission and on Capitol Hill."

This marks the fourth office for South Jordan, Utah-based Ford & Huff, which has about a dozen attorneys in its ranks.

This article first appeared on The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times.

L.A. Bankruptcy Boutique Opens New York Office

By Christine SimmonsAll Articles

New York Law Journal

October 26, 2012

Brand X Pictures, Getty Images

Stutman Treister & Glatt, a Los Angeles bankruptcy boutique, has opened a New York office, led by former partners from Greenberg Traurig and Friedman Kaplan Seiler & Adelman.

Founded in 1948, 31-attorney Stutman Treister said six lawyers have joined the firm to make up its New York office, including shareholders Michael Goldstein and William Weintraub. Weintraub most recently was with Friedman Kaplan, while Goldstein rejoins Stutman after practicing at Greenberg Traurig. Goldstein earlier practiced at Stutman Treister in Los Angeles.

Weintraub has represented debtors and creditors in bankruptcy cases including Dewey & LeBoeuf, Tribune Co., Lyondell Chemical, Madoff Securities and Quigley Co. Goldstein has represented debtors, bondholders, hedge funds and acquirers of distressed assets in corporate bankruptcies.

Three associates from Friedman Kaplan also are joining the New York office, as is a Stutman associate who has been with the firm since 2001.

Isaac Pachulski, a Stutman senior shareholder, said the firm decided to open its first office outside of Los Angeles due to the consistency of large bankruptcy cases in New York. "We would be better equipped to serve clients located in New York that we currently serve, including hedge fund clients," he said. "We can offer more services and we can participate more extensively in bankruptcy cases."

Goldstein said that Stutman had been looking into the possibility of a New York office for some time and found the right group of lawyers this year. The chance to return to Stutman and be a part of its expansion "was a very exciting opportunity," he said.

Loeb & Loeb Opens in Hong Kong

U.S. law firm Loeb & Loeb has opened a Hong Kong office.

Capital markets lawyer Benny Pang will join the new office as a partner. Loeb & Loeb will also enter into an exclusive alliance with Pang's firm Pang & Co., which has 16 lawyers and paralegals. The Hong Kong Law Society requires foreign firms to participate in such associations for three years before embarking on a full-fledged merger with a local firm.

Pang & Co. was previously associated with French law firm Salans, which exited the Hong Kong market earlier this year. Before joining Salans in 2009, Pang was a partner in the Hong Kong office of Paul Hastings, where he advised on several initial public offerings.

Loeb & Loeb is also relocating partner Lawrence Venick from its Beijing office, which opened in 2009. Venick's practice has focused on representing emerging companies in a variety of transactions.

"This established Hong Kong office and experienced on the ground team will significantly expand our capability to assist companies throughout Asia with IPOs and Hong Kong financings," Loeb & Loeb Asia chair Mitchell Nussbaum said in a statement.

Though its Asia strategy is heavily focused on corporate and capital markets work, Loeb & Loeb, which has 300 lawyers mainly divided between New York and Los Angeles, is perhaps best known in the United States for its entertainment law practice, which represents a wide range of celebrities, studios and production companies.

Reed Smith Opens in Singapore

Reed Smith has continued its expansion into Asia with the opening of a Singapore office this month.

The launch has been in the works for about two years and makes for the firm's fourth office in Asia after Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai. Reed Smith now has more than 135 lawyers in the region.

Global managing partner Gregory B. Jordan said the firm will have a tailored focus in Singapore, concentrating on its trading and commodities practice, shipping and international arbitration.

The trading and commodities practice is housed within Reed Smith's energy and natural resources industry group, which will play a large role in the Singapore location. And the firm's financial industry group represents a number of large banks that are involved in the trading and commodities market, Jordan noted.

To start, the office will have five partners and, in short order, will be up to about 15 attorneys once associates are brought on board, Jordan said. With the amount of work the firm expects to get from its existing clients doing business in Singapore and the work brought over from some of the new lawyers, Jordan said he would anticipate the Singapore office adding between $10 million and $15 million in revenue by the end of the first full calendar year.

Reed Smith's Singapore office will be led by Gautam Bhattacharyya, who will relocate from London, and will also include new partners Barry Stimpson, Simon Sloane and Philip Antcliffe. An additional lawyer from the firm's London office has also relocated.

Reed Smith has leased temporary office space in Singapore and will move into permanent space in Ocean Financial Centre in early 2013.

Stimpson and Sloane will join the firm from London-based Holman Fenwick Willan. Antcliffe is rejoining Reed Smith after departing the firm in 2011 for Citigroup. Prior to his move, Antcliffe was an associate in Reed Smith's energy and natural resources group in London.

While a number of Am Law 200 firms, including K&L Gates, applied for Singapore's second offering of a Qualifying Foreign Law Practice license this summer, Reed Smith has foregone that route because it doesn't intend to practice local Singaporean law.

Singapore first opened its doors to foreign firms in 2000 by allowing joint ventures and then issued the first round of QFLPs in 2008. Six firms, mainly from London, were awarded the licenses and more than 20 firms applied for the second round in 2012. The licenses have not yet been awarded.

Manko Gold Opens Central Pa. Office Despite Region's Drilling Lull

Bala Cynwyd, Pa.-based environmental, energy and land use firm Manko, Gold, Katcher & Fox has opened a new office in Williamsport, Pa., with an eye toward better serving its North Central Pennsylvania client base, which has grown in conjunction with the rise of the natural gas industry in the region.