Financial Services

Edwin M. Baum, managing partner in Crowell & Moring’s New York office and member of the firm's Litigation Group, speaks with Law360 about a New York federal judge’s recent rebuke of two Big Law firms over pleadings the judge found overly long and redundant, which experts say can lead to risking an entire case by not keeping pleadings short and sweet. Baum points out that not only are gargantuan filings burdensome for all involved, but having more pages also means more opportunities for an attorney to make a mistake. "One risk in unduly lengthy pleadings that include extraneous matters is that there is a greater chance the lawyer will get something wrong, or include something they may have thought was an accurate statement but is not," said Baum.

Newly elected Crowell & Moring chair Angela B. Styles, partner and co-chair of the Government Contracts Group, is profiled by The National Law Journal. Styles discusses her childhood, past experience in both the federal government and private practice, and how she arrived at Crowell & Moring. When referring to the firm's visions for the firm's future, Styles notes that she plans "not growing for growth's sake," and hopes to strengthen practices such as cybersecurity and health care while maintaining the firm's government contracts, regulatory, and litigation reputation.  

Newly-elected chair of Crowell & Moring, Angela B. Styles, is featured in The Washington Post's "Capital Business" section after assuming her new role. The article notes that Styles, who joined the firm in 2007, is the second woman to serve as chair in firm history. "I am honored to serve as chair of Crowell & Moring and to be part of a long tradition of firm leaders who have helped to build a truly unique firm over the past 35 years," Styles said.

The National Law Journal reports the news that Angela Styles, partner and co-chair of Crowell & Moring's Government Contracts Group, has been elected as the firm's new chair. Referring to her predecessor, Kent A. Gardiner, who stepped down due to term limits, Styles notes: "It's a pretty good foundation I have to start with. I'm sure I will change some things. But we're at such a good place right now, we just need to keep thinking forward," she said.

The Daily Journal highlights Crowell & Moring in the paper's "Dealmaker" column for the firm’s representation of Signature Group Holdings Inc. (SGH), a Sherman-Oaks-based holding company, as it offered 3.7 million shares of common stock in an underwritten public offering. The firm provided additional representation when SGH offered over four million shares of common stock for $6.50 per share. San Francisco-based senior counsel, Murray A. Indick, served as counsel for SGH for both of these deals.

Washington, D.C.-based International Trade Group partner, Cari N. Stinebower, is quoted in New York Times cover story that offers in depth analysis on the workings of Russian President Vladimir Putin's inner circle and their financial transactions. In particular, the article notes that Bank Rossiya, an entity subject to U.S. sanctions, was created for what the Obama administrations calls the "personal bank" of the Putin inner circle. The article notes that this bank, like many others, is webbed into a shell of companies – but that the ownership structure for these companies is not readily identifiable. The lack of transparency into ownership structure says Stinebower, who advises clients on compliance with sanctions, raises "red flags" and corresponding enhanced due diligence requirements. Treasury has clarified that any entity 50 percent or more owned by a sanctioned person is also blocked by operation of law. With regard to CTC Media (CTC), a company with several television channels that was partially owned by a subsidiary of Bank Rossiya, Video International and an agreement CTC had with the subsidiary, Stinebower comments, "The way the law works, it's incumbent on CTC to understand the beneficial ownership of the company they are doing business with" to ensure that there is not "some sanctioned entity at the end of the chain." It has been reported that Video International was able to maneuver around Russian law and placed CTC at risk for violating American sanctions.

Washington, D.C.-based partner and co-chair of the firm's Corporate Group, Bryan Brewer, speaks with Law360 as part of their dealmaking movers and shakers Q&A series. Brewer shares his personal perspective on an array of questions such as what advice he would give to other inspiring dealmakers and what aspects of regulation affecting his practice are in need of reform. In response to what upcoming trends or under-the-radar areas of deal activity to anticipate, Brewer believes that, "Based on a competitive intelligence view of the market, we do not see divestures or complete transformative transactions as ruling the deal landscape in the short term. For example, based on recent deal flow and other trend data, technology, pharmaceutical, medical, and biotech M&As have all demonstrated a strong opening in the first quarter of 2014, and we expect that to continue."

Washington, D.C.-based Energy Group partner, Patrick W. Lynch, took part in Law360's "Dealmakers Q&A" series featuring dealmaking movers & shakers. As part of this series, Lynch shared his perspective on five intriguing questions pertaining to the most challenging deal he has worked on and other dealmakers who've impressed him. When asked about what advice he would give to other aspiring dealmakers, Lynch shared, "When negotiating the complex web of contracts that are part of a large infrastructure project, try and ask yourself "what if" for as many eventualities as could practically (or perhaps not so practically) occur."

Edwin Baum, managing partner of Crowell & Moring's New York office and member of the firm's Litigation Group, is featured in this profile that highlights his leadership of the firm's second largest office. Regarding future growth of the office, Baum cites, "plans to expand in securities, commercial, financial services and antitrust practices, as well in intellectual property, insurance and reinsurance." The article notes that Baum "would like the office to grow to 75 to 100 lawyers in near term, but added that there is no set target, since the firm is more focused on finding the right people."

Washington, D.C.-based Insurance/Reinsurance partner, Deirdre Johnson tells Law360 about some of the most important insurance and reinsurance cases and a few of the lessons she's learned throughout her legal career in Law360's "Practice Leader Q&A" series.

New York-based Corporate Group partner Eden L. Rohrer speaks to Broker Dealer (BD) Week about the Security Exchange Commission's (SEC) recent announcement that it will no longer use the "neither admit nor deny" phrase in SEC settlements that deal with the same misconduct that plaintiffs were convicted of or to which they admitted to in criminal court.

According to Rohrer, "It's unclear whether the new policy will have an effect on whether the Commission will be more inclined to pursue administrative settlements."

Crowell & Moring is listed among 17 firms that received praise from corporate counsel for improving their client focus in the BTI Client Service A-Team 2012 report by the BTI Consulting Group Inc.

According to the article, “While many firms have been increasing their emphasis on client service to remain competitive, a few made strong pushes toward more in-person meetings, satisfaction surveys and follow-up calls this year, earning them the designation of most improved in a new survey of corporate counsel.”

News of the successful opening of Crowell & Moring’s New York office has been featured in the Legal Times. The New York office has acquired 37 lateral attorneys from more than six law firms within the first year of opening. 

The news that Crowell & Moring bolstered its financial services team with the addition of three bankruptcy and restructuring attorneys was featured in the Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review Small-Cap. Monique D. Almy and Matthew W. Cheney are based in the firm’s D.C. office and Mark S. Lichtenstein joined the firm’s New York office.