May 7, 2001

THE SAN FRANCISCO DAILY JOURNAL

By Karen Coleman

SAN FRANCISCO – A month after losing six lawyers from its environmental group, the San Francisco office of Baker & McKenzie has sprung another leak.

Technology partners Deborah Bailey-Wells and Michael Arruda gave notice to Baker McKenzie March 30. Both plan to join the main office of San Francisco’s McCutchen Doyle Brown & Enersen.

Bailey-Wells’ practice focuses on intellectual property protection and Arruda specializes in e-commerce and technology law.

Another small group of Baker & McKenzie litigators is going to the local office of Cleveland’s Squire Sanders & Dempsey, according to sources familiar with the situation. Representatives from Squire Sanders did not return calls seeking comment.

One of the sources said a partner in the tax department is also expected to leave. That lawyer did not return a call seeking comment. The lawyer’s assistant declined to comment.

Baker & McKenzie’s local managing partner, Peter Engstrom, said no other partners have given notice.

Lawrence Watanabe, the Los Angeles-based broker who handled the deal with McCutchen Doyle, would not comment on whether he knew of any other deals coming out of Baker & McKenzie.

Engstrom said he was saddened to hear of his two technology partners’ plans. He and Arruda have been close friends and colleagues for all of Engstrom’s 13-year career with Baker & McKenzie. The pair have worked together on matters from as far afield as Alaska and Almaty, Kazakhstan.

“We’re sorry whenever someone leaves,” said Engstrom, calling Arruda one of his best friends.

“I don’t mean to sound at all cavalier about departures. … But I don’t think there’s been an adverse professional impact, particularly on the partner leverage here,” he said. “Our associate base remains strong and leverage is increasing. Having said that, people are always sorry to see friends and partners go somewhere else.”

The San Francisco and Palo Alto offices have 31 partners and 102 lawyers altogether.

Engstrom added that Baker & McKenzie expects to add two lateral partners to its local tax practice in the next month. He declined to provide the lawyers’ names at this stage in their recruitment.

Baker & McKenzie counted $940 million in revenues last year, up 15 percent from 1999. The San Francisco and Palo Alto offices, one business unit for the firm’s accountants, are second only to the London office in profitability. Every region experienced double-digit revenue increases, said a spokeswoman early last year. Land use partners Timothy Tosta and Judy Davidoff went to San Francisco’s Steefel Levitt & Weiss on April 1, along with five associate-level attorneys from their practice group.

The Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie has about 2,800 lawyers in 61 offices. It’s one of the oldest and largest out-of-town firms in the Bay Area, planting a flag in San Francisco in 1970 and adding a Palo Alto office in 1987.