June 3, 2007

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By Jason Song

LOS ANGELES – Robert S. Metzger has left Gibson Dunn & Crutcher to join Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman.

Metzger, 56, was the former chair of Gibson Dunn’s commercial and government contracts practice group. He had been with the firm 10 years, specializing in communications, aviation, aerospace and information technology law.

Metzger began the new job May 1 and will split time between Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.

A 30-year veteran of the legal industry, Metzger said he began looking for a new address at the start of 2007.

“Gibson is a terrific firm, but it was gravitating a bit toward the New York model, with a high emphasis on profitability,” he said. “I was looking for something different.”

Metzger also said he had encountered more and more conflict-of-interest issues with other Gibson attorneys who represented his opponents.

“Bob has left to pursue other opportunities, and we wish him well,” said Marjorie Lewis, co-partner in charge of Gibson Dunn’s Los Angeles office.

Metzger has some history with Pillsbury. When he was serving as co-counsel for AT&T several years ago, he represented the company’s interests in Southern California while Pillsbury attorneys handled its Northern California interests.

“What I came to appreciate is there might be a really good complement of skills there,” he said.

Metzger also believes he will see fewer conflict-of-interest concerns at Pillsbury, because he shares a number of clients with the firm.

“Many of his clients already call on Pillsbury for advice and counseling,” said Bob Robbins, head of Pillsbury’s corporate and securities practice, in a statement.

Legal recruiter Larry Watanabe helped broker the deal.

Metzger said he expects the majority of his clients to follow him to his new firm, including AT&T, Supersonic Aerospace International, and venture capital and private equity groups that invest in the aerospace and defense sectors.

Metzger also said he was aware of the recent exodus of Pillsbury partners, including the former head of the firm’s intellectual property litigation group. Three more lawyers recently defected to Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Pillsbury’s revenues have dipped over the past couple of years, and the firm has been beset by negative publicity over partner defections and its decision in February to issue so-called “clawback” letters to at least eight former partners, demanding that they repay part or all of their 2006 earnings.

To date, Pillsbury has received no formal response from the attorneys, according to a Pillsbury representative.

“My judgment is that the issues that may have caused concern … are largely behind the firm,” Metzger said.

He received his law degree from Georgetown University School of Law. Before joining Gibson Dunn as a partner in 1997, he had been a partner at Kirkland & Ellis and Latham & Watkins.

Pillsbury, with 15 offices worldwide, has 825 attorneys. Gibson Dunn has 800 attorneys in 13 offices in the U.S. and Europe.