November 30, 2010
THE RECORDER
By Petra Pasternak
SAN FRANCISCO – San Jose star litigator and Barry Bonds defender Allen Ruby will be joining Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as partner in January.
The 65-year-old Ruby has been practicing as a solo since his partner Glen Schofield retired two years ago. Associates working with Ruby & Schofield had moved on to other firms, Ruby said. He’ll be closing the Law Offices of Allen Ruby at the end of the year.
Ruby said Skadden has the infrastructure, resources and reputation that will afford him the opportunity to continue working on high-end cases. In addition to defending Bonds on perjury charges, Ruby recently represented Hewlett-Packard Co. in its effort to stop ex-CEO Mark Hurd from joining rival Oracle Corp.
His clients have been supportive of his plans, he added: “Everything I’m working on now will come with me.”
Kenton King, the partner in charge of Skadden’s Palo Alto and San Francisco offices, said the firm’s been bolstering its litigation ranks this year with the addition of James Elacqua and two other patent lawyers from Dechert. Ruby brings a diverse practice, King said. “He’s well known for defending Barry Bonds, but a lot of his practice is working for tech companies and executives of tech companies and that syncs up very well with what we’re doing in this area.”
Asked why he’s joining Skadden now, Ruby said: “I didn’t want them to change their minds.”
Hearing that, King responded with a laugh, saying: “He’s a funny guy … we’re genuinely happy about what he brings … he’s the real deal.”