WASHINGTON, August 1, 2005— LAWFUEL – The Law News Network – Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP announced today that Preston Burton has joined the firm’s Washington, D.C., office as a partner in its litigation practice group.
A former Assistant U.S. Attorney in the Criminal Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, Burton has tried more than 50 cases to verdict. In private practice, while a partner at the Law Offices of Plato Cacheris in Washington, D.C., he represented Monica Lewinsky in the investigation by the Office of Independent Counsel and former FBI Special Agent Robert Hanssen in a high-profile spying prosecution. Most recently, he was a partner in the white collar practice at Caplin & Drysdale in Washington, D.C.
“Preston’s extensive experience in white collar criminal defense and prosecution is a strong addition to our national white collar litigation practice as well as an excellent complement to our industry-leading securities litigation practice,” said Ralph Baxter, Orrick’s chairman and CEO. “We plan to continue expanding our white collar practice—which is currently concentrated in Washington, New York and the West Coast—to accommodate the needs of clients who are increasingly looking to firms offering broad services when confronted with white collar and enforcement issues.”
“Preston strengthens and complements our D.C. litigation team, particularly with respect to investigations and related proceedings generated by government regulatory and law enforcement agencies,” said Ray Mullady, who heads the firm’s Washington, D.C., litigation group. “Our litigation capacity in D.C. has expanded significantly in recent months, enabling us to offer clients a full range of services by some of the most talented practitioners anywhere in the areas of commercial litigation, SEC enforcement, crisis management and now criminal defense. We are very pleased to welcome Preston to Orrick.”
Walter Brown, a San Francisco partner who heads the firm’s white collar practice said, “Having worked collaboratively with Preston in recent years, I am enthused about the energy, experience and judgment he brings to Orrick’s white collar practice. With 5 former Assistant U.S. Attorneys on both coasts, the firm’s white collar practice is positioned to address our clients’ most sensitive needs, wherever they may arise.”
“As an international law firm with a strong national presence in the United States, Orrick provides a broad platform upon which I expect to develop a robust white collar practice,” said Burton. “I have met or worked with a number of Orrick litigators and other lawyers, and I am singularly impressed by their level of talent and professionalism. I look forward to working with my new colleagues.”
Growth of Orrick’s White Collar and Securities Litigation Practices
Orrick has been aggressively growing its white collar criminal litigation and securities litigation practices recently. Orrick’s white collar group added three former Assistant U.S. Attorneys in the past 19 months, including San Francisco partner Melinda Haag, the former Chief of the White Collar Crime Section in San Francisco; New York partner Jay Musoff; and now Preston Burton in Washington, D.C. Earlier this year, the firm’s white collar and securities litigation practices got a boost from the addition of three former lawyers at DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary: Ed Davis, who co-chaired Gray Cary’s white collar crime practice group, Susan Resley and Pamela Davis. The securities litigation team experienced its biggest growth spurt last summer when a 24-lawyer team—most of them securities litigators—joined Orrick from Clifford Chance’s West Coast offices.
Growth of Orrick’s D.C. Litigation Team
Burton is the third high-profile litigator in nine months to join Orrick’s Washington, D.C., office, which has been aggressively growing its litigation practice. In October, the firm announced the arrival of partners James Meyers, who previously had been Assistant Chief Litigation Counsel in the Division of Enforcement at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and Garret Rasmussen, who was a senior antitrust and litigation partner at Patton Boggs. Partner Lanny Davis, who served as White House Special Counsel to President Clinton, had joined the firm’s D.C. office the previous year, also from Patton Boggs.
About Orrick
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP is an international law firm with more than 700 lawyers in North America, Europe, and Asia. The firm focuses on litigation, complex and novel finance, and innovative corporate transactions. Orrick clients include Fortune 100 companies, major industrial and financial corporations, commercial and investment banks, high-growth companies, governmental entities, start-ups, and individuals. The firm’s 15 offices are located in New York, Washington, D.C., San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento, Los Angeles, Orange County, Pacific Northwest, London, Milan, Moscow, Paris, Rome, Taipei, and Tokyo.
