In most countries, lawyers are not required to hold an LL.M. degree, and many do not choose to obtain one. An LL.M. degree by itself generally does not qualify graduates to practice law. In most cases, LL.M. students must first obtain a professional degree in law, e.g. the Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) in the United Kingdom or the Juris Doctor (J.D.) in the United States, and pass a bar exam or the equivalent exam in other countries, such as the Zweites Staatsexamen in Germany. While the general curriculum of the LL.B. and J.D. is designed to give students the basic skills and knowledge to become lawyers, law students wishing to specialize in a particular area can continue their studies with an LL.M. program. Some universities also consider students for their LL.M. program who hold degrees in other related areas, or have expertise in a specific area of law.

Graduation requirements for an LL.M. program vary depending on the respective university guidelines. Some programs are research-oriented and require students to write a thesis, while others only offer a number of classes that students must take to complete the course of study. Many LL.M. programs combine both coursework and research. Part-time programs are also available for professionals wishing to complete their LL.M. while working full-time.

Prospective students should be aware that there is no universal definition for the term LL.M. It is used in different ways by institutions around the world. Particularly in the United States and Germany, LL.M. programs are often designed to teach foreign lawyers the basic legal principles of the host country. In this regard, the LL.M. can help lawyers seeking to relocate and practice in another country, or expand their area of practice to multinational issues. The completion of an LL.M. program, however, does not automatically qualify foreign students to take the bar exam in their host country. In the U.S., for example, some states allow foreign lawyers to seek admission to the bar upon completion of an LL.M., while in other states, a J.D. is required.

LL.M. is an abbreviation of the Latin Legum Magister, which means Master of Laws. In Latin, the plural form of a word is abbreviated by repeating the letter. Hence, "LL." is short for "laws." Legum is the possessive plural form of the Latin word lex, which means "specific laws", as opposed to the more general concept embodied in the word jus, from which the word juris and the modern English word "justice" are derived.

With 15 offices around the world, Akin Gump advises international, regional and local clients in more than 50 practice areas. In Mainland China, practices will include business transactions; private equity and funds; environment, natural resources and energy; intellectual property; and international trade. The firm also offers one of the world’s largest and most respected public policy practices helping clients with the resources necessary to overcome regulatory obstacles anywhere in the world.

Commenting on the launch, Eliot Cutler, partner in charge of Akin Gump’s Beijing office, said, “As Chinese companies move increasingly into overseas markets, they will require a broad array of legal, policy and regulatory services. Akin Gump is one of only a few law firms that can provide an entire range of those services in one firm.”

In addition to supporting Chinese outbound investment, Akin Gump will help foreign companies overcome their hurdles in the China market by navigating legal and regulatory landscapes and addressing risks that stand in the way of commercial success.

Akin Gump played an important role in supporting foreign trade and investment in China prior to receiving its license in December 2006. Founder Robert Strauss helped establish formal commercial and diplomatic relations between the United States and the People’s Republic of China. Appointed as special trade representative by President Jimmy Carter, Ambassador Strauss negotiated the first trade agreement between the United States and China.

R. Bruce McLean, Akin Gump's chairman, said, “Establishing a presence on the Chinese Mainland will enable us to further Ambassador Strauss’ vision of strong and robust trade and investment ties between the People’s Republic of China and the United States, and indeed now other major world economies. We are looking forward to proactively working with clients to best address their business and legal needs across a variety of industries, and are excited by the tremendous opportunities here.”

The office opens with a dynamic team of local and foreign qualified lawyers:

Eliot Cutler is partner-in-charge in the Beijing office. Before relocating with the firm to Beijing, Mr. Cutler was based in Washington, D.C., where he helped corporate and government clients grapple with complicated legal and public policy problems. His career spans government service, law and politics.
Ying White joins as senior counsel. A dual-qualified lawyer in the People’s Republic of China and the United States, Ms. Ying was the lead attorney advising the World Bank’s Pension Fund while she was counsel at the Bank.
Zhao Xiaohua (Sarah) is a partner in the firm’s Washington and Beijing offices, where she works on transactional and project finance matters for both Chinese and foreign clients.
Zheng Xilin joins as an associate following two years at the World Bank. Mr. Zheng previously worked in the Law and Treaty Department of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and assisted in the negotiation of the Hong Kong SAR and Macau SAR agreements.
Stephen Kho joins from the Office of the Special Trade Representative of the United States, where he was the top lawyer on China matters and worked extensively on World Trade Organization matters related to China.
In addition to this team of in-house legal professionals, the firm’s public policy and government relations work will be supported by a highly distinguished group of senior advisors with extensive experience in the China market. The initial members of this team of advisors include—

Chen Ying, who joins Akin Gump as a senior advisor. Ms. Chen is deputy director general of China Enterprises Confederation (CEC), the principal industry association of more than 500,000 Chinese employer entities. She has served as an alternate delegate from China to the International Labor Organization in Geneva and has been one of China’s principal spokespersons on CSR matters.
Ma Lianyuan, widely recognized as a leading expert on patent law in China, who joins as a senior advisor. He is the former deputy commissioner of China’s State Intellectual Property Office (SIPO) and will serve for the next three years as the elected president of the All China Association of Patent Attorneys.
Akin Gump’s Beijing office will be supported by the firm’s extensive capabilities in offices around the world, including in major political and commercial centers such as New York, Washington, D.C., London, Moscow and Dubai.

The office opening corresponds with Akin Gump’s ongoing sponsorship of the Guggenheim Foundation’s “Art in America: 300 Years of Innovation” exhibition that is currently being held in Beijing at the National Museum of Art and will soon open in Shanghai at the Shanghai Museum and Museum of Contemporary Art.

Founded in 1945, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, a leading international law firm, numbers more than 900 lawyers with offices in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Dubai, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, New York, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Taipei and Washington. The firm has a diversified practice and represents regional, national and international clients in a wide range of areas, including antitrust; appellate; banking and finance; capital markets; communications and information technology; corporate and securities; corporate governance; employee benefits; energy; entertainment and media; environmental; estate planning, wealth transfer and probate; financial restructuring; global security; government contracts; health; insurance; intellectual property; international trade; investment funds; labor and employment; land use; litigation; mergers and acquisitions; private equity; privatization; project development and finance; public law and policy; real estate development and finance; Russia/CIS; tax; and technology.

www.akingump.com

Foley & Lardner LLP announced today that government relations attorney Jonathan Kilman has joined the firm's Orlando and Tallahassee offices in its Government & Public Affairs Practice.

Kilman will focus his practice on representing public and private clients in public affairs and government relations, community relations, litigation, appellate and administrative matters. He has broad experience representing private clients and state agencies, including advising the State Technology Office in procurement matters, and representing the Florida House of Representatives in litigation and appeals related to the redistricting of Florida's state and federal legislative districts. In 2004, he represented the Florida Secretary of State in state and federal election litigation and appeals. Most recently, Kilman served as legal counsel for the Charlie Crist for Governor Campaign. As such, he advised the campaign on a host of issues.

"Jonathan's experience advising government agencies will be a great resource in growing and developing the firm's Public Affairs Practice in Florida and beyond," said Orlando Managing Partner Michael Gay. "His experience providing legal services in litigation and government matters will be a great resource for our Florida business clients."

The announcement comes on the heels of Republican lobbyist Michael Harrell and former Department of Management Services Secretary Robert Hosay and Chris Kise, head of the firm's Appellate Practice, joining the firm's Tallahassee office in July. Kise has since left to serve within the Crist Administration as Counsellor to the Governor.

Kilman comes to Foley from GrayRobinson, P.A., where he was elected the youngest shareholder in the firm's history and serve as a member of the government, litigation, technology business law and technology licensing practices. Previously, he worked as an associate in the Boston office of Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom LLP, where he represented clients in mergers and acquisitions, venture capital financing and intellectual property. Kilman also clerked within the U.S. Attorney's Office and the District of Massachusetts.

Kilman earned his juris doctorate from Harvard Law School and his bachelor's degree from the University of Florida.

Foley & Lardner LLP provides the full range of corporate legal counsel. Our attorneys understand today's most complex business issues, including corporate governance, securities enforcement, litigation, mergers and acquisitions, intellectual property counseling and litigation, outsourcing and information technology, labor and employment, and tax. The firm offers total solutions in the automotive, emerging technologies, energy, entertainment and media, financial services, food, golf and resort services, insurance, health care, life sciences, nanotechnology, and sports industries.

The Towson law firm Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz has lost a partner and had a name change.

With the recent departure of partner Louis Ulman, the firm has officially become Hodes, Pessin & Katz.

"After 15 years with us, Lou has decided to move on to greener pastures," said founding partner Michael Hodes. "It's not every day that a name person (in a firm) moves on."

Hodes started the practice in Towson in 1988 as a one-man operation called Michael Hodes PA. Today, the firm has nearly 50 attorneys working from offices in Towson, Columbia, Bel Air, Bethesda and Cambridge.

Hodes said that with Ulman's departure, the law required the name of the firm to change.

"Unless a partner either dies or retires, you have to change the name," Hodes said.

"It's very amicable," Hodes said of Ulman's departure. "Lou is one of my closest friends. We were partners at another firm for many years before I started this firm. We have had a very great relationship forever."

On March 2, Ulman, a Howard County resident, became a senior partner in the Howard County offices of Offit Kurman, a firm with offices in Baltimore County, Howard County, Montgomery County, Harford County and Philadelphia.

Ulman, who specializes in estate planning, elder law and asset protection, said he left Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz on friendly terms. He said he wanted to practice law in a larger firm where he could draw the individual areas of expertise of a larger staff of attorneys.

Ulman also cited his own roots and family ties to Howard County as a reason for the change. His son, attorney Ken Ulman, is county executive in Howard County.

"It was very difficult to practice in a small satellite office, and I wanted to be in a bigger office," he said. "We have 25 attorneys here," he said of Offit Kurman's Howard County office."

Even though the Hodes, Ulman, Pessin & Katz moniker has become ingrained in the public imagination through effective marketing, Hodes said, this is just the latest in a string of name changes his firm has undergone as it has expanded from one attorney to nearly 50.

"It seems to happen every January," he said. "Nothing has really changed except our name."

A New Jersey jury awarded a plaintiff $20 million in the latest Vioxx litigation on Monday. The jury found that the drug, distributed by Merck, caused the plaintiff's heart attack and that had the plaintiff's doctor known of the risks associated with Vioxx he would not have prescribed it to the plaintiff. During the first phase of the trial, the jury found that Merck had not adequately warned doctors and consumers about the increased risk of heart attack associated with the drug.

Last week, a New Jersey Superior Court upheld a separate jury verdict that found Merck adequately warned physicians of the risks associated with Vioxx. Merck faces more than 27,000 lawsuits from people who say they were harmed by the once $2.5 billion-a-year drug before it was pulled from the market in September of 2004. Merck has set aside $1 billion to fight every Vioxx court challenge. In November 2006, a federal judge declined to certify a national class action suit, ruling that it made more sense to try the cases in their respective states of origin.

SIMON H. BLOOM has left Powell Goldstein, where he was a partner, to launch his own shop, the Bloom Law Firm. Bloom is bringing along a Powell Goldstein associate, Stephanie E. Dyer, to his firm, which is in the Equitable Building at 100 Peachtree St.

Bloom said his firm focuses on real estate disputes. He represents owners, developers, builders, contractors and brokers. “Our shop will be able to take a piece of dirt from entitlement through any aspect of development of the property and litigation,” he said.

“It’s always been a dream of mine to go out on my own and offer my services to a wider market,” said Bloom, 35, of his decision to open his own firm. He had practiced at Powell Goldstein since 1997. He explained that big firm rates were pricing him out of what he sees as a “huge middle market.”

He said that at Powell Goldstein he billed clients $385 an hour, adding that his rate there was about to increase to $405 an hour. “Only the Fortune 1000 could afford my rates—and there are only so many of those clients to go around that have real estate issues,” he said.

His new rate is $295. “If you want a Powell Goldstein-quality trial lawyer, you’re not going to get a better deal,” he said.

“It used to be that you went to the biggest firms if you had an important case. Now you have other options. … There are specialists in smaller firms who can do just as good a job without the overhead and higher rates.”

Bloom said he brings “a healthy percentage” of his clients to his new firm, but declined to name them.