In a sign of the times, Patrick A. Tuite, the dean of Chicago’s criminal defense community, is shuttering the boutique law practice he has operated for the last quarter of a century to become a partner at Arnstein & Lehr.
Tuite, who most recently has partnered with Ronald D. Menaker, another veteran criminal lawyer, and Brent D. Stratton, will join Arnstein & Lehr on Feb. 1. Tuite and Menaker, who also becomes a partner, will organize and lead a white-collar criminal defense unit at Arnstein & Lehr, a 100-year-old firm with about 80 partners and associates.
Tuite has been standard fare at the Dirksen federal building, defending judges, lawyers, bailiffs and organized-crime figures against extortion, bombing and racketeering charges. One of his most sensational wins: The acquittal, in the mid-80s, of Associate Circuit Judge John G. Laurie, who had been accused of bribery in the Operation Greylord probe.
Tuite’s move marks the tail end of an epoch that reached a high-water mark in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s, when LaSalle Street was home to dozens of small criminal defense firms, composed of one, two or three partners who were colorful, competent and driven by the spirit of the lone wolf. With increased competition, higher costs and recognition of economies of scale, they have mostly merged or gone out of business.
“The practice has changed dramatically,” said Tuite, who opened a private practice on Jan. 1, 1969, after eight years as an assistant Cook County state’s attorney.
“When I started out, there were a lot of individuals or smaller firms out there. But now, all the major firms have criminal defense departments, backed by staffs and headed by talented lawyers who are former federal prosecutors,” Tuite said.
Indeed. There is Dan K. Webb, former U.S. attorney, now at giant Winston & Strawn; Daniel E. Reidy, once head of special prosecutions under Webb, at Jones Day Reavis & Pogue; Anton R. Valukas and Thomas Sullivan, both one-time U.S. attorneys, Jenner & Block; Vincent Connelly, an assistant to Webb, now at Mayer Brown & Platt; Joseph J. Duffy, former first assistant under Valukas, Schiff Hardin & Waite; and Sheldon T. Zenner, ex-Greylord prosecutor, at Katten Muchin & Zavis.
Of curtains and `Cupcake’
Jenner & Block has “awful” offices and “dirty curtains.” Associate morale has dropped at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal, which needs “to do damage control about what associates say about the place.” Rudnick & Wolfe is “like a fraternity, albeit a nice fraternity.”
Just a few of the tidbits in “The Insider’s Guide to Law Firms,” which profiles firms in 12 cities, including 20 in Chicago. Published by Harvard Law School students, it’s a handy guide for students who generally can’t tell one firm from another during interviews for summer jobs.
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For the rest of us, though, it’s just plain interesting to get a different perspective on the city’s big firms. Additional samplings:
Pope & John’s “high-energy, hard-working” style has brought it tremendous success, and its partners “are making a mint.”
Winston & Strawn’s hierarchy even extends to its dining room, which “looks like a restaurant.” Waiters in black ties and white jackets serve lawyers only, not spouses and not clients. When the firm’s recruitment coordinator shows new summer associates around, she gives them a key card to check out the place while she waits outside.
Ross & Hardies provides “an amiable environment”-perhaps too much so. One senior partner refers to two fourth-year female associates who work for him as “Cupcake” and “Sweetheart,” even in front of clients.
No evidence of offensive nicknames at Hopkins & Sutter, which has a “kidding and light atmosphere.”
Compare that to Katten Muchin & Zavis, which “has a salesman-like culture,” where you “have to toot your own horn to be successful” and where “one project can do you in,” or Kirkland & Ellis, where associates talk and brag about billables and will say, “I billed 240 hours last month.”
– Comings and Goings: Stephen Morrill has stepped down as chief legal counsel to Illinois Senate President James “Pate” Philip to become a partner with William Griffin, former chief of staff to Mayor Jane Byrne, and corporate attorney John Lison. The firm’s new name: Lison, Griffin & Morrill.