After flatter-than-expected deal activity last year, optimism can be seen wandering the halls of Jones Day (particularly if you're one of its many recent laterals picked up to fill demand for healthcare, regulatory work, and more).
We snapped Washington partner-in-charge Greg Shumaker in his office at 51 Louisiana Ave. One area that's clearly booming is the Affordable Care Act. Jones Day recently brought in four lateral partners (see below). The effects will be felt "far and wide," at any company that has a benefits plan. Companies' valuations and how that rolls into pricing and antitrust defense are impacted, and that's going to be a really big area. The laterals join the likes of Mike Carvin and Greg Katsas, who actually challenged ACA before the Supreme Court last year, and are still challenging aspects, such as how subsidies relate to the exchanges.
Jones Day's also handling the bankruptcy of Detroit, the largest municipal bankruptcy in history. Here's a political cartoon we spotted on Greg's shelf about the City's eligibility for bankruptcy protection (ah, lawyer jokes). Unlike Chapter 11 bankruptcy, for Detroit to be eligible for Chapter 9, the state had to submit itself to federal jurisdiction and went through a nine-day trial. Greg tells us the matter's been keeping him and others busy since April last year--on issues including bankruptcy, litigation, tax, employee benefits. He spent the winter holidays in Detroit. Kevyn Orr, the current emergency manager for the City, was deposed on New Year's Eve.
"I think deal activity is starting to pick up," says Greg, which affects many practices. The firm handled the American Airlines/US Airways merger at the end of last year. It's now broadening a lot of its regulatory capabilities, from banking (recently adding former Freddie Mac deputy GC Lisa Ledbetter), to aviation (former FAA assistant chief counsel Rebecca MacPherson). Government contracts is an area of real potential growth, despite some potential defense industry downsizing. The lit group's had its share of high-profile matters: Noel Francisco represented Noel Canning Corp in challenging NLRB recess appointments before the Supreme Court last year. Hank Asbill is part of the defense team for former VA Governor McDonnell.
We snapped a few of the new healthcare adds flanking Greg: Colleen Heisey, Mark Mansour, Alexis Gilroy, and Cathy Livingston. Greg's been with the firm since he was a summer associate '86, and his brother Mike, who's now firm administrative partner, joined the firm when he graduated in '91. In the healthcare area, Mark tells us, the entire regulatory structure has become incredibly international. There are 27 FDA offices around the world inspecting products that are coming in, and Europeans and others are just as demanding. Alexis's practice--digital health--uses video conferencing to bring more healthcare to rural areas.
Cathy, left, was Health Care Counsel in the IRS office of Chief Counsel, where she was the lead lawyer advising on ACA. Basically, if it has to do with taxes and healthcare, she's your lawyer. Colleen, right, focuses on food and drug law. That has a heavy international component, too. A startling 90% of the food and supplements made in the US have ingredients made in other countries, 60% to 70% of which come from China. What's happening in healthcare right now is equivalent to what happened to banking in the '80s says Alexis--technology is enabling healthcare to become more efficient and connected, and a lot of it's being pushed ahead because of the ACA.
