Paul Weiss halves number of associate promotions

New York firm Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison has promoted three associates to its partnership, half the number in 2005.

The promotions come as the firm has lured a star litigation partner from WilmerHale’s DC office.

All three new partners are in the firm’s New York office, its biggest. Last year, Paul Weiss promoted six, with five in New York and one in Tokyo.

Paul Weiss partners enjoy an average profit per partner of $2.78m (£1.25m), making them the fourth most profitable partners in America.

By practice area, M&A benefitted the most, with two new partners, and litigation scored one.

But the office also scored a new litigation partner in the form of Charles Davidow, who was at WilmerHale for 20 years. He has experience in both the Enron and WorldCom investigations.

Davidow is a boost to Paul Weiss’ six-partner DC office but the news comes a day after WilmerHale’s DC office lost its co-chair of securities, Stephen Cutler, who left to become general counsel at JP Morgan Chase & Co.