Environmental Attorney McAleese Takes Reins in Philadelphia; Litigator Cherico, in Stamford; David Adler and Sarah Biser Share Duties in NY
McCarter & English, the prominent, 400-attorney regional law firm, has named new managing partners for three of its nine offices. The offices with new managing partners are in New York City, where two attorneys will share the role, and in Philadelphia and Stamford, CT. In addition to servicing clients, McCarter’s office managing partners oversee operations and the business of running each office, including recruiting and retaining legal talent.
David J. Adler, who specializes in bankruptcy and restructuring proceeding and has represented significant creditor constituencies in the Coudert Brothers and Tribune bankruptcies, will share management duties with Sarah B. Biser, who heads the firm’s construction and infrastructure practice. Biser’s construction-related legal work includes AOL’s headquarters, including the CNN newsroom, as well as the expansion of the Panama Canal, a new bridge over the canal, the Technion–Cornell merger, and the development of a 220-megawatt hydroelectric power plant in Panama.
John J. McAleese III, who represents businesses in environmental litigation and regulatory matters, as well as the environmental layer of transactions, was appointed office managing partner for the firm’s two-decade-old Philadelphia office. McAleese becomes the office’s managing partner just as the firm moved to new space in Center City. An attorney for 25 years, McAleese was a practicing chemical engineer before practicing law.
Joseph J. Cherico, a longtime Stamford-based litigator best known for representing banks and other lenders and financial services entities, is the new managing partner in Stamford. A 20-year attorney, who spent time at two large national firms, Cherico litigates complex commercial disputes, including those related to mortgage underwriting and lending, insurance coverage and contractual disputes. He regularly appears in the state and federal courts in Connecticut and New York.
“I am happy that we have a wealth of very talented attorneys who are also good leaders,” said Michael P. Kelly, chairman of the 170-year-old firm. “The four we have named are extraordinary attorneys and business people who are more than up to the task of practicing law, servicing their clients and helping to run our offices. We look forward to seeing the fruits of their efforts on all fronts.”
Each of the managing partners joins the other six offices’ managing partners, plus other McCarter attorneys, on the firm’s Growth Committee, which collaborates with the firm’s Executive Committee to identify areas in which the firm wishes to grow.
“Our firm is in a smart-growth mode, and our new managing partners will be at the forefront of our efforts to grow intelligently,” said Stephen M. Vajtay, Jr., managing partner of the firm. “We are composed of professionals dedicated to the practice of law, but we are also a business, and like any business, we need managers to make sure we operate effectively and efficiently. Identifying, recruiting and retaining the best lawyers in each region will be first and foremost on the minds of our new office managing partners.”