Alumnus Steven Molo '82 launches MoloLamken LLP in New York and Washington, D.C.

1982 College of Law graduate Steven F. Molo, who presented "Why Lawyering Matters" in front of a capacity crowd as the annual Van Arsdell Lecture at the College of Law earlier in September, announced on September 29 the creation of MoloLamken LLP, a litigation boutique with a national practice focused on complex, high-stakes civil litigation, white collar criminal defense, U.S. Supreme Court and appellate cases, and regulatory matters before administrative agencies.

Mr. Molo, who has been a partner at Shearman & Sterling in New York for the past five and a half years, is partnering with Jeffrey A. Lamken, who was the head of the Supreme Court and appellate practice for Baker Botts in Washington, D.C. and previously served as an Assistant to the Solicitor General in the U.S. Department of Justice. A loyal College of Law alumnus, Mr. Molo serves on the College's Board of Visitors and spearheaded the Class of '82 Scholars Fund gift campaign, providing student scholarship assistance.

Mr. Molo is leaving Shearman & Sterling in New York, where he was a partner in the litigation group. He was previously a partner with Winston & Strawn in Chicago for 18 years and served on that firm’s executive committee. Mr. Molo recently successfully defended former Reagan cabinet member David Stockman, who had been charged with securities fraud in New York following the bankruptcy of auto supplier Collins & Aikman; all charges were dismissed. Molo and Lamken also recently worked together to successfully reverse a $1.6 billion verdict against Morgan Stanley that a Florida jury had awarded to Coleman (Parent) Holdings, a company controlled by financier Ron Perelman.

With initial offices in New York and Washington, D.C., MoloLamken will represent both plaintiffs and defendants in trials, appeals, grand jury and regulatory defense, and internal investigations. With a focus on quality and experience, and an intention to remain small in size by today’s law firm standards, the firm’s strategic plan calls for measured growth over the next three to five years with the objective to build a team of 40 to 50 attorneys.

Market Conditions Ripe for National Litigation Boutique

Molo noted that despite the broader economic and legal industry downturn, market conditions are heightening the demand for agile and experienced litigation counsel. He believes the success of his and Lamken’s new venture will be enhanced by a growth in complex litigation due to the recession and the re-organization of the financial services industry, as well as continued growth in intellectual property and product liability litigation.

“Clients have validated the opportunities we see in the marketplace. They understand the logic of our philosophy of providing alternative fee arrangements that align our interests with their own and reward success,” explained Molo. “We’re excited about the response our new platform is generating already.”

Among the notable matters Mr. Molo has handled over the past five years at Shearman & Sterling are the successful defense of the former CFO of Symbol Technologies charged with 22 counts of securities and mail fraud based on alleged accounting irregularities. Five cooperating witnesses testified during a seven-week trial which resulted in a hung jury and a resolution involving no jail time for the client; The defense of BARBRI, the nation’s largest bar review provider, in antitrust class actions in New York and Los Angeles which were settled; The successful defense of Aon in a jury trial involving allegations by the former CEO of re-insurance broker Swett & Crawford, who claimed the company owed him in excess of $15 million in bonuses at the time of his departure; The successful defense of Morgan Stanley and Van Kampen in obtaining the dismissal of class action suits in Chicago and New York which challenged their methods of operating their mutual funds; The successful defense of Hub International, obtaining dismissal of consolidated civil antitrust class actions in New Jersey; and, significant victories in the Illinois Supreme Court in separate cases for UBS (striking as unconstitutional a portion of the Illinois Whistleblower Act in a municipal bond “yield burning” case) and a group of prominent banks (striking as unconstitutional certain limitations of the Illinois Interest Act).