By Gina Passarella
Of the Legal Staff
David Gitlin was one busy partner at Wolf Block in the months leading up to its dissolution. The executive committee member was installed as the firm’s finance partner and worked alongside chairman Mark Alderman to cut millions from the firm’s budget.
The firm ultimately voted late last month to dissolve, however, when its bank was looking for personal guarantees from partners in order to extend any lines of credit. Now, Gitlin, who was also chairman of Wolf Block’s corporate and securities practice, has found a new home at Blank Rome. He will join the firm as a partner in its mergers and acquisitions and private equity group. Gitlin will bring two associates with him. Ephraim Schmeidler and Shaun Snitman were associates in Wolf Block’s New York office and will join the New York office of Blank Rome.
Gitlin’s practice has an international bent and is focused on corporate acquisitions and divestitures, venture capital and technology development and corporate finance work. Many of his clients are foreign companies involved in the purchase or sale of U.S. businesses. He is admitted to the bars of Pennsylvania, New York and Israel.
All three attorneys joining Wolf Block received their law degrees in Israel and are licensed to practice in the country.
They are joining a firm with an existing commitment to the Israeli market. Blank Rome has an Israel client services group, headed up by partner Paul Schieber.
Blank Rome managing partner Carl Buchholz said Gitlin’s practice complements the firm’s existing merger and acquisition and private equity practice extremely well and adds to the international work the firm is already doing.
When asked whether Blank Rome would be bringing any other Wolf Block attorneys on board, Buchholz said that the firm is “always looking for opportunities.”
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