Among the high number of lateral moves in 2022, these generated the most buzz.
Talk of the Talent
Described by Paul Hastings as a “unicorn deal,” it was one of the largest group moves in Big Law history, taking 43 of Stroock & Stroock & Lavan’s lawyers and just about its entire restructuring practice at a time when that practice is expected to get busy. The group’s leader, Kristopher Hansen, said the team’s decision to represent the funds community (another busy area) means it’s busy in any economic cycle. The departure of one of their marquis practices left Stroock with questions about its future focus.
Paul Hastings’ 43-Lawyer Lift-Out From Stroock
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ink drop/Adobe Stock
Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
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Government Hires of Note
By ALM Staff
Any hints of economic headwinds in 2022 didn’t do anything to slow lateral partner interest. In fact, it grew. U.S. firms had their eyes on talent all over the globe, which in some cases meant hiring a single star and, in others, massive groups. The 25 moves listed here left the biggest imprint on the industry in 2022 for the impact they had on their former organization, the value they brought to their new firm or the major industry trend they represent.
Carmen Natale/ALM
Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Preet Bharara to Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.
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Randy Mastro’s move from Gibson Dunn was not only eye-catching because the 20-year practice leader was synonymous with the firm’s award-winning litigation team, but because it was tied to a failed bid for overall firm leadership and Gibson Dunn’s mandatory retirement policy. Mastro’s move gave King & Spalding a significant boost in litigation and resulted in others following him to the firm. Some of Mastro’s largest clients said they would follow him to King & Spalding, where he hoped to grow the firm’s global litigation prowess.
Randy Mastro From Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher to King & Spalding
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It’s always notable when a leader of a firm departs, and that was certainly the case when Natasha Harrison decided to take a 27-lawyer team with her from Boies Schiller Flexner to form a new firm, Pallas Partners. Harrison had led Boies Schiller through its tumultuous leadership transition from a first-generation team under David Boies to several subsequent iterations and partner departures. Her departure meant the vast majority of Boies Schiller’s London team left, as did most of the clients. She wanted to create a leaner, more nimble litigation firm, she said.
Natasha Harrison and Team From Boies Schiller to Pallas
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The departure of the seven-lawyer Paris corporate team marked the second time in as many years Shearman & Sterling lost a big group in City of Light. The defection to Paris stalwart Gide Loyrette Nouel was led by 33-year Shearman veteran Sami Toutounji, a partner and head of the governance, benefits and employee shareholding practice within corporate at Shearman.
7-Lawyer Team Leaves Shearman & Sterling for Gide
Riccardo MANACH
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Paul Hastings made a big grab in London with the hire of a four-person finance team from Latham & Watkins. Partner Ross Anderson was head of Latham’s global banking practice, while Mo Nurmohamed and Karan Chopra co-chaired the London finance practice. They joined Paul Hastings along with partner Rob Davidson. The team is part of the firm’s aim to be a go-to on the most notable transactions.
Paul Hastings Gets Latham London Finance Team
Randy Mastro
Randy Mastro’s move from Gibson Dunn was not only eye-catching because the 20-year practice leader was synonymous with the firm’s award-winning litigation team, but because it was tied to a failed bid for overall firm leadership and Gibson Dunn’s mandatory retirement policy. Mastro’s move gave King & Spalding a significant boost in litigation and resulted in others following him to the firm. Some of Mastro’s largest clients said they would follow him to King & Spalding, where he hoped to grow the firm’s global litigation prowess.
Natasha Harrison
L to R: Constance Martinez, Sami Toutounji,
Barbara Streichenberger-Michel, Maxime Ehrhart, Françoise Even, Sonia Boulongne, Jérémy Lereau-Colonna
L to R: Rob Davidson, Ross Anderson, Mo Nurmohamed, Karan Chopra
Julie Gao
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When Hong Kong-based partner Julie Gao left Skadden to become CFO of ByteDance, the firm lost a prolific dealmaker. The rainmaker and head of the firm’s China operations led on its U.S.-China listings practice. The IPOs she advised on in the three years preceding her departure raised $18 billion—almost double the total of the rest of the 74 listings done in that period. Even if listings work has slowed for the time being, her departure left the firm with a big gap to fill, and gave other firms opportunities to get a piece of the China corporate pie.
Julie Gao Left Skadden for ByteDance
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The significant lift-out between two Wall Street elite firms saw five partners (Ray Shirazi, Steven Lofchie, Dorothy Mehta, Nihal Patel and Jason Schwartz), 15 other attorneys and 15 professionals leave Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft for Fried Frank. The finance team, split between New York and Washington, D.C., brought with it a number of large, sell-side financial institutions as clients. The February 2022 move continued a string of lateral hires Fried Frank had made in the corporate space.
Fried Frank Nabs 20-Lawyer Cadwalader Team
Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
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Holland & Knight’s hire of nine energy transition lawyers from Eversheds Sutherland was indicative of the industry’s massive interest in energy transition work in 2022—interest that firms are banking on paying dividends in 2023. Holland & Knight had been expanding its energy practice in recent years, particularly with its merger of Texas-based Thompson & Knight. Holland & Knight has been on a growth tear lately and has been no stranger to picking up substantial groups or merging.
Holland & Knight Takes Eversheds Energy Team
Amish Shah
Ram Sunkara
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McDermott Will & Emery’s launch in Austin ticked a lot of the 2022 law firm growth trend boxes. The IP litigation team from Baker Botts represented a hot practice area that industry observers are predicting will remain so into this year. Austin also continued to be a hot spot for law firm expansion, particularly given its ties to patent work. And homegrown Texas firms are no stranger to being poached from out-of-town firms looking to make a entrance into the Lone Star State.
McDermott Opens in Austin With 11 Baker Botts Partners
Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
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Bruce Herzog, who had been co-managing partner of Willkie Farr & Gallagher’s Houston office, which he helped found in 2014, took his private equity practice to competitor Latham & Watkins. Latham described Herzog as one of the earliest and most well-known lawyers in Houston to focus on private equity. While PE firms may be facing some economic headwinds, many predict the practice will rebound and Latham has a long history of success in PE. Herzog’s departure also represented one of a several significant losses in Willkie’s Houston office.
Bruce Herzog Leaves Willkie for Latham
Bruce Herzog
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Orrick’s hire of a four-person IP litigation team from Milbank helped replenish the former firm’s IP bench and gave it some life sciences expertise. David Gindler, the leader of Milbank’s IP litigation and licensing practice, joined Orrick with Gary Frischling, Lauren Drake and John Lu. The group consisted of two trial veterans and two up-and-coming leaders in the practice, and showed the demand for IP talent.
Orrick Takes 4-Person IP Team From Milbank
L to R: David Gindler, Gary Frischling, Lauren Drake, John Lu
Maj Vaseghi
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Considered one of the best executive compensation lawyers in the Silicon Valley area, Maj Vaseghi’s move to Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer in 2020 to open the firm’s new SV-area office was a big deal. But so, too, was her return to Latham & Watkins just two years later. The rainmaker, whose clients include Google, American Airlines and Mattel, was reportedly less interested in the work she was doing at Freshfields and wanted to rejoin Latham, with the comprehensive international platform the firm provides.
Maj Vaseghi Returns to Latham From Freshfields
Heidi Mayon
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Simpson Thacher & Bartlett’s ability to hire a tech-industry-focused dealmaker from a firm entrenched in that West Coast tech scene was notable in the California market. Heidi Mayon’s departure from Goodwin to join Simpson in Palo Alto, California, brought Simpson a capital markets lawyer with recent experience handling IPOs for DoorDash and Poshmark, among others. Mayon is a Silicon Valley staple, having worked at Gunderson Dettmer and Pillsbury before joining Goodwin.
Heidi Mayon Leaves Goodwin for Simpson Thacher
Nicole Brookshire
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In another example of a Wall Street firm picking up talent from a West Coast stalwart, Davis Polk & Wardwell hired Nicole Brookshire from Cooley. Brookshire has been ranked as the top issuer-side IPO technology attorney for the East Coast from 2017 through 2021. The 14-year veteran of Cooley and member of its board of directors previously served as co-chair of its public companies practice. Brookshire followed a number of lateral partner hires by Davis Polk, which has been more active in the lateral market than usual.
Nicole Brookshire From Cooley to Davis Polk
Jay Neukom
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Jay Neukom’s move from Skadden to Debevoise & Plimpton highlighted a number of industry trends, including the increase in hiring by Wall Street elite firms, a focus for those firms on the West Coast and an interest in IP litigation. Neukom, who was co-head of Skadden’s IP litigation practice, joined Debevoise as part of the firm’s buildout of its relatively new San Francisco office. Neukom, a trade secret, patent, trademark and copyright infringement partner, has represented Cisco, Google, Philips and Fortinet, among others.
Jay Neukom Joins Debevoise From Skadden
John Estes III
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A senior statesman of the environmental litigation bar, John Estes III was described by his new firm as a “FERC legend.” His hire by Jenner & Block from Skadden marked another example of the industry’s interest in energy transition and the related regulation and litigation. Jenner & Block said his hire comes at a time when the industry would be reshaped by new regulations as well as the largest investment in climate and energy in U.S. history and a global focus on reducing energy dependence.
John Estes Joins Jenner & Block From Skadden
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After the pandemic saw a huge surge in lawyers moving to remote law firms amid an interest in working remotely, Greenberg Traurig’s hire of 16 lawyers from dispersed firm FisherBroyles showed the limitations of that trend. The IP group, whose move totaled 31 people altogether when factoring in agents and others, cited Greenberg Traurig’s nationwide physical presence as a reason for their move. Leaders of the team said they felt hamstrung to meet with clients or develop associates without physical locations.
Greenberg Traurig Gets 16-Lawyer FisherBroyles Team
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Funds work was by far one of the hottest practice areas of 2022, even in a dulled corporate market, and recruiters predict a continued surge in the area in 2023, making Kirkland & Ellis’s hire of six funds lawyers from Proskauer Rose all the more timely. New York partners Nicole Runyan and Brad Green, Washington, D.C., partners William Tuttle, Erin Lett and David Marcinkus, and Boston partner Lisa Goldstein made the move. In a clear example of Kirkland’s commitment to invest in the practice, the firm elevated three of those lawyers to partner from counsel roles they held at Proskauer.
Kirkland Grabs 6-Lawyer Funds Team From Proskauer
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Another busy practice area in 2022 was real estate finance, and Reed Smith made a big investment in the practice with the acquisition of 11 lawyers from Akerman in New York. Randy Eckers, who previously led the real estate finance group at Akerman, said Reed Smith’s ability to securitize the commercial real estate loans that his group originated would help him to grow the practice. It was a piece of his lender-side practice the team had to outsource before. Eckers said he sees growth potential this year in commercial property assessed clean energy loans.
Reed Smith Gets 11-Lawyer Team From Akerman
Veronica Hayes Gromada
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Hiring a senior in-house lawyer is often a feather in a firm’s cap, but Shook’s hire of Veronica Gromada was that and more given its deep products liability bench and Gromada’s experience managing the retail giant’s tort litigation portfolio. She said she wanted a lifestyle change after 17 years in-house. “Since I have been at Walmart, I have grown as a lawyer, as a leader and as a business professional,” she says. “I just see this as a prime time in my life and in my career to take all of the many learnings from the experiences at Walmart and leverage that to serve corporate clients across the country.”
Veronica Gromada Leaves Walmart for Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM
Bryan Hanks
Jonathan Lee
John Disney/ALM
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Nelson Mullins has made several large-scale acquisitions and mergers over the past several years, with a particular focus on building out its national products liability practice. The 31-partner products team hire from Bowman and Brooke added depth to the practice and several offices across the country. In total, 52 lawyers left the smaller firm to join Nelson Mullins, which said the additions further into the west gave the firm more breadth to cover a growing number of national counsel roles it plays in major products litigation.
Nelson Mullins Picks Up 31-Partner Products Team
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Kenneth Ziman left his role as managing director at asset management firm Lazard for Paul Weiss to work on what he said was an inevitable increase in restructuring work in the coming years. Attracted to the firm through his relationship with bankruptcy co-chair Paul Basta, Ziman brings his experience working with PG&E, MF Global and Takata. He also advises private equity portfolio companies and has worked directly with leading sponsors, including Blackstone Group, Carlyle and KKR—all familiar territory for Paul Weiss.
Paul Weiss Hires Lazard Restructuring Director
Kenneth Ziman
John Disney/ALM
John Disney/ALM
Paul Scrivano
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In February 2022, amid a still robust M&A market, Davis Polk hired away Ropes & Gray M&A leader Paul Scrivano. Not only did Scrivano bring considerable experience in major, multibillion-dollar M&A deals, but he helped continue the build out of Davis Polk’s northern California presence. Scrivano had recently acted for Altimeter in the $40 billion grab deal, McAfee in its $14 billion acquisition and longtime Ropes client Bain Capital in an $18 billon investment into Toshiba.
Davis Polk Hires Ropes & Gray M&A Head
John Disney/ALM
Will Rosen
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Ropes & Gray saw a senior lawyer leave for longtime client Bain capital while also hiring a longtime Bain in-house lawyer into its ranks. After a yearlong sabbatical with Bain, Ropes & Gray London managing partner Will Rosen left for a permanent role at the company, potentially giving the firm a chance to further solidify a relationship with the client in a geographic location where it had competition. David Hutchins, who served as general counsel of North America private investments at Bain, joined Ropes & Gray, a firm he said he spoke to daily while in-house.
Ropes & Gray Strengthens Ties to Bain
John Disney/ALM
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In a move that demonstrates U.S. firms’ interest in both boutique acquisitions and the London market, Milbank picked off the 40-person London office of boutique Dickson Minto. The group, which was part of a satellite office of the Edinburgh-based firm, added significant private equity bench strength to Milbank in London. Any departures were a rare occurrence for the Scottish firm, but the team defection followed a few other single-partner hires out of Dickson Minto by other global law firms.
Milbank Goes Big in London With 40-Person Hire
Design by Hyeon Jin Kim/ALM
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Former Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance and Elizabeth Roper from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office to Baker McKenzie.
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Former Federal Trade Comission’s Commissioner Noah Joshua Phillips to Cravath, Swaine & Moore, along with Jelena McWilliams, most recently the former chair of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; Elad Roisman, former commissioner and acting chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and Jennifer Leete, former associate director in the SEC’s Division of Enforcement.
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Joseph Slights from the Delaware Court of Chancery to Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati.
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Erin Martin from the SEC to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
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Emily Loeb from the Department of Justice to Jenner & Block.
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John Carlin from the DOJ to Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.
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President Joe Biden White House Counsel Dana Remus to Covington & Burling.
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Kristin Snyder from the SEC to Debevoise & Plimpton.
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Nicholas McQuaid from the DOJ to Latham & Watkins.
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Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Dana Baiocco to Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.
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Michael Evans from U.S. Senate Finance Committee to K&L Gates.
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SEC Associate Director Michelle Anderson to Latham & Watkins.
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Jason Doiy/ALM
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Law firms made a splash last year by picking off big groups from regional firms in major markets, and no move was more emblematic of the trend than DLA Piper's 27-lawyer private equity addition from Honigman in April in Chicago. The firm called them "difference makers" and "top-notch" attorneys that would help by bringing their own work and managing capacity after a busy 18 months. For Honigman, the Michigan-based firm that thrives on middle-market deal work, the loss of the group that included 8 partners, was "simply the nature of the beast" in a competitive legal economy.
DLA Piper's 27-Lawyer PE Team Hire From Honigman
