This is the latest update on lateral partner and counsel moves in the Washington, D.C. area. The data included in these reports is primarily derived from Firm Prospects LLC. For more details and analysis, please contact TMG’s Steve Nelson (snelson@tmg-dc.com) or Dave Ris (dris@tmg-dc.com).
March was an active month in the lateral market, with 82 moves reported, up from 66 in February. Mergers and spinoffs proved to be a major factor, highlighted by 10 partners and 3 counsel from Robbins Russell Englert Orseck & Untereiner that formed the D.C. office of Kramer Levin as a result of the merger of the two firms. Also in March, well-known antitrust lawyer Charles (Rick) Rule left the D.C. office of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to form a new firm, Rule Garza Howley, with one colleague from Paul Weiss, along with two other attorneys from other firms and one from an in-house position.
Three other groups moved in March. Those included a two-lawyer Energy group that left Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld for Allen & Overy, a two-partner group that joined Troutman Pepper from Ballard Spahr, and a Structured Finance group that joined Womble Bond Dickinson from Squire Patton Boggs. Other firms reporting multiple moves in January included:
- Ballard Spahr
- Cooley
- Holland & Knight
- Latham & Watkins
- McGlinchey Stafford
Hiring from the government continues to be sparse, as only 8 lawyers entered from government positions. Three lawyers moved from in-house positions.
Twenty-five of the 82 movers (30.5 percent) were women. Nineteen of those women (76 percent) entered their new firms as partners.
Keyed by the transactions noted above, Litigation and Antitrust were the two most active practice areas, with 18 and 11 moves respectively. Other active practices were Banking/Finance (10), Intellectual Property (5), Legislative (4), Health Care (3), and SEC Enforcement (3).
