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).
Keyed by the merger of the securities regulation boutique of McGonigle with Davis Wright Tremaine, lateral hiring increased for the second straight month, as 73 partner and counsel moves were reported in the Washington, D.C., area, up from 66 in June, and up from 56 in July 2021. With that solid month, lateral hires in 2022 are now virtually at the same level as for the same period in 2021.
In addition to the 14 D.C. attorneys that joined Davis Wright as a result of the aforementioned combination, there were three group moves in July—a real estate tax group that moved to Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a government contracts group that joined Seyfarth Shaw, and an energy group that joined Paul Hastings. Other firms reporting multiple lateral moves included:
- Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld
- Baker & Hostetler
- Miller & Chevalier
- Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett
Hiring from the government increased in July, with 12 lawyers coming from government, up from five in June. Six attorneys moved from in-house positions.
Twenty-three of the 73 lawyers who moved (31.5 percent) were women. However, 13 of those women (55.6 percent joined their new firms as partners. That compares to 44 percent of men that entered their new firms as partners.
Not surprisingly, due to the McGonigle-Davis Wright combination., Securities/Commodities Regulation was the most active practice area, with 12 moves. Other active practice areas were Intellectual Property (10), White Collar/Investigations (7), International Trade (4), Energy (4), Investment Management (4), and Corporate (4).
