Boies Schiller Partners Exit for Vinson, Jenner in NY and DC
More Boies Schiller partners are on the move as the firm faces a period in transition.
March 10, 2020 at 05:16 PM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The American Lawyer
Two partners have departed Boies Schiller Flexner for rival firms, and a counsel who served as the firm's pro bono coordinator has taken a position with a litigation funder, according to a series of announcements Tuesday.
The moves bring the number of partner exits from Boies Schiller this year to to at least 10.
In New York, longtime Boies Schiller partner Chris Duffy is taking his complex commercial litigation practice to Texas-based Vinson & Elkins. Duffy, who was a partner at Boies for 18 years, has worked with clients including Barclays, Goldman Sachs, the New York Yankees and SpaceX, according to his former Boies biography.
Vinson chairman Mark Kelly cited Duffy's addition as the latest sign of the firm's commitment to growing its New York presence. "He is a talented trial lawyer whose practice complements deep relationships and capabilities we have in the financial services sector across the firm," Kelly said.
Also in New York, former Boies Schiller counsel Joshua Libling has joined the litigation finance company Validity Finance, where he'll serve as portfolio counsel. Libling, who also worked on complex commercial litigation matters, was Boies' pro bono coordinator, working closely with firm co-managing partner Jonathan Schiller on the firm's extensive pro bono efforts.
In Washington, D.C., Douglass Mitchell is joining Jenner & Block in a move that will reunite him with two other recently-departed Boies Schiller partners, Lee Wolosky and Dawn Smalls, who joined Jenner in February. A veteran litigator with particular experience in terrorism-related matters, he and Wolosky have frozen more than $2 billion in Iranian assets on behalf of terror victims, Jenner said.
"Doug is the nation's foremost lawyer in enforcing US terrorism judgments abroad and is experienced litigating cases against banks under the Anti-Terrorism Act," Wolosky said in a statement.
The latest departures from Boies Schiler come amid a slow-moving leadership transition for the firm, which has included lifting long-time partners Nicholas Gravante and Natasha Harrison into managing partner roles along with David Boies and Schiller earlier this year.
In June 2019, the firm also announced it had replaced its office leaders in New York; Washington, D.C.; Oakland, California; Albany, New York; New York City; and Los Angeles.
In previous interviews, Gravante and Harrison stated that the firm is looking to do "fewer things well" in 2020 and doesn't necessarily see all of the partner departures as bad for business.
In interviews, both Duffy and Libling said that the recent changes in leadership did not factor into their respective decisions to leave the firm.
"Nick is one of my closest friends at the firm and in the industry," Duffy said, calling his elevation to co-managing partner "a great thing for the firm."
Gravante said the firm wishes Duffy and Mitchell well in their new endeavors.
|Read More
Boies Schiller Names 2 New Leaders Amid Transition at the Top
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllMany Lawyers Are Reeling From Election Results, but Leaders Are Staying Mum
6 minute readEnergy Lawyers Expect Demand for Energy Work to Stay Steady Under Second Trump Administration
3 minute readHurricane Helene's Impact On Asheville, North Carolina: How Public and Private Attorneys Dealt With Closures, Safety and Sanitation
How I Made Partner: 'It’s Valuable to Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable,' Says Ryan Ulloa of White & Case
Law Firms Mentioned
Trending Stories
- 1Environmental Law in Trump’s Second Term
- 2Lock-Maker's Veteran GC Takes Old Job Back After Successor Lasts Just 3 Months
- 3Judge Sets April Retrial Date in Sarah Palin Defamation Action Against NY Times
- 4HSF and Kramer Levin Leaders Set Out Merger Timeline, Structure
- 5'Don't Be Afraid to Dumb It Down': Top Fed Magistrate Judge Gives Tips on Explaining Complex Discovery Disputes
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250