Having announced plans earlier this month to offload the majority of its financial assets, General Electric Co. is about to lose something else from GE Capital—executive counsel for litigation Stephen Shackelford, who will return to high-powered litigation boutique Susman Godfrey on May 1.

Shackelford initially joined the Dallas office of Susman Godfrey as an associate in 2007 and was promoted to partner in 2010. Two years later, he made the move in-house, leaving the firm to take the position of special counsel to the general counsel for GE, a role held by Brackett Denniston III. Shackelford transitioned from that position to his current litigation role at GE Capital in 2014.

But now, Shackelford is venturing back to his private practice roots, a move he says was motivated by a desire to get back to arguing cases in court, especially in a place where he can enjoy the camaraderie of his former Susman Godfrey colleagues.