The Churn: Lateral Moves in The Am Law 200

Dentons and McKenna Long & Aldridge have lost several attorneys in the past week as the two firms head toward a merger vote that, if successful, would unite them to create a 3,100-lawyer firm.

In California, IMRAN KHALIQ has defected from the Silicon Valley office of Dentons to join Arent Fox’s San Francisco office as an intellectual property and litigation partner.

Khaliq advises telecommunications, technology and medical device companies in patent disputes. In an interview with The Am Law Daily, Khaliq says he switched firms—and cities—because of San Francisco’s vibrant technology and biotechnology hubs, as well as its commercial district. While acknowledging that Silicon Valley also has a prominent technology hub, Khaliq says, “San Francisco has a lot of new companies. Mobile apps and biotechnology are going to be the future.”

Khaliq first contacted Arent Fox about the possibility of joining the firm a couple weeks ago, says Robert O’Brien, the California managing partner of Arent Fox. Khaliq declined to comment on whether the merger discussions motivated him to change firms.

On the East Coast, health care lawyers S. LAWRENCE KOCOT and MARK HAMELBURG left Dentons for Epstein Becker & Green in Washington, D.C. The two, who have also worked as executives at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, join Epstein’s health care and life sciences practices as members—the firm’s equivalent of partners.

From the McKenna side, real estate partner BILL PHAM moved to the Los Angeles firm Liner Grode Stein Yankelevitz Sunshine Regenstreif & Taylor on Monday. Pham joins as a partner concentrating on the negotiation and documentation of acquisitions, dispositions, development and financing of real property.

The Am Law Daily first reported in late September that Dentons and McKenna are discussing the possibility of merging, with the two sides aiming to close the deal by January 1 and a merger vote scheduled for October 28. Since news of the potential tie-up broke, lawyers have trickled out of both firms. In late September, Arent Fox brought on another Dentons lawyer in San Francisco, intellectual property partner Dana Finberg (Arent Fox also hired two lawyers from Dentons earlier this year). Reed Smith announced October 9 that it hired a three-partner tax team from Dentons, and on the same day Crowell & Moring grabbed two government contracts partners from McKenna.

In other Churn news . . .