Morgan Lewis & Bockius and O'Melveny & Myers have secured high-profile teams from Brobeck Phleger & Harrison, as the mass exodus from the collapsed technology leader continues.

In the largest lateral hiring yet from Brobecks' practice, Morgan Lewis has secured a deal to take on 100 lawyers – including 50 partners – from its former merger suitor to give the Philadelphia-based firm three new offices in
California.

The move, sealed by a partnership vote on Monday (10 February), hands Morgan Lewis new branches in San Francisco, Palo Alto and Irvine, as well as bolstering its existing Los Angeles practice, covering litigation, business and technology, labour law and IP.

Morgan Lewis chairman Francis Milone said: "We could not be more thrilled that we have reached an agreement in principle to add more than 50 partners, including some of [Brobecks'] most experienced senior partners and will be quickly adding associates, paralegals and administrative staff to support them."

The deal, first reported on www.legalweek.net (7 February), includes veteran lawyers Brobecks' chairman Richard Odom and former chairman John Larson, as well as litigator Brock Gowdy, real estate partner Steve Finn and business and technology partner Ron Moskovitz.

The hires were swiftly followed last Friday (7 February) by a five-partner raid by O'Melvenys on Brobecks' business and technology (B&T) core, headed by rainmaker and former managing partner of its Palo Alto office Warren Lazarow.

Lazarow, regarded as one of the firm's top corporate lawyers, is head of Brobecks' B&T practice in Northern California and an executive policy committee member.

"Joining a firm with such a broad range of specialities and a powerful presence in California, New York, Washington DC, Asia and Europe provides an expansive platform from which to better serve our clients' needs," he said.

Also moving are Brobecks partners Timothy Curry, David Makarechian, William Chuang and Sam Zacker, plus of counsel Pahul Kapoor and 12 associates.

The news comes after Brobecks' dramatic decision on 30 January to disband the 500-lawyer firm – which had been battered by partner departures and the continuing downturn in California's legal technology market.

The decision to dissolve came within hours of Morgan Lewis pulling out of a deal to take over Brobecks on 29 January, the same day that the firm's head of litigation, Steven Zager, announced his move to Texas giant Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.

It has since emerged that a number of Brobecks partners were in advanced negotiations to move to rivals ahead of the 30 January decision to dissolve the firm.