Longtime GOP heavy-hitter J. Randolph Evans, who is co-chair of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Committee, is leaving Dentons, while his nomination for the ambassadorship to Luxembourg remains in limbo.

Evans tendered a resignation letter to the firm on Friday, saying he would leave by June 29.

That is just ahead of the June 30 deadline for former McKenna Long & Aldridge partners who joined Dentons to depart in order to get their capital back in two years instead of three, under the terms of an unusual lock-up agreement that the McKenna partners signed before Dentons acquired their firm July 1, 2015.

Evans joined Dentons from Atlanta-based McKenna in the merger and served on the global megafirm's board of directors. He confirmed his resignation to the Daily Report but was not available for comment on Monday.

“Since his nomination as United States Ambassador to Luxembourg in October of last year—the firm has been planning for Randy's exit from Dentons,” said the firm's Atlanta managing partner Sharon Gay, in a statement. “We have fully supported Randy's nomination, and the firm wishes him the very best with his ongoing confirmation process.”

Evans, who is based in Atlanta, is known for his roles as counsel to high-profile Republican politicians, such as former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Gov. Nathan Deal, and as an expert on professional liability issues. He also is an experienced litigator who handles high-stakes business disputes for big insurers and other companies.

His move follows Gingrich's own departure from Dentons two weeks ago. Evans had recruited  Gingrich to Dentons ahead of its combination with McKenna. Last week, a team of four government contracts partners in Washington also left the firm, joining Philadelphia-based Drinker, Biddle & Reath. Like Evans, they came to Dentons from McKenna.

Jessica Abrahams, former chair of Dentons' global government contracts practices, launched government contracts practice for Drinker Biddle in Washington with former Dentons' partners John Horan, Thomas Kelly and Dana Pashkoff. Abrahams, Horan and Pashkoff each had been at McKenna for more than a decade before its combination with Dentons. Kelly had joined two years prior from Venable.

Gingrich has not announced his next move.

According to the lockup agreement that Dentons required the McKenna partners to sign before the merger, they agreed they would forfeit their capital if they left for another firm before Jan. 1, 2018.

If they left before June 30, their capital would be returned over two years, per the McKenna capital-return policy. If they left after that, the capital would be returned over three years, per Dentons' policy.

Evans has $633,930 in equity capital tied up in the firm, according to his financial disclosure filing last year for the Luxembourg ambassadorship. Dentons paid him $2.8 million from Jan. 1, 2016 through June 23, 2017, according to the filing, which works out to about $1.78 million annually.

He also received a $139,093 bonus from Dentons last year and expects another bonus this year of between $50,000 and $100,000, according to the disclosure.

Evans was nominated last fall for the Luxembourg ambassadorship by President Donald Trump, but he has not yet been confirmed. The post has been vacant since the former ambassador, David McKean, an Obama-era appointee, left after Trump took office in January 2017.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee approved Evans' nomination in December after a confirmation hearing before the body on Nov. 1, but the nomination expired at year-end. He was re-nominated by the White House in January.