Here's what usually happens when a partner or group of partners leave one firm for another: The acquiring firm sends out a chipper press release which probably contains the words “synergy,” “depth” and “platform.”

And the firm that the lawyers left says…nothing. Or maybe—if queried—will tepidly wish them well.

Unless that firm is Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan.

On Tuesday, the firm lost three products liability partners to Dechert, including Sheila Birnbaum, previously dubbed “legendary litagatrix,” “the queen of toxic torts” and “a living legend of the product liability defense bar.” Also making the move: Mark Cheffo, who co-chaired Quinn Emanuel's products liability practice with Birnbaum, and partner Douglas Fleming.

But it's not Quinn Emanuel's style to sit back meekly and let the acquiring firm break the news. Instead, Quinn Emanuel sent out a press release on Tuesday morning announcing the departures, beating Dechert to the punch by several hours, at least according to my in-box.

It's fitting, really. Litigators know the value of shaping the narrative and stealing the thunder—and Quinn Emanuel is 100 percent litigators.

But one thing seems clear: This departure went soooo much better than in January, when the firm lost a group of litigators led by Philippe Selendy and Faith Gay, who left to form their own firm (more on their latest hire below).

Quinn Emanuel broke the news of that departure too, leaving reporters struggling to reach Selendy or Gay, or to find out basic information like the name of their new firm or its focus.

The departure also triggered a blistering reply-all email from John Quinn to Gay. (“I can tell you that virtually all of the attorneys you name here are pretty angry with you. There must be a poem about deception or ingratitude that would be more apposite?” he wrote.)

This latest loss has a far more gracious tone. For one thing, Birnbaum and Ceffo have only been at Quinn Emanuel for five years. And when they joined from Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom in 2013, they already had an enormous book of business. Quinn Emanuel did not nurture and grow them from seedlings.

By contrast, John Quinn wrote to Gay that “[Y]ou really were not very well known at all when you joined us from White and Case. … we supported you in every way we could and, I think, made you a legal star.”

There's also the stated reason for the departure to Dechert: Conflicts. The least-hurtful, it's-not-you, it's-no-one's-fault reason for a breakup.

“We have greatly enjoyed our five years as partners in Quinn Emanuel and the opportunity to work with its many talented trial lawyers,” Birnbaum said in a press release, “but we have come to the realization that our particular practice was creating too many conflicts with the firm's diverse litigation practice.”

In some ways, it's all part of a new stage for Quinn Emanuel.

For a more than a decade, it was the place that lawyers quit other firms to join. But now that the 780-lawyer litigation powerhouse is less a disruptive newcomer and more a mature institution, the dynamic is shifting. And that means lateral hiring—like it or not—is a two-way street.

See also 'Queen of Toxic Torts' Sheila Birnbaum Leaves Quinn Emanuel for Dechert With 2 Partners

 

Meanwhile, at Selendy & Gay

When Philippe Selendy and Faith Gay launched Selendy & Gay, they told me that pro bono work and public impact litigation would be an essential part of the practice, “as a compliment to the core commercial litigation that we've always done,” Selendy said. Gay added, “For us, that's the baseline of a successful firm. That is a leg of the table that is treated with dignity, with appropriate time and resources.”

The firm's newest hire, David S. Flugman, who joins as a partner after a decade at Kirkland & Ellis, seems to fit that vision nicely.

He's an experienced trial and appellate litigator with a particular focus on fiduciary duty and securities litigation, business tort and commercial disputes and insolvency litigation.

But that's not all. Flugman “has maintained an active public interest practice focused on the advancement of LGBT rights and the protection of persons with mental disabilities,” according to the firm's press release. “In recent years, David led a team of attorneys represented Garden State Equality in successfully defending a ban enacted by New Jersey in 2013 on the practice of so-called 'sexual orientation change efforts' or 'conversion therapies' on minors by state licensed professionals.”

Flugman was also named one of the Best LGBT Lawyers Under the Age of 40 in 2015 by the National LGBT Bar Association. 

 

O'Melveny's Rising Star

When law firms hire government lawyers, the amount of crowing usually correlates directly to the prominence of the person.

As in, nabbing the solicitor general or attorney general merits a 10 out of 10, and so on down.

Which is why I was a little surprised at how strongly O'Melveny is touting its addition of Benjamin Singer, who spent nine years at DOJ and rose to head the 50-lawyer securities & financial fraud unit in the Criminal Division. “One of the most accomplished senior Justice Department lawyers to join private practice in recent years,” is how O'Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin described him.

So basically, it's Eric Holder, Donald Verrilli, maybe Leslie Caldwell and Bill Baer…and Singer?

Look, I don't know Singer–he wasn't on my radar, but I don't doubt for a second he's an excellent lawyer.

According to his LinkedIn profile, he was an associate at Linklaters from 2006 to 2009, and at White & Case from 2002 to 2006. But he does not appear to have been a law firm partner before.

O'Melveny's effusiveness suggests that they expect big things from him. He'll be one to keep an eye on.

See also O'Melveny Nabs Leading DOJ Criminal Division Prosecutor

 

A Lion in Winter

Here's an inspiration. Robert Bennett, who will turn 80 next year, isn't ready to putter off into retirement.

Instead, he's leaving Hogan Lovells for litigation boutique Schertler & Onorato.

“Before I retire, I want to try some more cases, and they are a go-to firm for litigation,” he told my colleague Ellis Kim. “And I want to represent more individuals. Big firms generally represent the companies—but I want to represent more individuals. So that's really the simple answer.”

Best known for serving as President Bill Clinton's personal lawyer in the Paula Jones case, Bennett last year successfully defended a prominent Kentucky cardiologist accused of defrauding the government.

Here's hoping the legendary litigator has many more trials ahead.

 

What I'm Reading

Plaintiffs Firms Call Texas Federal Judge's Contempt Order 'Profoundly Troubling'

Jenner & Block's Matthew Hellman called “extraordinary” the judge's “notion that the federal government is somehow in 'privity' with tens of millions of Americans—such that each could be held in contempt by the court below.”

Alston & Bird Steps In to Defend Former Sutherland Partner

Alston & Bird's Paul Monnin takes over from Dentons to defend an ex-Sutherland partner accused of defrauding millions of dollars from trusts he managed for the heirs of Atlanta entrepreneur Walter Bunzl.

Miami Judge Faces Suspension for Directing Racial Slurs at Black Defendants

He called the defendant a “moolie” — a Sicilian racial slur derived from the Italian word for eggplant.

Manhattan Attorney Decried as Racist Apologizes on Twitter

Aaron Schlossberg is sorry that you think he's racist.

Sessions Curbs Immigration Judges' Power to Close Cases

Because just what the immigration court system needs is another 350,000 cases involving non-criminal immigrants added to the backlog. (Facepalm).

Lawsuits Filed Over USC Gynecologist Accused of Sexual Abuse

Definitely saw this one coming.

Dallas Litigator Sues FindLaw Over 'Cookie Cutter' Firm Website

A law firm website that's “generic” and “unimaginative”? Say it's not so!