Last week, I reported on one of the biggest lateral litigator moves of the year—Supreme Court advocate Lisa Blatt jumping from Arnold & Porter to Williams & Connolly, where she began her career as an associate, and where her husband is a partner. Not coincidentally, Blatt did so as Supreme Court star Kannon Shanmugam left Williams & Connolly to launch a Supreme Court practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison.

But SCOTUS musical chairs aren't the only big moves afoot. In the past two weeks, an impressive parade of litigators around the country have found new homes.

Here's a look at a dozen recent litigator moves that could prove to be game-changers.

New Litigation Boutique Adds Finnegan Patent Pro

Less than four months after a group of 13 litigators split from McKool Smith to launch Reichman Jorgensen, the firm has nabbed a top patent trial lawyer from Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner to open a new office in Washington, D.C.

Christine Lehman headed Finnegan's International Trade Commission litigation practice, but also has a track record of litigating patent disputes in district court and before the Federal Circuit. She chaired Finnegan's pro bono committee as well, where she's been lauded for her work on behalf of veterans.

Why move to Reichman? She told my colleague Scott Flaherty that “It was just a chance to do something totally different.”

Reichman touts its “innovative model”– no billable hours; Cravath pay scale; majority woman and minority-owned, and it already has outposts in Silicon Valley, New York and Atlanta.

“We all know that the billable hour is a problem,” Lehman said, adding that more and more, clients are looking for their outside lawyers to take alternative billing approaches. She'll serve as managing partner of Reichman's D.C. office

For more, click here.

Sidley and Kirkland Partners Decamp for Lit Funder Bentham IMF

Litigation funder Bentham IMF raided the partner ranks of Sidley Austin and Kirkland & Ellis, adding two experienced litigators to its team in New York.

Ex-Sidley partner Dana MacGrath will be responsible for leading Bentham's investments in international arbitration matters, and ex-Kirkland partner Sarah Tsou will evaluate intellectual property matters, particularly patent litigation, for investment

MacGrath told Lit Daily affiliate The New York Law Journal, “I've been a proponent of arbitration from many angles—conducting arbitrations, working as an arbitrator and serving as the president of the board of ArbitralWomen,” she said. “I feel that litigation finance has a lot to contribute to the field of arbitration. That was a big deal to me.”

Tsou, who was an IP litigator at Kirkland, said “I saw firsthand just how costly that type of litigation can be and how critical litigation finance can be so that meritorious claims can be brought successfully.”

For more, click here.

Cooley Builds in LA with Wilmer Litigator

Cooley is making a move to expand its litigation footprint in Los Angeles, luring Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr partner Randall Lee.

Lee spent the last 10 years helping Wilmer build its LA office, stepping down as partner-in-charge last year. While at Wilmer, he and partner Heather Tewksbury led a monthslong internal investigation at Uber Technologies Inc. into allegations that the company operated a program aimed at stealing competitors' trade secrets.

Why Cooley? He told my colleague Xiumei Dong, “For me, the combination of an increasingly prominent litigation practice, combined with a phenomenal corporate practice and a huge California footprint represents an exceptional platform for my practice and for what I do.” 

Mike Attanasio, who chairs Cooley's global litigation department, said the firm intends “to grow the litigation practice in Los Angeles so that it is comparable with all of our practices around the country in various offices.”

For more, click here.

DLA Boosts Securities Litigation Practice with Greenberg Traurig Duo

First chair securities litigator Terry Weiss has left Greenberg Traurig to join DLA Piper in Atlanta, making the move along with Stefanie Wayco, a GT associate who was elevated to partner at DLA.

Weiss spent a decade at Greenberg Traurig, where he was tasked with developing the Atlanta office's securities litigation and arbitration practice.

Weiss told Lit Daily affiliate The Daily Report that a former colleague, securities litigator Jason Lewis, who moved from Greenberg Traurig to DLA in Dallas last year, piqued his interest in making the move.

“We really were looking for a firm that offers the breadth of services and geographic scope, but also a really high level of practice,” Weiss said. “My practice with Stefanie has gravitated to more significant litigation and enforcement matters. That seemed like a good fit with DLA.”

Guess what else? Weiss said he and Wayco are looking to add lawyers to their practice. “I expect we will be doing so in the next six months,” he said.

For more, click here.

Greenberg Traurig Adds IP Ace in Silicon Valley, Litigators in Sacramento

Greenberg Traurig may have lost a pair of securities litigators in Atlanta, but the firm gained IP litigator Scott Oliver in East Palo Alto, courtesy of Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, as well as a trio of litigators in Sacramento.

According to Greenberg Traurig, Oliver has handled more than 150 matters and a dozen trials before both the International Trade Commission and juries. He said that he was lured to GT because of the opportunities to build his practice and help the firm grow in Silicon Valley.

In Sacramento, GT hired of counsel Todd Pickles, a former assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, as well as of counsel David Cheit from DLA Piper and associate Deepi Miller from Winston & Strawn.

For more, click here.

Gibson Grabs Top Simpson Litigator in LA

Building an out-of-town firm's new outpost can be great, but there's also a lot to be said for a hometown behemoth. Just ask commercial litigator Deborah Stein.

She spent 17 years helping put Simpson Thacher & Bartlett on the map in Los Angeles, growing the nascent office's insurance litigation practice, as well as branching out into cybersecurity and trade secrets litigation, securities and consumer class actions.

In late January, she jumped to Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. “It became increasingly important to be at a firm with a very strong commitment to Los Angeles and California,” Stein told The Recorder.

“It wasn't an easy decision,” she continued. “Simpson Thacher was my home for nearly two decades. But, no one has a litigation department that rivals Gibson Dunn's and that was really at the heart of my reason for leaving.”

For more, click here.

Vinson & Elkins Adds Former Judge to Appellate Practice

After two decades on the bench, former First Texas Court of Appeals Judge Jane Bland has joined Vinson & Elkins in Houston as a partner in its appellate practice.

One of many Republican appeals court candidates in Texas who lost a re-election bid last November, Bland told Texas Lawyer that “V&E has kind of a storied trial and appellate practice, and I admire and respect the lawyers here. I've known many of them for decades.”

Among them: Her husband, Doug Bland, an energy transactions and projects partner at V&E's Houston office. 

As an appellate judge for 15 years, Bland wrote more than 1,200 signed opinions. Before that, she spent six years as a state district judge in Houston.

For more, click here.

NY Litigation Boutique Nabs Hogan Veteran

Veteran trial lawyer and former Walt Disney Co. general counsel Sanford Litvack moved from Hogan Lovells, where he was a senior counsel, to join 26-lawyer New York litigation boutique Chaffetz Lindsey as a partner.

He told my colleague Scott Flaherty that he was drawn to the boutique model adopted by Chaffetz Lindsey, which was founded about 10 years ago by Clifford Chance alums.

“I really felt they were the kind of operation that made sense,” said Litvack. “They can handle the bigger cases, but they're more nimble.”

For more, click here.

Morgan Lewis Raids Sidley in LA

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius picked up eight labor and employment lawyers in Los Angeles from Sidley Austin, including Jennifer Zargarof, the co-head of Sidley's global labor and employment practice.

The group also includes partner Douglas Hart, a veteran class action litigator, and partner Max Fischer, plus two of counsel and three associates.

“We have a very sophisticated high-level labor and employment practice that we have been building for my whole career, and we were looking for opportunity to be with a firm that gives us a platform to expand what we already do,” Hart told The Recorder.

With the addition of the Sidley group, Morgan Lewis now has close to 50 labor and employment lawyers in working in its Southern California offices.

For more, click here.

Sidley Snags Skadden's Gilford

It's not all departures for Sidley in LA. The firm added complex civil litigator Lisa Gilford, who moved from the Los Angeles office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom.

Soon after, Skadden colleague Stacy Horth-Neubert followed her to Sidley, where she came on board as counsel.

As specialist in class actions, multidistrict litigation, product liability and large-scale commercial disputes, Gilford served as lead defense counsel for Toyota in a range of suits alleging “unintended acceleration” of some of its vehicles.

“I have had the great fortune to work with a number of Sidley's lawyers over the years, in the joint defense relationship,” Gilford said. “I was always very impressed with the quality of the lawyers here and that great client service that Sidley delivered. It seems like a perfect home for my practice.”

For more, click here.

Shook Hardy Hires Coke's Former Litigation Chief

John Lewis Jr., who until 2016 was chief litigation counsel for Coca-Cola Co., has joined Shook Hardy & Bacon in Houston as a business litigation partner.

Lewis initially joined Atlanta litigation boutique Lawrence & Bundy when he moved to private practice in 2016 after 14 years in-house at Coca-Cola, where he also served as the company's chief diversity officer.

Why Shook Hardy? “They are great trial lawyers,” he told my colleague Brenda Sapino Jeffreys at Texas Lawyer, adding that he used the firm as outside counsel during his time at Coca-Cola.

For more, click here.

On the Move in Philly, Holland & Knight Adds Morgan Lewis Partner

Holland & Knight is bulking up in Philadelphia, most recently adding labor and employment litigator William Delany from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Holland & Knight managing partner Steve Sonberg told The Legal Intelligencer that the firm saw Philadelphia as an important market in its domestic expansion strategy. The firm's Philly office is now up to 40 lawyers.

Delany, who represents large insurance companies and financial institutions in ERISA matters, as well as other businesses in employment litigation, said the move was “really just an opportunity … to start at a firm in Philadelphia from the ground level,” he said. “Holland & Knight has a very U.S.-based national practice and an excellent litigation practice.”

For more, click here.