Manhattan, New York City. (Photo: Shutterstock.com)

The founder of Allen & Overy's U.S. litigation practice has jumped to litigation boutique Reichman Jorgensen, marking the latest in a string of partners exiting Magic Circle firms for U.S. firms in New York.

Michael Feldberg joined Reichman Jorgensen as a partner, the firm announced Monday. He was a longtime partner at Allen & Overy and founded the firm's U.S. litigation practice in 2003; previously, he was a partner and litigation practice group leader at Schulte Roth & Zabel and a partner at Shea & Gould. Prior to his time in private practice, Feldberg was an assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

His move comes on the heels of other prominent, U.S.-based partners at Magic Circle firms moving their practices to domestic ones: last week, a Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer partner moved to Dechert, seeking to refocus his practice on U.S. matters; another Allen & Overy partner left for Debevoise & Plimpton in January; and a New York-based Clifford Chance finance attorney jumped to Morrison & Foerster in November.

In an interview, Feldberg said he had nothing but good things to say about Allen & Overy, but that Reichman Jorgenson offered a very different proposition.

"A lot of work I did [at Allen & Overy] involved global, cross-border investigations," he said. "At heart, I'm an American trial lawyer."

Feldberg said he had been in periodic discussions with Reichman Jorgensen, which was formed by a group of 13 lawyers who broke away from McKool Smith in late 2018, since the firm started. While he was happy at Allen & Overy, he said Reichman Jorgensen offered him the opportunity to do something different with his legal career.

"I had no interest in going from a large firm to another large firm – if I was going to do something different in my career, now was the time," he said. "I think the people [at Reichman Jorgensen] are fantastic, in terms of quality, lawyerly professionalism, commitment to doing the right thing, and commitment to innovation and a nontraditional billing model."

Reichman Jorgensen pays its associates on a scale higher than Cravath, Swaine & Moore and has a flexible schedule for promoting associates to partner, according to a 2018 interview with firm leadership. Additionally, the firm does not have hourly billing; instead, about 20 percent of the practice is contingency an the rest is either fixed, incentive or another alternative fee arrangement.

This commitment to innovation was attractive to Feldberg. "I've thought for a long time that the hourly rate should pass from our practice, he said. "It creates different incentives for lawyers and clients. I prefer a system where lawyer and clients are more aligned."

Feldberg declined to name any of his clients but said he hoped to continue to work with them at his new firm. His practice focuses on defense-side criminal and regulatory cases at the federal level as well as federal civil litigation. He has worked with banks, foreign and domestic corporations, and individuals in U.S. regulatory and criminal investigations, as well as civil litigation.

In a statement, representatives of Allen & Overy said: "Michael Feldberg is leaving Allen & Overy. We would like to thank him for the contribution that he has made during his time at Allen & Overy and wish him all the best for the future."

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