I often get press releases about lateral moves, and I often ignore them. But on Monday, there was such a flurry of litigator moves that I was inspired to showcase six that struck me as most interesting—acquisitions by Clifford Chance; Mukasey Frenchman & Sklaroff, Sidley; Morgan Lewis and Foley & Lardner.

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Clifford Chance is emerging as a serious competitor on the antitrust front as the Magic Circle firm continues to bulk up its U.S.-based team.

The firm on Monday announced it added Peter Mucchetti, who joins from the Justice Department's Antitrust Division, where he served as the chief of its Healthcare and Consumer Products Section. 

Mucchetti spent 19 years at DOJ, leading a team of about 25 attorneys in investigating and litigating antitrust matters involving health insurance companies, hospitals and other health care providers; companies in the paper and lumber products industries; and major players in the food and beverage sector.

Until recently, Clifford Chance was best known as an antitrust leader in Europe, where Brussels-based partner Thomas Vinje is a marquee name. But last year, the firm nabbed Sharis Pozen, one of the few first-chair women antitrust litigators.

Pozen served as acting head of the Antitrust Division from August of 2011 until April of 2012, where on her watch the department successfully challenged AT&T's proposed $39 billion purchase of T-Mobile.

A former partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Pozen joined Clifford Chance last year from General Electric, where she was the company's vice president for global competition law and policy.

Pozen in a statement said she was "thrilled" to be working with Mucchetti again—and the two DOJ vets should make a formidable pair.

"Peter's arrival builds on the impressive growth of our U.S. litigation and antitrust practices in recent years," Americas regional managing partner Evan Cohen said in a statement. "It also reflects what we are seeing more broadly across the firm, with partners working across practices to provide holistic advice that addresses the complexity of issues our clients are facing."

For more, see Clifford Chance Hires DOJ Vet to Boost US Antitrust Strength

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Hot new trial boutique Mukasey Frenchman & Sklaroff celebrated its one-year birthday by adding healthcare defense partner Torrey Young from Foley & Lardner.

She brings the firm's lawyer headcount to seven—but don't let the small size fool you. 

Mukasey Frenchman counts President Donald Trump as a client, and also represented former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher, who was acquitted in November of murdering an Islamic State prisoner. (He was found guilty of one count of posing for photos with the dead body). The firm also represents law firm Pierce Bainbridge in a nasty fight with its former partner Donald Lewis.

As a healthcare defense expert, Young adds an interesting new dimension to the boutique's strengths.

"Torrey represents a significant step forward for our firm," Mukasey said in a news release. "She brings an extraordinary skill set and a wealth of experience to healthcare and life sciences clients and she's in the vanguard of tech-savvy lawyers. She's a cut above in every way.  As we head into our second year, with a full plate of challenging matters, Torrey will be a key part of our trial teams."

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Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe reinforced its strength in the cybersecurity and privacy arena, adding Venable partner Shannon Yavorsky.

Last year, you might recall, Orrick set up shop in Boston when it poached privacy and data security stars Doug Meal and Heather Egan Sussman from Ropes & Grey. 

Orrick followed up in January by launching its cyber and privacy practice in London when it hired partners Keily Blair and James Lloyd from PricewaterhouseCoopers UK. 

With the addition of San Francisco-based Yavorsky, the firm's cyber bench just keeps getting deeper.

Licensed to practice in California, England and Wales and Ireland, Yavorsky specializes in emerging issues surrounding the California Consumer Privacy Act and Europe's General Data Protection Regulation. She joined Venable in 2017 from Kirkland & Ellis, where she had also been a partner. 

In a statement, Yavorsky said Orrick's "global platform and commitment to establishing a destination practice for cyber and privacy issues made this move an ideal fit for my background and experience."

For more, see Orrick Expands Cyber and Privacy Team With Global Expert

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It wasn't the only big move in the cybersecurity space.

Sidley Austin grabbed Brian Kavanaugh, the former co-leader of Kirkland & Ellis' data security and privacy practice, who will split his time between Sidley's Chicago and Dallas offices.

According to court papers, Kavanaugh's prior representations include Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois and Texas in the massive Anthem data breach litigation.

Yvette Ostolaza, co-leader of Sidley's global litigation group, touted the hire as "another example of our status as a litigation powerhouse," she said in a statement. "Brian's energy and experience fit seamlessly with that of our talented team, and will undoubtedly strengthen our healthcare, insurance and privacy litigation work. We're thrilled to welcome him aboard as we continue to invest in top talent, ensuring that our clients have a litigation team built to handle their most complex matters."

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Morgan, Lewis & Bockius boosted its government and internal investigations and litigation practice in New York with the addition of Daniel Tehrani, who most recently served as deputy chief of the Appeals Unit, Criminal Division, at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

"Dan's broad prosecutorial experience further deepens our elite white collar bench, and we are delighted that he has decided to join us," said firm chair Jami McKeon in a statement. "His significant first-chair trial and appellate experience will be vital to our clients facing enforcement investigations and actions in New York and across the United States."

At the SDNY, Tehrani won cases including United States v. Block. After a three-week trial, a jury in 2017 found Brian Block, the former CFO of American Realty Capital Partners (formerly the largest publicly traded REIT) guilty of multiple counts of securities fraud. 

Tehrani in 2017 also secured a guilty plea from the former chief financial officer of Osiris Therapeutics, a publicly traded regenerative medicine company, who admitted to making false statements to the company's auditors.

He's the second government hire in two weeks for Morgan Lewis. Last week, the firm announced that Jeff Boujoukos, who most recently served as director of the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission's regional office in Philadelphia, was joining the firm as a partner.

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It's always noteworthy when a practice group leader jumps ship and takes multiple lawyers with them. 

On Monday, Foley & Lardner picked four IP/electronics lawyers from Dentons, including Eric Sophir, who co-chaired Denton's IP group. He makes the move along with partner Gary Solomon, senior counsel Matthew Horton and associate Kamyar Maserrat. 

Foley reports that its electronics practice is thriving. According to co-chair Christopher McKenna, the group "just came off a record year in revenue and headcount growth, and this team's significant collective practice will surely help us continue this upward trend. They are a terrific strategic match in terms of clients, practice and geography, and we are thrilled to welcome them to the team." 

For more, see Foley & Lardner Snags Dentons IP Group, Practice Leader