In a significant boost to its New York office, Robins Kaplan has hired Anderson Kill rainmaker David Graff, who was co-chair of the firm's corporate litigation and commercial litigation practice.

Graff, who is anticipated to move with three associates to Minneapolis-founded Robins Kaplan, has a substantial practice representing clients in the securities and financial services, real estate, oil and gas, apparel and entertainment industries.

His clients have included Peter Deutsch, CEO from Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits; Dov Charney, former CEO of American Apparel and current head of Los Angeles Apparel; and Europac Energy investments funds. He has also represented shareholders of China-based ZST Digital Networks Inc., Yinlips Technology Inc. and Southern China Livestock Inc., as well as shareholders from other publicly traded companies.

Anderson Kill declined to comment on Graff's move. A firm spokesman said Larry Kill, a former name partner and now of counsel who has also served as co-leader of the corporate and commercial litigation group, will continue to head the practice.

Graff said he made the change because “there's a more substantial geographic footprint” at his new firm, with more lawyers and a greater focus on business law and litigation. Robins Kaplan, with about 220 attorneys, has eight national offices, while New York-based Anderson Kill, with about 75 attorneys, has six.

While Anderson Kill “is an excellent firm with a focus on policyholder work,” he said, “I believe clients are going to benefit from a firm with more resources to draw on, with different geographic areas and with a more diverse bench as it relates to business litigation.”

Graff is the first lateral partner hire in Robins Kaplan's New York office in more than a year, said Ronald Schutz, the firm's New York managing partner. The firm's Manhattan office saw some attorney departures last year when David Leichtman left the Am Law 200 firm to start his own boutique in New York focused on intellectual property and business litigation. He was joined by three other former Robins Kaplan lawyers, Richard A. Mescon, Matthew McFarlane and Tatsuya Adachi

Despite those exits, Schutz said Robins Kaplan's Manhattan office has grown to 44 attorneys today, up from 11 in late 2011. The office opened in 2010 with hires from Lovells.

Schutz said Robins Kaplan became interested in Graff after he referred a case to the firm and they began working closely together as co-counsel.

Meanwhile, Anderson Kill announced its own hire on Tuesday after welcoming back Dona Kahn, a onetime practice leader who had gone on to build her own practice investigating sexual harassment complaints on behalf of employers.

Kahn had previously practiced at Anderson Kill for 18 years, co-chairing its employment and labor law group for a period of time. She left in 2008 for Jackson Lewis and then left that firm in December 2011 to start her own solo practice, focusing on mediation for family court matters and sexual harassment investigations.

As part of her practice, Kahn is retained by companies and employers to investigate internal sexual harassment claims and to give conclusions and reports based on her investigations. Such actions by employers can often prevent punitive damages claims against employers, if the claim goes to court, she said.

Kahn said she's seen an uptick in work with the rising tide of sexual harassment complaints sparked by the #MeToo movement and allegations against Harvey Weinstein. “People are now starting to come forward with complaints about things that happened that are past the statute of limitations,” she said.

Before the MeToo movement, companies were “pretty happy having their own [human resources] people respond” to sexual harassment complaints, Kahn said, adding “that's no longer prudent.”