Deirdre G. Johnson, left, and Paul W. Kalish, right, of Squire Patton Boggs.

Squire Patton Boggs said Thursday that it brought aboard a pair of Crowell & Moring practice leaders, Deirdre Johnson and Paul Kalish, to beef up insurance and reinsurance disputes expertise.

Johnson formerly led Crowell & Moring's professional liability and financial lines practice, while Kalish co-chaired the firm's insurance and reinsurance group. The two will work in Squire's Washington, D.C., office as partners.

Johnson said that several former colleagues' work for Squire Patton's piqued her interest in making the move, and noted her new firm's addition of Robin Campbell, another former Crowell & Moring partner, last year. Kalish said he and Johnson are hoping to bring along several lawyers from Crowell & Moring, although not at the partner level.

The exits come not long after Crowell & Moring underwent major changes in its leadership, with former chair Angela Styles departing the firm in October after being voted out of her leadership position. Styles was initially expected to stay at Crowell & Moring until Feb. 18, but joined Bracewell as a government contracts partner late last year instead.

Johnson and Kalish both said the change in leadership wasn't a factor in their decision to join Squire Patton. Johnson said the duo's international clients in markets such as London and Bermuda are better served by Squire Patton's global platform.

“Our decision-making was really prospective looking,” Johnson said.

Crowell & Moring, for its part, appeared eager to show off its own recent hiring this week. In a release Wednesday announcing the addition of Kirkland & Ellis partner Brian Paul Gearing to its intellectual property group in New York, Crowell & Moring also highlighted its addition of John Sarchio and Richard G. Liskov in July 2017 to the firm's insurance and reinsurance group in New York.

“Our recent expansion in New York coupled with Brian—a standout in his field—furthers our strategic focus of increasing our top-tier litigation and transactional capabilities across key areas in New York,” said Glen McGorty, managing partner of Crowell & Moring's New York office, in a statement. “We are excited to have him join our ranks.”

As for the partners now joining Squire Patton, a Crowell & Moring spokesperson said: “We thank Paul and Deirdre for their contributions to the firm, and we wish them the best in their future endeavors.”

Squire Patton, meanwhile, counts its acquisition of Johnson and Kalish as part of its effort to grow its global litigation capabilities with additions in Australia, Arizona, Ohio and Texas in the past year.