Leading trial lawyer Henry “Hank” Asbill is joining Buckley Sandler from Jones Day.

He will work as a partner in Buckley Sandler's white-collar and complex civil litigation practices in Washington.

“It's a really great opportunity to work with a number of old friends,” Asbill said in an interview. “They are some of the best trial lawyers I know.”

In a press release on the move, Asbill said he had long known and admired Buckley Sandler litigators David Krakoff, Preston Burton, and Benjamin Klubes.

Krakoff called Asbill “one of the deans of the white-collar bar” in a statement.

“Few litigators can match his legal mind and courtroom skills,” Krakoff said. “I am excited to be partners with an old friend who has such formidable talent and is truly one of the leading trial lawyers in the U.S.”

Buckley Sandler is undergoing big changes in 2018, with co-founder Andy Sandler retiring and the firm opening new offices in San Francisco. The firm, founded in 2009, has grown to about 150 lawyers—compared to Jones Day's 2,500—and boasts a clientele including 21 of the largest 25 banks in the U.S. and the 10 top credit card insurers.

Asbill brings the experience of more than 100 trials and 30 appeals with him, including defending former Virginia Gov. Robert McDonnell, whose convictions were vacated by the U.S. Supreme Court in 2016. Solicitor general Noel Francisco worked alongside Asbill on McDonnell's behalf while Francisco was at Jones Day.

Other prominent clients include former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie's deputy chief of staff, Bridget Anne Kelly, on her “Bridgegate” appeal, and former Afghan President Hamid Karzai's brother in a Southern District of New York grand jury investigation that yielded no charges.

Without getting into the specifics of individual cases, Asbill said the timing of his departure from Jones Day will allow him to settle in at his new firm a couple of months before his caseload ramps up again.

As Asbill continues to work on cases he began at his former firm, he said he will continue to staff the cases with former colleagues and “share or co-share” those cases with Jones Day .

Asbill said he resigned from Jones Day's partnership more than a year ago and has been working as of counsel. He noted his partnership agreement obligates him not to recruit or solicit any Jones Day attorneys before the end of 2018.

Jones Day didn't respond to a request for comment on Asbill's departure.

Asked about President Donald Trump's private legal team and Jones Day's work for Trump, Asbill declined to comment except to say he was conflicted from participating in any of the firm's work in the ongoing investigations.