Jonathan Drimmer Jonathan Drimmer, with Paul Hastings.

The latest passenger on Paul Hastings' self-described “lateral gravy train” is Jonathan Drimmer, who joined the firm as a partner Monday from Barrick Gold Corp., one of the world's largest gold mining companies.

Drimmer said he was attracted to Paul Hastings by the firm's entrepreneurial spirit and its leading anticorruption team. Drimmer will work in Paul Hastings' investigations and white-collar defense practice from Washington, D.C.

“I am advantaged in this particular phase [of my career],” Drimmer said. “I'm generally recognized as a leader in human rights in the anticorruption space.”

Before becoming chief compliance officer and deputy general counsel at Barrick Gold, Drimmer was partner at Steptoe & Johnson. Drimmer said he weighed several different options before choosing Paul Hastings but he didn't identify them. He was also previously a Justice Department lawyer for nearly seven years and an associate at Covington & Burling.

Drimmer said he expects to work with Barrick Gold in the future, as one of several clients in the extractive industry. He said he did not know who would replace him at the company, which did not immediately respond to questions about its legal leadership. Barrick Gold's general counsel in the U.S. remains Peter Webster.

Working in-house made Drimmer a better problem-solver and counselor, he said.

“I think every outside lawyer should think about spending a bit of time in house,” he said. “From the compliance side … you learn how to actually implement complex legal strategies.”

Paul Hastings' investigations and white-collar defense practice added partners Matt Herrington and Tom Best in D.C. last month, after the duo spent nearly 28 years at Steptoe. Drimmer is reuniting with them at Paul Hastings.

“We are continuing our focus on adding talent to our top-tier investigations and white collar defense practice, and Jon adds a strong mix of in-house, private practice, and government experience to our thriving practice,” said Seth Zachary, Paul Hastings chair, in a statement. “With the recent additions of Jon, Matt, and Tom, we are poised for continued growth.”

Law Firm Moves, News, & Notes

Jonodev Osceola Chaudhuri is joining Quarles & Brady's Indian law and policy group as chair May 20, the firm said this week.

Chaudhuri is leaving the National Indian Gaming Commission as chairman Wednesday, after being appointed by former President Barack Obama in 2015. Upon leaving, Chaudhuri is also becoming ambassador for the Muscogee (Creek) Nation.

Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld added Galen Roehl as a senior policy adviser in the firm's public law and policy practice in D.C.

He was previously a vice president and a senior vice president at USTelecom Association for more than five years and was a policy analyst for nearly a year on the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee.

David Lat, legal industry scribe and founder of Above the Law, said this week he is joining legal recruiting firm Lateral Link as a managing director.

Lat said he has plans to continue writing biweekly column as editor emeritus while working in his new role as a recruiter.

Greenberg Traurig said this week it added Vivian Kuo and Andrew Sommer as shareholders in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.

The two were previously partners at Winston & Strawn and are joining Greenberg Traurig's intellectual property litigation practice.

Rob Garretson joined Manatt, Phelps & Phillips in Washington, D.C., as a managing director after more than five years at U.S. Steel Corporation as general manager of governance strategy. He also served 20 years in the U.S. Navy.

Holland & Knight announced the addition of Christian Nagel as a partner in its Tysons, Virginia, office, a northern Virginia suburb of D.C.

Nagel is a government contracts attorney, who was previously senior counsel at McGuireWoods.

King & Spalding's intellectual property team grew in D.C. through the addition of two former Mayer Brown partners, Stephen Baskin and Dara Kurlancheek.

Baskin formerly led Mayer Brown's IP practice in D.C., and Kurlancheek was a partner in the same practice.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer said this week that Charles Yi joined the firm's financial services and legislative and public policy practices as a partner in D.C.

He was previously general counsel for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and previously worked in the U.S. House of Representatives and for Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr.