Thelen Reid & Priest. Chadbourne & Parke. Dickstein, Shapiro, Morin & Oshinsky. Ropes & Gray.

A few years ago, these firms were anything but sexy. Back then, partners and counsel looking to move their practices to greener pastures would tick off names like Brobeck Phleger & Harrison; Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati; and Cooley Godward as the hot D.C. area offices. And competition for the best lateral candidates was fierce.