David Graff.

Just four months after David Graff left Anderson Kill to join Robins Kaplan, the New York commercial litigator has left the Minneapolis-founded firm, opting to start his own small litigation shop.

Graff this month launched Graff Silverstein, partnering with Matthew Silverstein, who practiced as an associate with Graff at both Anderson Kill and Robins Kaplan. Graff said the new firm could hire a few other attorneys as of counsel in the near future.

Graff, 36, was co-chairman of Anderson Kill's corporate litigation and commercial litigation practice, where he developed a substantial practice representing clients in securities and financial services, real estate, oil and gas, apparel and entertainment industries.

When he joined Robins Kaplan in January, Graff said he was attracted to the firm's geographic footprint, with more lawyers and a greater focus on business law and litigation. Graff declined to comment on what led to the short tenure and his exit.

While Graff said he won't rule out going to another large firm down the line, he said he is now attracted to the economic benefits of having his own small litigation shop. He said he anticipates most of his clients will join him at his new firm.

“While we respect the traditional law firm model, we're very excited about the current project and are hopeful and confident” that it will succeed, he said.

“If you have good, loyal clients that you care about and that care about you, and you're in the practice of doing a lion's share of the work for those clients yourself or with a dedicated team, there may be all sorts of different economic benefits that exist for the customers, as well as the firm, if the firm is run leanly and efficiently,” Graff said.

For now, Graff said the firm is “in the process of looking” for office space. Due to the firm's low-overhead model, he said, he can offer clients lower billable rates and more flexible fee structures compared with his prior firm practices.

Graff said part of his new firm's promise to clients is that their “commitment financially or otherwise to the litigation is well defined early in the process, so there are no surprises.”

A spokeswoman for Robins Kaplan could not immediately comment.