Aaron Suh of Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has hired a lawyer away from a fellow Philadelphia-born Am Law 50 firm in the latest boost to its private equity bench.

Aaron Suh, a corporate lawyer who advises private equity sponsors and strategic acquirers, joined Morgan Lewis' Philadelphia office as a partner Monday. He comes from Dechert, where he was an associate.

“I've always had a lot of respect for the sophistication of their M&A and private equity practice, but also the depth of their team,” Suh said, noting that he has worked with or across the table from Morgan Lewis lawyers on a number of deals.

In particular, he said, being part of the Morgan Lewis team will open up opportunities for growth equity and middle-market deals.

“The ability to be able to move up and down deal size with a real sophisticated offering is for me very attractive,” he said. Asked whether that relates to the firm's rates compared with Dechert's, he said, “Rate structure is something that every law firm is trying to figure out in a way that will work for them. Morgan Lewis brings a really smart approach and partners with their clients for a long-term successful future together.”

Suh represents clients involved in the technology, life sciences, financial services, food and beverage, and energy industries. He works with them on structuring mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, spinoffs, and joint ventures, as well as counseling on corporate governance issues.

Steve Browne, leader of Morgan Lewis' global corporate and business transactions practice, said in a statement that Suh's “experience leading successful M&A transactions will be a valuable resource to our steadily growing private equity and M&A practices.”

Before joining Dechert in Philadelphia, Suh was an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore in New York, where he was a summer associate and practiced law for six years.

He said he will continue to work with clients in New York as well, but wants “to keep doing local work and helping neighbors work through transactions and build and grow” in Philadelphia, the Delaware Valley and South Jersey. “This corridor just has an increasingly interesting footprint,” he added, noting the life sciences industry and local middle-market companies.

Departures from Dechert's Philadelphia office are relatively rare, given the size of the office. The firm has more than 140 lawyers in the city, according to head count data from ALM Intelligence, and the office has only experienced seven lawyer departures this year, according to ALM's Legal Compass, which tracks lateral moves. None of those departures was at the partner level.

A spokeswoman for Dechert did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Suh's departure.