Sozi Pedro Tulante, with Dechert. (Courtesy photo)

Dechert has added to its white-collar crime and trials practice in Philadelphia, bringing on a partner with experience in local government, federal prosecution, private practice and academia.

Sozi Tulante, who served as Philadelphia's city solicitor for two years, is Dechert's newest Philadelphia-based partner. Tulante became a policy fellow and lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Law School after announcing his departure from the Philadelphia Law Department in March 2019, teaching prosecutorial decision-making and constitutional law.

During his time as solicitor, the city filed a first-of-its-kind suit against Wells Fargo alleging discriminatory lending practices in the city. It also successfully sought a preliminary injunction against an attempt to cut off federal funding for the city's law enforcement as part of the Trump administration's crackdown on sanctuary cities.

Also during his tenure, Philadelphia joined New York City and San Francisco in suing the Department of Defense over alleged failures to report military members' criminal history and dishonorable discharge data into the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. And the city collaborated with several local law firms and a Temple University law professor to file a lawsuit against pharmaceutical companies over their alleged role in the opioid crisis. Tulante was a finalist for The Legal Intelligencer's Attorney of the Year award in 2018 for his work as city solicitor.

Given all those high-profile cases, it's no surprise that Tulante needed some time "to recharge," as he described it.

"I was really burnt out," he said in an interview Tuesday. "For me, at least, the prospect of going from city solicitor to going to a firm directly would have been unsustainable."

So he took some time away from practicing law, continuing with his position at Penn, to think about what would be next. He had discussions with multiple law firms, he said, and Dechert was most appealing for its global litigation platform and because the firm seemed "most bullish about investing in me" as he looks to build a practice.

Tulante said he will be working with the firm to "reboot" some of the work that had been included in partner Thomas Lee's practice, as Lee has now retired. He also plans to work with colleagues in London to handle matters of international concern.

"Clients' problems don't stop at the border anymore," he added.

Before taking the helm of the city legal department, Tulante was an assistant U.S. attorney in Philadelphia for five years. Prior to entering public service, he was a partner at Philadelphia midsize firm Hangley Aronchick Segal Pudlin & Schiller, and an associate at Boston-based Goodwin Procter before that. As a Dechert partner, he plans to continue teaching at Penn.

He said his breadth of experiences has made him "a problem solver," likening his time as solicitor to being "general counsel to a large corporation, the city, with 1.6 million shareholders."

David Kelley, co-leader of Dechert's white-collar and securities litigation practice, said counseling boards and executives requires "understanding how businesses operate and understanding both sides of the equation."

"You can't come into this with a one-perspective view," Kelley said. "Given his various roles he has played, [Tulante] is uniquely situated to understand that."

With regard to Philadelphia in particular, Kelley said, Tulante has "an intimate knowledge of how the city works." While Dechert has increased its focus internationally, and now has its largest presence in New York, Kelley said the firm still has an interest in strengthening its abilities in Philadelphia, where it was founded.

"Philadelphia remains one of our principal places of business. We're a global law firm and Philadelphia is an important part of that mosaic," Kelley said. "What we do in terms of our growth strategy is not just to focus on a particular geographic area as to focus on a particular talent."

Dechert cracked the $1 billion mark for gross revenue for the first time in 2018, pointing to key hires across its footprint.

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