Commercial litigator and former Philadelphia Bar Association Chancellor A. Michael Pratt has made a move from Pepper Hamilton, where he has practiced law for well over three decades, to Greenberg Traurig, which he joined as a shareholder.

Pratt, who has spent much of his career representing banks and financial institutions, said he saw joining Greenberg as an opportunity "that gave me the ability to expand my practice in ways that I had not envisioned before." He said he will be able to make his work more national, and continue to grow his work in pharmaceutical, drug and device litigation, as well as government relations.

"It will just allow me to have a more diverse litigation practice," Pratt said. "I'm a litigator and a trial lawyer. It doesn't matter the issue."

Pratt declined to name clients, though he said some will be joining him from Pepper Hamilton. According to federal court records, he has worked on cases in recent years for the city of Philadelphia and Abraxis BioScience, among others.

"I think that [Greenberg Traurig] has a lot of flexibility that's given to the lawyers and shareholders here," Pratt said. "The business model empowers its lawyers to take responsibility for themselves without a lot of bureaucracy and committee oversight."

Though he first joined Pepper Hamilton in 1986, Pratt has done a couple of stints outside the firm since then. He worked as chief deputy city solicitor for Philadelphia from 1992 to 1994, and he was in-house at Honeywell International Inc., serving as chief litigation counsel for corporate and toxic tort matters, for about 18 months, rejoining Pepper Hamilton in 2003.

In 2008, during his term as chancellor of the Philadelphia bar, Pratt put diversity at the forefront of his efforts, hiring the organization's first diversity director, leading diversity programs at the annual bench-bar conference, and implementing the bar's diversity award.

Curtis Toll, managing shareholder of Greenberg's Philadelphia office, said Pratt has "strong legal prowess, leadership and civic presence."

"He brings a high level of skill and commitment to clients and to building our next generation of attorneys. That sense of service fits perfectly with our strategic vision and our brand," Toll said in a statement.

Greenberg Traurig has 50 lawyers in its Philadelphia office, which is one of 41 locations in the U.S., Latin America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East.

A spokesman for Pepper Hamilton said in a statement that the firm wishes Pratt well.