Baker Botts has picked off a partner from the upper ranks of Farella Braun + Martel, a Bay Area stalwart that rather infrequently copes with lateral departures.

Samuel Dibble, chair of Farella Braun's business transactions group, has joined Baker Botts as a corporate partner in San Francisco. The Am Law 100 firm opened an office in the city last year.

Dibble said at this point in his career, he's looking to handle more cross-border deals and represent larger companies, something he did at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he was an associate before joining Farella Braun in 2003. He saw an opportunity to make that happen at Baker Botts.