Charles Weir, a partner with Manatt, Phelps & Phillips. Courtesy photo.

McDermott Will & Emery's lead litigator in Los Angeles has made a move to Manatt, Phelps & Phillips.

Charles Weir most recently headed McDermott's Los Angeles litigation group and co-chaired the firm's class action team. He joined Manatt's litigation team on Tuesday as a partner.

"Manatt is a great firm with a tremendous reputation for quality lawyering," Weir said. "The firm's strengths overlapped nicely with my core practice areas, and the health care litigation platform, in particular, is a perfect fit for my practice."

Before the move, Weir was with McDermott for more than 16 years, where he handled complex business litigation and internal investigations. Weir said he was drawn to Manatt's business model because it offers both traditional legal services and consulting capabilities.

"I have great relationships with my clients and am excited to tap into Manatt's proven and integrated legal and consulting model as I continue to grow my practice in the health care, entertainment, technology and energy sectors," he said.

Weir focuses his practice on class actions, shareholder derivative suits, qui tam litigation and commercial disputes. While at McDermott, Weir has been defense counsel in two large shareholder derivative lawsuits. He represented officers and directors of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in litigation arising from the company's natural gas pipeline business, and defended a co-founder of Broadcom Corp. in a case arising from allegations of stock option backdating.

"Charles is a top litigator in the healthcare and complex commercial space," Gregory Pimstone, a partner and leader of the firm's health care litigation practice, said in a statement. "He will add depth and quality to our healthcare and complex litigation teams, and we are tremendously excited to have him on board."

In a statement responding to Weir's departure, a representative for McDermott said, "The movement of partners from one firm to another happens on a daily basis. Charles is a good friend, and we wish him well. While we are sorry to see him leave, we have a very dynamic and growing litigation team in our LA office generally and in class actions in particular."