Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

A four-attorney Kirkland & Ellis products liability team has jumped to Dechert in Los Angeles, led by Kimberly Branscome, one of the primary litigators defending Johnson & Johnson in talc litigation.

Branscome, who was also a key member of the BP defense team in the Deepwater Horizon litigation and defended General Motors in ignition switch litigation, will serve as the new managing partner of Dechert's LA office. She is joined by partner Jay Bhimani, counsel Benjamin Sadun and an associate.

"This opportunity is something that doesn't come along every day," Branscome said Monday. "It's a combination of an existing platform that's really strong and also a real opportunity for growth and expansion in an area where I've been practicing. The entire West Coast is very significant in the products space, and Southern California and LA is a place where we see a lot of activity."

Branscome, who joined Kirkland in 2014 after working as an associate at Covington & Burling, said that when she was initially approached by Dechert, she was not interested in making a move, but the firm's vision for the West Coast offered a compelling pitch.

The firm has been aggressively building up its products liability practice in recent years, led by the 2018 acquisition of 21 attorneys from Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, featuring Sheila Birnbaum and Mark Cheffo.

"Kim, Jay, and Ben are extremely talented litigators who will deepen our bench in California, a key region with enormous opportunity for our practice and the firm. Their sophisticated and diverse experience greatly compliments our practice and they will be tremendous assets to our clients," Birnbaum said in a statement.

In December, Branscome won a 10-week jury trial on behalf of Johnson & Johnson in Los Angeles, successfully defending Johnson & Johnson against claims that the company's baby powder contained asbestos and caused the plaintiff's terminal cancer.

Branscome said that she and the team had a mix of in-person and virtual interviews, but the latter were less a function of responding to stay-at-home orders and more a strategy for meeting future colleagues in far-flung offices.

And after starting at Dechert at the end of last week, she believes there's actually an advantage to getting going at a new firm remotely.

"During this time, people are making even more of an effort to reach out to colleagues," she said. "In some ways I'd love to be having these meetings in person and seeing people that way, but there's an increased amount of contact now."

A spokesperson for Kirkland said "we enjoyed working with Kim, Jay and Ben and wish them luck in their careers."

Branscome replaces Christopher Ruhland as Dechert's managing partner in Los Angeles. Ruhland helped establish the firm's office in the city along with three other Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe partners in 2011.

Read More

Dechert Notches Double-Digit Growth in 'Exceptional' Year

How Drama Is Helping Dechert Shrink Its Gender Gap

Litigation Leaders: Dechert's Hector Gonzalez on Multiculturalism, Lateral Hires and Keeping It Simple