Law360 Pulse: Why Top Appellate Lawyers Are Switching Firms
A recent Law360 article by Alison Knezevich looks at the surge of investment in Supreme Court and appellate practices across Big Law, as firms compete for a small pool of elite litigators.
The piece notes that Davis Polk and Milbank have both launched new appellate practices since the start of last year, while firms including Gibson Dunn, Paul Weiss, Proskauer, Kirkland and Cooley have all made high-profile additions to their appellate benches in recent months. The article traces the trend to growing client demand for appellate strategy earlier in litigation, and to the recruiting advantage a strong Supreme Court practice gives firms when competing for top associates and former Supreme Court clerks.
Lauren Drake, Office Managing Partner of Macrae's Washington, DC office, comments in the piece on the scale of the demand she's seeing:
"I've been recruiting for quite some time, and I've never seen demand for appellate like this."
She also points to the knock-on effect for a firm's broader litigation book - noting that a client who moves appellate work to a new firm because of a standout advocate will often follow up by shifting more of their litigation work there too - and to how a prominent Supreme Court practice helps firms attract clerks who might otherwise look elsewhere.
Please note: A subscription may be required to access the full article.