Good morning,
This was a week of calculated acquisitions on the lateral front. Choate Hall & Stewart executed one of the most aggressive moves of the quarter, pulling a six-partner, 11-lawyer litigation team from Kasowitz Benson Torres in New York. Buchalter absorbed more than 40 lawyers from Griffith Davison across four Texas offices, adding instant scale in a market where regional depth matters. Intellectual property was the most active practice area by individual partner count, with seven lateral moves spanning Denver, San Francisco, Dallas, Orange County, and Amsterdam. Kirkland & Ellis and Skadden each lost two partners to rival firms, while Washington, D.C., drew a cluster of regulatory, national security, and government investigations hires.
On the executive side, the Fortune 500 saw a wave of leadership succession planning. General Dynamics, Stryker, and Chevron each named new CEOs or CFOs effective January 1, 2027, signaling that boards are locking in transitions well ahead of year-end. Technology leadership was a recurring theme: Hilton recruited its new CTO from Uber, AutoNation created a Chief Technology and AI Officer role, and JPMorgan brought on the former president of Sycamore Partners to chair its investment banking division globally.
Now, on to what matters for your practice today.
BigLaw Moves Sentiment
The depth of IP lateral activity this week, spanning patent litigation, trade secrets, and AI-adjacent privacy work, tracks with BCG Attorney Search's finding that AI law and technology transactions led the fastest-growing practice areas in 2025 and are forecast to remain a top lateral target through 2026.
Litigation team moves like Choate’s acquisition from Kasowitz signal that firms are competing for ready-made practices rather than building organically. The continued flow of regulatory and white collar talent into BigLaw from government, including Mark Cave’s departure from the SEC, reflects the ongoing conversion of enforcement expertise into private-sector advisory revenue.
Real estate lateral demand aligns with Lateral Link’s observation that data center development and related financing are creating a new subspecialty within the practice.
BigLaw Moves
A few quick patterns worth noting: Intellectual property led with seven individual partner laterals this week, followed by litigation (seven, including the Choate team move) and corporate M&A (five). Washington, D.C., was the second most active market after New York, driven by hires in congressional investigations, national security, ITC trade, and white collar defense. Two Kirkland partners departed for Baker McKenzie and Sidley Austin, while two Skadden partners left for Cozen O'Connor and Davis Polk. International moves included two London hires and one in Amsterdam, reflecting continued transatlantic demand for private capital and IP talent.
Bankruptcy and Restructuring
Jason Gott lateralled to Dechert as a restructuring partner in Chicago, departing Latham & Watkins.
Corporate M&A
Neal Reenan moved to Debevoise & Plimpton as a private equity M&A partner in New York, leaving Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Ian Bushner joined Debevoise & Plimpton as a private equity M&A partner in New York, also departing Freshfields alongside Reenan.
Chris Grey was hired by Morrison Foerster as an M&A partner and UK tech sector lead in London, leaving Ashurst Perkins Coie.
Reid Avett lateralled to Squire Patton Boggs as a corporate partner in Washington, D.C., departing Womble Bond Dickinson.
Erin O'Gurek moved to Holland & Knight as an M&A partner in Philadelphia, leaving Morgan Lewis.
Cybersecurity and Data Privacy
Thomas Loeser joined Hausfeld as a technology and privacy partner in San Francisco, departing Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy.
Environmental
Alyssa Moir was hired by Stoel Rives as an environment partner in Seattle, leaving K&L Gates.
Healthcare
David Ault lateralled to Arnall Golden Gregory as a healthcare partner in Washington, D.C., departing Ropes & Gray.
Insurance
Scott Schechter was recruited by RPC as an insurance partner in New York, leaving Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan.
Intellectual Property
David Walker moved to Foley Hoag as an IP partner in Denver, departing Sheridan Ross.
Tyler Boschert joined Foley Hoag as an IP partner in Denver, also leaving Sheridan Ross alongside Walker.
Sean Callagy was hired by Jones Day as an IP partner in San Francisco, departing Arnold & Porter.
Nicholas Mathews lateralled to Gibson Dunn as an IP litigation partner in Dallas, leaving McKool Smith.
Erik Fountain moved to Gibson Dunn as an IP litigation partner in Dallas, also departing McKool Smith alongside Mathews.
Nathan Smith was recruited by Snell & Wilmer as an IP partner in Orange County, leaving Morgan Lewis.
Joris Willems joined Jones Day as an IP partner in Amsterdam, departing NautaDutilh.
International Trade
Lisa Kattan was hired by Latham & Watkins as co-chair of its ITC practice in Washington, D.C., leaving Baker Botts.
Labor and Employment
Marissa Cwik lateralled to BAL as an immigration partner in Denver, departing Ogletree Deakins.
Litigation
Sheron Korpus joined Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York, leading an 11-lawyer team departing Kasowitz Benson Torres.
Seth Davis moved to Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York as part of the same Kasowitz team.
Seth Moskowitz was hired by Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York as part of the same Kasowitz team.
Andrew Schwartz lateralled to Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York as part of the same Kasowitz team.
Jordan Beltz joined Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York as part of the same Kasowitz team.
Sarah Gibbs Leivick moved to Choate Hall & Stewart as a litigation partner in New York as part of the same Kasowitz team.
Anthony Scisciani was recruited by Snell & Wilmer as a litigation partner in Seattle, leaving HWS Law Group.
Media and Entertainment
Glen Mastroberte lateralled to Davis Polk & Wardwell as a media and entertainment partner in Los Angeles, departing Skadden.
Multi-Practice
Buchalter added more than 40 lawyers from Griffith Davison across its Dallas, Austin, Fort Worth, and Houston offices.
Private Equity and Investment Funds
Jill Kelley was hired by Clifford Chance as a private capital sports partner in New York, leaving Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader.
Tom Jaggers joined Ashurst Perkins Coie as a private capital partner in London, departing Oaktree Capital Management.
Scott Perlov lateralled to Foley Hoag as an emerging companies and venture capital partner in Denver, leaving Pillsbury.
Ryan McNish moved to Sidley Austin as an investment funds partner in Chicago, departing Kirkland & Ellis.
Real Estate
Russell Wohl was recruited by Cozen O'Connor as a commercial leasing partner in New York, leaving Skadden.
Zena Ho joined Jones Day as a real estate finance partner in Los Angeles, departing McDermott Will & Emery.
Carlos Rodriguez lateralled to Cozen O'Connor as a real estate partner in Miami, leaving AmTrust Title Insurance Company.
Regulatory
Carl Kennedy was hired by Dechert as a derivatives and CFTC regulatory partner in New York, departing Katten.
Patrick Gilman moved to Brown Rudnick as a national security partner in Washington, D.C., leaving Greenberg Traurig.
Joshua Johnson joined Brown Rudnick as a national security partner in Washington, D.C., also departing Greenberg Traurig alongside Gilman.
Tax
Ryan Dahan was recruited by Ropes & Gray as a tax partner, departing Akin Gump.
White Collar Crime and Government Investigations
Allison Murphy lateralled to Baker McKenzie as co-head of its congressional investigations practice in Washington, D.C., leaving Kirkland & Ellis.
Mark Cave joined O'Melveny & Myers as a white collar defense and corporate investigations partner in Washington, D.C., departing the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Corporate Moves Sentiment
Three Fortune 500 companies naming CEOs or CFOs effective January 1, 2027, points to boards running structured succession timelines rather than reactive searches. The concentration of CTO and CIO appointments across sectors, from hospitality to automotive retail to public sector software, confirms that technology leadership has become a standing board-level priority rather than a hire reserved for tech-native companies.
For BigLaw, these transitions create immediate advisory demand: CEO successions at defense contractors like General Dynamics trigger governance, compensation, and regulatory review work, while the creation of hybrid roles like AutoNation’s Chief Technology and AI Officer signals emerging compliance and data governance needs that firms with cross-disciplinary AI practices are positioned to capture.
Corporate Moves
Investment Banking
JPMorgan named Rob Sweeney as Global Chair of Investment Banking. Sweeney was previously President of Sycamore Partners.
Asset Managers
Lowercarbon named Colton Cray as a Principal. Cray was previously with Drover Ventures.
Spark Capital added Theo Bleier to its early-stage team. Bleier was previously with Notion.
Corporates
AMC Robotics appointed Ang Li as Chief Technology Officer, where he will advance autonomous intelligence, AI-powered perception, and edge computing capabilities. Li is an assistant professor at the University of Maryland, College Park, where he will continue in his academic role.
AutoNation appointed Ravi Simhambhatla as Chief Technology and AI Officer. Simhambhatla most recently served as Chief Digital and Innovation Officer at Avis Budget Group. He previously held technology leadership roles at Google, Tesla, and United Airlines Holdings.
Avance Investment Management, a New York-based private equity firm, appointed Carl Stanton as a senior partner. Stanton was previously with Invesco Private Capital.
Averna Therapeutics promoted Christian Dombrowski to Chief Technology Officer. Dombrowski previously served as SVP of Platform and earlier led the CRISPR gene-editing platform at Intellia Therapeutics for nearly a decade.
Barings named Sloan Sutta as Head of Asset-Based Finance. Sutta was previously with Crayhill Capital Management.
Boston Scientific appointed Joseph M. Fitzgerald as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, effective January 1, 2027. Fitzgerald currently serves as EVP and Group President, Cardiovascular. The company has not had a COO in over a decade.
CentralSquare Technologies appointed Brian Shannon as Chief Technology Officer. Shannon most recently served as CTO at Flexera and previously held senior roles at ServiceNow and GE Healthcare.
Chevron appointed Jeff B. Gustavson as Chief Financial Officer, effective January 1, 2027. Gustavson has been with the company for 27 years. He will succeed Eimear Bonner, who will become President, Oil, Products and Gas.
General Dynamics appointed Danny Deep as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2027. Deep has been with the company for 25 years and will succeed Phebe Novakovic, who has served as CEO since 2013 and will transition to Executive Chairman.
General Medicine named TJ Parker as Chief Executive Officer. Parker, founder of PillPack (acquired by Amazon), is stepping down as a general partner at Matrix Partners and will remain as a venture partner.
Groundworks named Heidi Cox as Chief Information Officer. Cox previously served as CIO at Trinity Industries and earlier held CIO and data leadership roles at HKS and Jacobs.
Hilton named Jeff Moore as Chief Technology Officer, joining the hotelier from Uber, where he served as VP of Software Engineering and led a global organization of 2,500 engineers. Moore will join Hilton on October 26, reporting to President and CEO Chris Nassetta.
Inseego appointed Nick Lambourne as Chief Technology Officer. Lambourne was most recently CTO at IoT platform provider Particle and previously held roles at Roku and SiriusXM.
Lithia Motors promoted Katie Macaddino to Chief People Officer. Macaddino previously served as SVP, People and Culture, and earlier spent 15 years at Intel.
Stryker appointed Spencer S. Stiles as Chief Executive Officer, effective January 1, 2027. Stiles has been with the company for 27 years and will succeed Kevin A. Lobo, who has led the company since 2012 and will transition to Executive Chair.
WilliamsMarston appointed Dave Minker as Chief Information Officer. Minker previously served as Global IT Senior Director at Boston Consulting Group.
Heard on the Street
The lateral market remains hot heading into the fourth quarter. Jeffrey Lowe of CenterPeak told Above the Law in January that "we think 2026 is going to be on fire," a prediction that has largely held. Amy Savage, a D.C.-based recruiter at Garrison & Sisson, echoed the sentiment, calling 2026 a potential "record year in terms of lateral hiring."
The numbers bear it out. BCG Attorney Search's 2026 Legal Talent Movement Report found that lateral partner hires reached 3,009 in 2025, the highest in five years, with the firm forecasting 2,800 to 3,100 partner moves in 2026. Banking, real estate, and bankruptcy practices led growth at roughly 30% or more year-over-year. The report also flagged AI law and technology transactions as the fastest-growing practice area, followed by data privacy, private credit, and healthcare.
Lateral Link's Jesse Hyde wrote that "the 2026 law firm lateral market is active though is highly practice and experience-specific," noting that M&A and private equity remain the strongest demand drivers, with real estate benefiting from data center development and IP hiring concentrating around AI-related disputes. Bloomberg Law reported on the continuing "bankruptcy hiring super cycle," highlighted by David Nemecek's move from Kirkland & Ellis to Simpson Thacher earlier this year, which the publication said "refuels" the restructuring talent war.
On the executive front, Forbes Business Council contributors identified Chief AI Officer and Chief Data Officer as the fastest-emerging C-suite titles for 2026, with multiple observers noting that boards are prioritizing leaders who can own outcomes across technology, data, and operations rather than siloed functional heads.
That’s the rundown. See you next where law meets the markets.
-The BigLaw Markets Team
*DISCLAIMER: BigLaw Markets analyzes publicly available information, filings, press releases, and news stories published by reputable media sources to deliver content that highlights demand for legal services. Certain production processes may be supported by proprietary AI tools and are subject to human editorial judgement and review.
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