Biglaw firms are all about defining their priorities right now.
The latest firm to make some moves consistent with their strategic plans is Mayer Brown. The firm’s head of global litigation and dispute resolution practice, Richard Spehr, has said that growing the white-collar and regulatory practices in D.C. and New York is their “number one strategy” and the proof is in the hires.
As reported by Law.com, this week, Mayer Brown added Michael Levy, formerly of Paul Hastings, to its roster. And his new firm is excited to have him on board:
“Michael is well-respected in the D.C. community and widely known as a first rate trial lawyer,” Raj De, managing partner of Mayer Brown’s D.C. office, said in a statement.
According to his new firm, Levy worked on the Enron case as well as the financial mishaps of Fannie Mae, the downfall of MF Global and the NFL’s “Spygate” scandal involving the New England Patriots. He has also represented clients who were involved in investigations into the murders of four Americans in Benghazi and the use of a non-governmental private email server by former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
As Spehr said, there are even more plans to grow the practice, and they say they are actively looking for lawyers to join the firm from the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York. This will build upon a series of lateral moves the firm has made over the last few years. Back in 2016, they added Daniel Stein, former chief of the criminal division of SDNY. Glen Kopp, also formerly of SDNY, joined Mayer Brown in 2018. In late 2018, Audrey Harris was also brought on as co-chair of the firm’s anti-corruption practice. And in 2019, Jason Linder and Glenn Vanzura joined the firm’s L.A. office.
Congratulations to the firm as they continue making big-impact lateral moves.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).