Vargas Partners Newswatch: United States Big Law news

The firm has been adding lawyers in the same practice areas in London. It hired Tom Mungovan as a financial lines and D&O partner from DWF, Law Society Gazette reported. It also hired cyber specialist Ed Lewis from Weightmans with two associates, per Global Legal Post. In Singapore, it appointed Sumyutha Sivamani to lead cyber insurance growth across Asia, Australasian Lawyer reported. Schechter brings the same focus to New York.

Financial lines and cyber coverage anchor the New York office

The launch focuses on insurance coverage, financial lines and cyber, PR Newswire reported. These are the areas where the firm sees most US-exposed cross-border claims. The US private D&O market remains soft, with low rates and ample capacity. Carriers are tightening underwriting with bankruptcy and insolvency exclusions because of financial-stress risk, Ryan Specialty reported. That continues to generate coverage disputes. US cyber rates are rising modestly as AI makes threats more complex, Amwins reported. New York also issued cybersecurity guidance addressing AI threats in 2026, per Louis Law Group, adding regulatory complexity and increasing demand for breach-response and coverage work.

RPC joins DAC Beachcroft, Clyde & Co and Kennedys in building New York insurance teams by hiring US-admitted coverage partners, mainly from established US insurance firms such as Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan. Across these firms, the pattern is similar: a US referral relationship gives way to an owned New York office focused on financial lines and cyber coverage.

Sources: Legal Business, PR Newswire, Insurance Business, Reinsurance News, Insurance Business, Broadfield, The Lawyer, Law.asia, RPC, Law Society Gazette, Global Legal Post, Australasian Lawyer, Ryan Specialty, Amwins, Louis Law Group

RPC launches New York office with insurance partner hire from Kaufman Borgeest & Ryan

Tue, 06 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Japanese firm Miura & Partners has opened its third U.S. office in Plano. The headline describes it as the latest Japanese firm to launch in Texas. The item describes the firm as fast-growing.

Confirmed · United States · Plano

Sources: Law.com — International Edition

Mintz names Mike Fantozzi managing member to succeed Bob Bodian

hello@vargaspartners.com (Vargas Partners Newswatch) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Mintz has named Boston corporate chief Mike Fantozzi to succeed Bob Bodian as managing member after 18 years, during which revenue rose to $780m.

Mintz has named Boston office managing member and corporate division head Mike Fantozzi to succeed Bob Bodian as the firm's managing member, effective 1 July 2027, according to Mintz. Law.com reported the change after Bodian's 18 years running the firm. Bodian becomes Chair.

Bodian's 18 years took Mintz revenue from $280m to $780m

Bodian became managing member 18 years ago as the first leader appointed from outside Boston, a New York native running a firm built in Massachusetts (Boston Globe). Over his tenure Mintz's gross revenue rose from $280m in 2009 to $780m in 2026, a 179% increase, while profits per equity partner climbed from $835,000 to $2.75m (Mintz). The firm now runs eight offices and more than 600 attorneys.

His move to Chair fills a seat vacant since founder Bob Popeo died in 2023 (Boston Globe). In the role Bodian will keep his litigation practice while concentrating on client relationships, lateral recruitment and strategic growth (Bloomberg Law).

Fantozzi returns the top job to Boston and to corporate work

Fantozzi has spent three decades at Mintz and led the Boston office for more than a decade (Boston Globe). He heads the firm's Corporate, Tax, Private Client and Immigration division, with a practice focused on corporate and transactional work for life sciences, healthcare, technology and financial services clients (Mintz). His appointment returns the top job to Boston and to the corporate side of the firm.

Cravath historically treated lateral hiring as a rarity (Above the Law). That began to change in March 2023, when it entered London by hiring leveraged-finance partners Korey Fevzi and Philip Stopford from Shearman & Sterling, later adding Linklaters finance partners Chris Medley and Rohan Saha (LawFuel). In January 2025 it hired Paul Weiss antitrust co-chair Andrew Finch, a former deputy at the DOJ antitrust division (The American Lawyer). The Aiello group extends that pattern into high-value corporate work.

Cravath also added a salaried non-equity partner tier in 2023, a break from pure lockstep that now numbers roughly five to ten partners and underpins its lateral recruiting (HHF Legal Search).

Weil has lost about 30 partners in 2026 across several rivals

Weil has lost roughly 30 partners globally since the start of 2026, with exits including David Avery-Gee and Sarah Flaherty to Sullivan & Cromwell, Murray Cox and Stephanie Srulowitz to Simpson Thacher, Neil Devaney to Akin and Chris Machera to Paul Weiss (LawFuel). Within five days of Aiello's departure, Weil named Kyle Krpata and Michael Lubowitz co-chairs of its corporate department.

According to LawFuel, the firm said it has "long believed an ambitious growth strategy is in the firm's best interest" and intends to "accelerate execution of that strategy going forward," and Weil is reportedly weighing options that could include a possible combination while publicly denying formal merger talks. Aiello's exit leaves Weil "reeling and relieved," with incoming executive chair Ramona Nee, who takes over on 1 January 2027, gaining room to build private equity and recruit (Bloomberg Law).

M&A hiring intensifies as 2025 deal volumes carry into 2026

The hire centers on board-level M&A for public companies and financial sponsors, Cravath's traditional stronghold, where it reports roughly $3.8M revenue per lawyer (PYMNTS) and has advised on more than 800 M&A transactions worth over $4 trillion in the past decade (Cravath). Law firms posted one of their strongest M&A years on record in 2025 and expect 2026 to be as active or more.

That demand has drawn competing moves across the US legal market. Latham, Simpson Thacher, Willkie and O'Melveny added M&A and private equity partners in January 2026, poaching from firms including Weil, Kirkland and Cravath (PYMNTS). Cravath has itself been a target: Davis Polk hired a Cravath civil litigator, and Latham and Paul Weiss each took former Cravath partners in 2023 (Bloomberg Law). Commentators called the exchange the two firms "just trading partners at this point" (Above the Law).

A firm that built its partnership by promotion from within has made a six-partner lateral hire from one rival's corporate department, added a non-equity tier, and opened in London through lateral recruiting. The targets have been practice areas where deal volume is rising: corporate M&A, antitrust and leveraged finance.

Sources: Law.com network — Legal News (FeedBlitz), Pulse 2.0, Bloomberg Law, Above the Law, LawFuel, The American Lawyer, HHF Legal Search, LawFuel, Bloomberg Law, PYMNTS, Cravath, Bloomberg Law, Above the Law

Cooley adds Menno Goedman from DOJ National Security Division to DC litigation practice

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Cooley announced on October 5, 2026 that Menno Goedman has joined its global litigation department in Washington, DC, from DOJ's National Security Division, where he prosecuted national security offenses with an emphasis on sanctions and export controls. Cooley's DC litigation practice has added six partners since 2025.

Confirmed · United States · Washington DC

Sources: Cooley — media feed

Clifford Chance hires Greenhill CFO Mark Lasky as Americas CFO in New York

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Mark Lasky joined Clifford Chance on Monday in New York from investment bank Greenhill, where he had been chief financial officer since 2023. The headline describes the role at Clifford Chance as Americas CFO.

Confirmed · United States · New York

Sources: Law.com — International Edition

Carlton Fields elects new CEO after two decades

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Carlton Fields elected a new CEO after two decades. The firm has turned down merger opportunities in the past and is eyeing Texas for growth. The new CEO's name is not given in the item.

Confirmed · United States · Washington DC

Sources: Law.com — The American Lawyer, Attorney at Law Magazine, Bluesky — Big Law search

Buchalter combines with Griffith Davison in Texas

hello@vargaspartners.com (Vargas Partners Newswatch) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Buchalter's combination with construction boutique Griffith Davison adds three Texas offices and builds a four-office statewide platform as construction and real estate work expands in the state.

Buchalter has combined with Griffith Davison, a Texas construction, real estate and commercial litigation boutique. The deal strengthens its Dallas office and adds offices in Fort Worth, Austin and Houston, The Texas Lawbook reported on 2 October. The Los Angeles firm now has nearly 40 lawyers in Texas.

Griffith Davison's founders take Texas leadership roles at Buchalter

Scott Griffith, who founded Griffith Davison in 1993 and is Board Certified in Construction Law, now chairs Buchalter's Construction Litigation Group, and co-founder Kimber Davison, dual Board Certified in Commercial Real Estate and Construction Law, becomes Texas Regional Managing Partner across all four offices, Buchalter said. Partners Jason L. Cagle, Tyler Frankel, James Hicks, Ryan W. Lione, J.P. Neyland and Brian J. O'Toole joined with roughly 17 additional attorneys and professional staff.

Both founders are Baylor Law graduates, and the firm had grown to four Texas offices by the time of the deal (Griffith Davison). The entire leadership moved as a group rather than disbanding. Buchalter absorbed the full firm instead of making selective lateral hires.

Latham, Weil and Paul Hastings expanded in Texas before the combination

Buchalter, founded in Los Angeles, now has more than 685 lawyers across 10 states and 17 cities. It opened a Chicago office in January 2025 with 25 attorneys from Robbins DiMonte, and added nine lawyers to its Nashville office from Barton LLP in August 2026.

The Texas move comes as national firms expand across the state. Weil, Gotshal & Manges opened an Austin office in February 2026, its third in Texas, anchored by IP litigation co-head Jeff Homrig (Weil). Paul Hastings has leased a new Dallas office and is relocating its Houston space, having more than tripled its Texas headcount in a year and expecting over 100 lawyers in the state (Paul Hastings). Latham & Watkins opened in Dallas after reportedly paying a Kirkland partner about $20 million to lead the launch (The Texas Lawbook).

Construction and real estate work expands on Texas data-center demand

The combination centers on construction law, commercial real estate and commercial litigation (Buchalter). That work is expanding in Texas on data-center construction, corporate campus building and relocations, concentrated in the DFW metroplex and the Austin-San Antonio corridor (Texas Construction Estimating). Chambers notes Texas real estate development has continued despite high interest rates because long-term confidence in the market holds (Chambers and Partners).

Legislation has reinforced the local nature of the work. Texas enacted construction reforms in 2025, including SB 841, effective 1 September 2025, which expanded construction trust fund protections, along with a rule requiring disputes over Texas property to be litigated in Texas (Peckar & Abramson). Those rules keep construction disputes in-state, where firms with Texas offices and board-certified construction lawyers handle them.

Texas legal demand rose while firm headcount grew slowly in 2026

Corporate lawyers in Texas were busier on M&A and capital markets in the first half of 2026 than in any six-month period since 2021, per Citi data released to The Texas Lawbook. Demand for legal services rose about 2 percent and corporate-firm headcount grew 2.6 percent over the same period, with fees charged up by double digits.

Against that demand, headcount has grown slowly, a gap group combinations like this one address directly (The Texas Lawbook). Griffith said the firm joined for a national platform (Buchalter). That makes it a boutique seeking scale as national firms expand around it.

The combination gives Buchalter offices in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Houston in a single move, a four-office platform built on construction and real estate practices at the point those practices are expanding fastest in the state.

Sources: The Texas Lawbook, Buchalter, Griffith Davison, Weil Gotshal & Manges, Paul Hastings, The Texas Lawbook, Texas Construction Estimating, Chambers and Partners, Peckar & Abramson, The Texas Lawbook

Choate hires 11-lawyer Kasowitz litigation team in New York

hello@vargaspartners.com (Vargas Partners Newswatch) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

An 11-lawyer litigation team led by Sheron Korpus has left Kasowitz for Choate's New York office, breaking the firm's 120-year single-office model.

An 11-lawyer complex commercial litigation team led by Sheron Korpus has left Kasowitz for Choate Hall & Stewart's New York office, the New York Law Journal reported on 1 October. Korpus, a Kasowitz litigation partner of more than 20 years, is now co-head of business and financial litigation at Choate.

The group is sizeable. Choate said it brings six partners, including Korpus, Seth Davis, Seth Moskowitz, Andrew Schwartz, Jordan Beltz and Sarah Gibbs Leivick, counsel David Max and Alycia Regan Benenati, and associates Elliott Wolf, Emily Lowe and Daniel Furey. The team's matters include the antitrust case Comcast Corp. v. Behrend at the U.S. Supreme Court and a $420 million Teva Pharmaceuticals securities settlement.

Choate breaks a 120-year single-office Boston model for New York

Choate built its reputation on staying small. The firm has run a single-office Boston model for more than 120 years, cutting its practice areas from about 30 to five and concentrating on complex trial litigation, private equity and M&A, and financing and restructuring. That discipline produced figures Mestel reported as profit per equity partner of roughly $2.3 million and 184 percent revenue growth.

A standing New York litigation team is a departure from that model. Choate framed the hire as "accelerating its growth in New York," with co-managing partner Rob Kole citing the team's record on consequential litigation and Korpus calling the firm's transactional strength "a natural fit."

Kasowitz loses another New York litigation group after a year of exits

The Korpus departure follows a run of senior losses. Kasowitz Benson Torres shortened its name to Kasowitz LLP in June 2025 after co-founder Dan Benson left, amid broader senior attrition addressed by Marc Kasowitz, who told Law.com the firm had "experienced some attrition — all law firms do."

Other litigators have gone in different directions. New York boutique Pallas Partners hired Kasowitz partners Michael Hanin and Jill Forster; litigation partner Jonathan Algor moved to Lowenstein Sandler's New York office; and Herschmann, Bowen and Benson launched their own firm. The exits sit alongside litigation over the firm's finances: a December 2025 suit by Eric Herschmann alleged mismanagement, falling profits and undisclosed debt taken on to fund partner distributions, and a second former partner sued in late December.

Litigation led Am Law 200 lateral hiring through 2026

The work the team carries is the most contested in the market. Litigation led Am Law 200 lateral partner hiring in the first quarter of 2026, with 388 litigation-focused partners hired, and again in the second quarter with 286. New York recorded 358 lateral partner moves in the first half of 2026, its highest first-half volume yet and a third consecutive first-half of growth.

The team's book sits squarely in that demand: securities and antitrust class actions, structured finance and lender liability disputes, real estate finance litigation and internal investigations. Choate says the hire lets it offer a "single, integrated team" pairing that litigation with its private equity and finance transactional work, a pitch aimed at sponsors, funds, lenders and boards.

Hiring in the senior ranks is largely firm-to-firm across the US lateral market. Sixty percent of first-quarter Am Law 200 lateral hires came from within the Am Law 200, with New York the busiest at 203 hires.

Choate's break with its Boston model lands in 2026's busiest practice

A litigation team that Choate valued enough to break a century of single-office practice came from a firm managing public disputes over its finances and a steady outflow of partners. The group's work falls in the practice leading lateral hiring across 2026, in the market absorbing the most lateral movement. The move pairs Choate's transactional base with litigation strength in the city where that competition is sharpest.

Sources: Law.com — The American Lawyer, Choate Hall & Stewart, Mestel / Elevate, Above the Law, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Law, Bloomberg Law, Law.com — New York Law Journal, Pirical, Pirical, Macrae

Big Law Weekly: United States, 28 September – 4 October 2026

hello@vargaspartners.com (Vargas Partners Newswatch) — Mon, 05 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Cravath lands a six-partner Weil team, Wachtell takes a rare Cleary lateral, and Wiley loses 21 insurance lawyers to a new D.C. boutique.

The U.S. lateral market moved in groups this week rather than in single hires. Cravath, a firm known for rarely buying talent, took Weil, Gotshal & Manges corporate chair Michael Aiello and five M&A partners, according to Bloomberg Law. A 21-lawyer insurance team left Wiley to form a Washington boutique, The National Law Journal reported, and an 11-lawyer litigation group exited Kasowitz for Choate, per the New York Law Journal. Read more.

Texas drew new entrants, three firms named chairs and managing members, and the bonus cycle reopened with Munger Tolles raising clerkship payments and Cahill matching the Milbank scale.

Cravath, Wachtell, Gibson Dunn and Freshfields add partners in New York and Silicon Valley

The incoming Cravath team includes M&A partners Matt Gilroy, Eoghan Keenan, Amanda Fenster, Michelle Sargent and Megan Pendleton alongside Aiello, all from Weil. Weil described the departure as a move to "a smaller platform," while Cravath's leader credited the group for "embracing our values," The Lawyer reported.

Wachtell hired Joon Kim from Cleary Gottlieb, a rare lateral that followed the summer exit of former co-chair Bill Savitt, Legal Business reported. Kim began his career as a Cleary associate before joining the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York.

Gibson Dunn added energy and infrastructure partner Raymond Azar from White & Case, the latest in a run of energy hires, according to the New York Law Journal. Freshfields expanded its capital markets practice with Justin Michael in New York and Jeffrey Gould in Silicon Valley, the firm said, citing convertible bonds and equity-linked securities work.

Wiley, Kasowitz and McKool Smith lose teams to Tyka, Choate and Gibson Dunn

Twelve partners from Wiley's insurance practice led the 21-lawyer group out to launch Tyka, a Washington boutique that will bring roughly 50 clients and more than 1,500 matters, per Above the Law and The National Law Journal.

Sheron Korpus, a Kasowitz litigation partner of more than 20 years, led the 11-lawyer team to Choate, where he is now co-head of business and financial litigation in New York, the New York Law Journal reported. In Dallas, Gibson Dunn added patent trial lawyers Nicholas Mathews and Erik Fountain from McKool Smith after their third consecutive trial win in the Eastern District of Texas, The Texas Lawbook reported; they follow several partner departures from McKool Smith over the summer.

Fisher Phillips entered Miami with seven lawyers from Zumpano Castro who will split their practices between the two firms for two years before deciding whether to join full time, the Daily Business Review reported. Saul Ewing built a new Atlanta team with lawyers from Squire Patton Boggs, Holland & Knight and Arnall Golden Gregory joining two of its veterans, the Daily Report reported.

Mori Hamada and Buchalter expand in Dallas, Houston and Fort Worth

Mori Hamada, a Japanese Big Four firm, will open in Dallas and Houston in the first half of 2027 and in Kyoto that spring, Law.com International reported, adding to a New York launch in 2023 and two Bay Area offices in 2025. The Texas offices will advise Japanese and Asian companies on M&A, energy and investment.

Buchalter combined with Griffith Davison, adding offices in Fort Worth, Austin and Houston and bringing the Los Angeles firm to nearly 40 lawyers in Texas, The Texas Lawbook reported.

Morgan Lewis, Crowell & Moring and Mintz name new firm leaders

David McManus, Morgan Lewis's global labor and employment leader, began a five-year term as chair on 1 October, succeeding Jami McKeon, the American Lawyer reported; the firm also promoted 32 lawyers to partner.

Crowell & Moring elected New York litigation chair Glen McGorty as management board chair for a three-year term starting 1 March 2027, its first chair based outside Washington, according to the American Lawyer. Mintz named Boston managing member and corporate head Mike Fantozzi to succeed Bob Bodian, who moves to chair after 18 years leading the firm, Bloomberg Law reported.

Munger Tolles raises clerkship bonuses to $200,000 as Cahill matches Milbank

Munger Tolles & Olson raised its clerkship bonuses to $180,000 for one qualifying clerkship and $200,000 for two or more, Law360 reported. Separately, Above the Law reported that a litigation firm, which it did not name, is offering a $180,000 signing bonus to former federal clerks.

Cahill matched the Milbank associate bonus scale two months after it was set, the ABA Journal reported. A since-removed White & Case job posting listed a $270,000 to $385,000 associate pay range tracking the Milbank scale, though the firm had not announced a match, Above the Law reported.

WilmerHale adds ex-SEC enforcement chief as Jackson Walker faces new sanctions threat

WilmerHale added the former chief counsel of the SEC's Division of Enforcement, named by Pulse 2.0 as Sam Waldon, to its Washington team after more than 16 years at the agency.

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Confirmed · United States

Sources: Law.asia