- United States
- Big Law Weekly
Week covered: 28 September – 4 October 2026 · Back to the week page
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.
In Houston, Jackson Walker faces a fresh threat of sanctions for not disclosing the romantic relationship between a former partner and a former U.S. bankruptcy judge in another Chapter 11 case, The Texas Lawbook reported.
The week's moves show U.S. firms adding partners in groups rather than one at a time: Cravath's six-partner Weil hire, the 21-lawyer team that left Wiley, the 11-lawyer team that left Kasowitz. Texas and the South drew new offices from Mori Hamada and Buchalter, three firms named new leaders, with the Crowell & Moring and Mintz transitions taking effect in 2027, and the associate and clerkship bonus cycle reopened at Munger Tolles, Cahill and firms tracking the Milbank scale.
The full list of the week's moves is on the United States week page.
