Skadden Executive Partner: New Defection Shows Firm Is Talent Incubator
The executive partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom is putting a positive spin on the firm’s latest partner loss.
D.J. “Jan” Baker is leaping to Latham & Watkins, where he will lead the firm’s restructuring practice, according to the New York Times DealBook blog. Baker recently led the the Skadden lawyers representing Winn-Dixie Stores in its restructuring.
The move follows an announcement last week that two mergers and acquisitions partners, David Fox and Daniel Wolf, were joining Kirkland & Ellis. The Times saw the earlier defection as possibly signaling “a broader shift in the corporate legal landscape as lawyers at large full-service firms leave for more focused, profitable shops.”
Skadden executive partner Eric Friedman told the Am Law Daily that lateral movement among bankruptcy lawyers is not that unusual. The firm has 100 restructuring lawyers who have handled high-profile matters involving companies such as Circuit City Stores Inc., Hartmarx Corp. and Delphi Corp.
“We are a bit of an incubator of high-quality restructuring talent,” he told the Am Law Daily. “We have had other restructuring partners leave over the years and go and do other things.”
The Am Law Daily asked Friedman if the three recent departures signal any bigger issues at the law firm. “None whatsoever,” he replied.
Hat tip to the Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
