Welcome back to the Big Law Business column on the changing legal marketplace written by me, Roy Strom.
It’s likely no coincidence that shortly after moving away from lockstep, many firms expanded to Northern California, where some top lawyers command eight-figure salaries.
“This is an emerging companies market where partners can say, ‘This is my client,’” said Natasha Innocenti, a Northern California-based partner at recruiting firm Macrae.
Debevoise made its Silicon Valley move to deliver services such as M&A, private funds, white collar litigation, data and cybersecurity, and intellectual property litigation to its existing roster of clients on the West Coast.
The move allows Sequoia to hold more types of securities for longer, and Bloomberg News reported it could have tax benefits.
Andrew Ahern, a Debevoise partner who splits time between New York and San Francisco, and who worked on the Sequoia matter, said the deal represented the type of high-touch, creative work the firm aims to do for top clients.
But Debevoise has not been immune from departures in Big Law’s free agent era.
Kent Zimmermann, a principal at law firm consultancy Zeughauser Group, said competitors and clients alike view Debevoise as an elite firm.
Still, Ahern, Diz and Sarratt said Debevoise’s lockstep strategy has become a differentiator.
Martin is a Bay Area litigator who’s been at the firm since 1996, when she joined as a summer associate.
On Google: Sticking with the Bay Area theme, it’s hard to imagine a law firm rivaling the pay package of Alphabet Inc.’s legal chief, J.
If you want to test how well my predictions did last year, you can find my calls here.