Top Paul Weiss Litigator Shanmugam Bolts for Rival Davis Polk
Prominent appellate lawyer Kannon Shanmugam is leaving Paul Weiss for Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Shanmugam and Paul Weiss accomplice Masha Hansford will launch Davis Polk’s new Supreme Court and appellate apply, the agency stated Thursday.
Shanmugam is the best-known lawyer to exit Paul Weiss since Brad Karp, the agency’s longtime chief, resigned from the submit in February over revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein. New Chairman Scott Barshay, a heavyweight M&A lawyer, is anticipated to cement the agency’s shift from a strong litigation store to a behemoth company offers.
Shanmugam is a former clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia and a veteran of the US Solicitor General’s workplace who has argued 39 instances earlier than the Supreme Court. He was lead counsel in a 2020 case wherein the justices dominated the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s management construction was unconstitutional. He is ready to argue for Cisco Systems, Inc. earlier than the court docket subsequent week, and has represented Exxon Mobil Corp., Meta Platforms Inc., and the National Football League, amongst different shoppers.
He jumped to Paul Weiss from Williams & Connolly—a uncommon lateral departure from the elite litigation agency—to Paul Weiss in 2019 to launch his first devoted Supreme Court apply and lead the Washington workplace. At Davis Polk, he and Hansford be part of one other prime company agency that counts main banks amongst its core shoppers.
Paul Weiss noticed a string of notable litigators head for the door final 12 months after Karp reached an issue deal with President Donald Trump, pledging $40 million in free authorized companies on shared causes so as to rescind an government order concentrating on the agency. Shanmugam at an occasion in June 2025 described the agency’s resolution to make a deal reasonably than problem the order in court docket a tough one which mirrored “practical considerations.”
Karen Dunn, a litigation group co-chair, left Paul Weiss with companions Bill Isaacson and Jeannie Rhee to begin a boutique agency, later bringing a few of their former colleagues with them. Jeh Johnson, the previous Homeland Security Secretary, retired after 40 years on the agency between authorities stints. Damian Williams, the previous US Attorney for the Southern District of New York, left for Jenner & Block.
Corporate Over All
The newest departures spotlight how litigation has taken a again seat to profitable company transactions work at Paul Weiss, mirroring shifts at different prime legislation corporations. It’s a stark pivot for a agency identified for its trial prowess for a lot of its 150-year historical past.
Weeks after Barshay took excessive function, the agency scrapped its long-running apply of treating litigation associates as generalists engaged on a variety of instances and as a substitute assigned associates to apply teams, in line with two former Paul Weiss legal professionals. The agency’s earlier method, which lied to star litigators and helped it stand out as a vacation spot for legal professionals looking for to comply with of their footsteps.
Barshay was among the many supporters of the agency’s cope with Trump final 12 months. Barshay was additionally a part of the group that pressed Karp to step down after his ties to Epstein—which started by Karp’s work advising Apollo founder Leon Black and went effectively past what Karp and the agency maintained was restricted contact—turned public.
The collection of occasions underscored the agency’s dedication to place the company aspect of the enterprise forward of the litigation, one of many former legal professionals stated.
The developments don’t seem to have impacted the underside line for Paul Weiss, to date. The agency’s companions raked in $8.6 million apiece in common earnings final 12 months. Davis Polk was amongst a small group of corporations that bested the mark, as companions averaged $9.8 million in earnings final 12 months.
