Davis Polk Hires Veteran Cleary Partner in Latest Lateral Pickup

Davis Polk & Wardwell is bringing aboard financial crimes specialist Paul Marquardt from Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, one of several lateral partner hires the firm has made since parting ways with its strict lockstep pay system last year.

Marquardt will be joining Davis Polk’s financial institutions group in Washington. He led the foreign investment and security practice at Cleary, where he practiced for more than 25 years, and handled matters involving the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States.

Davis Polk in late 2020 shifted away from its seniority-based partner compensation system, a move that tends to allow firms more flexibility in attracting lateral partner hires. Davis Polk’s lateral pickups so far this year have included former head of White & Case’s private credit and directing lending practice, Nicholas Palumbo, and former Office of the Comptroller of the Currency official Daniel Stipano.

Marquardt’s hire also comes on the heels of Davis Polk’s announcement on Friday it would raise its associate pay to a minimum $202,500, part of the first substantial salary boost for the industry since 2018. Davis Polk has also emerged as a pay pace-setter through its distribution of special bonuses to associates over the past year.

The firm is coming off a banner 2020, and said in the memo announcing the salary raises that it has had “exceptionally high” activity levels, including in capital markets, bankruptcy, and regulatory matters.

“Davis Polk’s reputation in the regulatory space is unparalleled, and I have had the pleasure of working alongside many of the firm’s lawyers throughout my career,” Paul Marquardt said, in a statement. “I am grateful for my time at Cleary, but the opportunity to join this fantastic team and collaborate in advising our clients on their most complex international trade issues is truly exciting.”

Marquardt advises clients on national security reviews, anti-money laundering issues, and anti-corruption matters, including compliance with the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. His practice includes state-owned entities, sovereign wealth funds, technology and defense companies, and private equity funds around the world.

Neil Barr, Davis Polk’s managing partner said that Marquardt’s “extensive experience in sanctions and national security reviews is a strong complement to our practice, and is increasingly important to our clients as they continue to navigate these issues in pursuing complex, cross-border transactions.”

Marquardt’s work has involved the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) and Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), the U.S. Departments of Justice and State, and the Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security and the World Bank.

He has more than two decades of experience in national security reviews by CFIUS, as well as mitigation agreements, regulation of classified contracts, and national security reviews in other jurisdictions.