Morgan Lewis picked employment partner David McManus as the firm’s new leader, marking the first change at the top for the Philadelphia-headquartered firm since 2014.
McManus, who takes over in October, is a 30-year firm veteran who has served on the Morgan Lewis pay committee and advisory board and represented clients such as World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. and Elektrofi Inc. As an employment attorney, he embodies what leaders consider a key point of pride and strategic edge for the firm.
He’ll work with outgoing leader Jami McKeon “to ensure a seamless transition and build on the foundation she set forth,” McManus said in a statement Monday. Partners voted unanimously to elect him to a five-year term, the statement said.
The challenge McManus faces is to maintain the firm’s momentum after more than a decade of geographic expansion and attorney headcount growth. The firm after McKeon took the helm in 2014 grew into a $3 billion operation, ranking it among the 10 largest US firms, with 2,000-plus lawyers in 33 offices around the world.
“I hope I was a really good chair for the period I was the chair, but that doesn’t mean I’d be the right chair for the next 12 years,” McKeon said. “The organization needs to maintain vitality from turning things over and having new ideas and having fresh thinking and fresh leadership.”
She has said she plans to leave the firm by the end of the year and retire.
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