Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers Zach Sandberg

This week, on Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, our hosts David Lat and Zach Sandberg do a deep dive on the most recent set of the American Lawyer's famed law firm rankings—both the Am Law 100 ranking, which came out last month, and the Second Hundred ranking, which was just released. Who is moving up in the world? Are there firms struggling? What factors are driving the success of the firms that are flourishing? Join our hosts as they run through numerous metrics that measure a firm's financial health and performance in this must-listen episode. For his move of the week, David follows another high-profile acquisition by Paul Weiss, which seems to be on a hiring spree, while Zach breaks down Baker McKenzie's onboarding of a major West Coast transactional team from Munger.

This week, on Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, our hosts speak with Melissa Saleh, whose start-up, FairPlay AI, is introducing AI-powered models that increase fairness and profits for lenders. Melissa and David go back twenty years to the early days of blogging when Melissa shook up the legal industry with her controversial blog, Opinionistas. Melissa would leave the practice of law to go full force into the world of digital journalism, writing for numerous prominent media brands. We talk about career throughlines, and it just so happens that Melissa had a particularly powerful throughline in both her narrative work and career: technology's influence on our lives. It was this current that ultimately pulled her into the dynamic role that she now occupies: that of a tech founder. For the move of the week, David discusses the proposed merger between Troutman Pepper and Locke Lorde, while Zach analyzes a multi-office group hired by Shook, Hardy & Bacon.

This week on Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, we sit down with Katherine Allen, CEO and Co-Founder of Flo Recruit, a company making waves in the way both law schools and law firms orchestrate their recruitment processes. Katherine tells us the story of how she started innovating in the legal industry before graduating from college. We then discuss how the company strives to tackle some of the more complex operational challenges faced by law firms in their never-ending efforts to recruit the top talent. For his move of the week, Zach covers Javad Asghari’s move to Simpson Thacher, while David dives into a string of recent high-profile antitrust hires.

In this episode of Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers, we tackle all things legal technology with Colin Levy, a thought leader in the field. In his current role as Evangelist and Director of Legal at Malbek, Colin acts as a luminary for those not yet accustomed to rapidly-evolving technology and the increasingly important role it plays in attorneys’ lives. Join us for this wide-ranging discussion, covering topics from the ability of AI to augment performance to a candid conversation with Colin about his own mental health journey. For the move of the week, Zach covers Barnes & Thornburg’s recent acquisition on a restructuring team in Atlanta, while David takes a look at McDermott’s hiring of a white collar group from Orrick, led by Guy Singer.

In this episode, we have a deep, thoughtful conversation with Pierre Gentin, McKinsey's Chief Legal Officer and the first non-consultant elected a senior partner in the firm's almost 100-year history. Pierre defines the elements of excellence to which attorneys can aspire while waxing philosophical about how people can find meaning in their work. As Pierre so eloquently puts it, "There are arrows of inspiration flying over us all the time, but do we reach up and grab them?" The conversation lends a fresh perspective to the work that we do day in and day out, while also digging into the dynamics of an esteemed organization, like McKinsey, as it expands globally.

Join David Lat and Zach Sandberg on Movers, Shakers & Rainmakers as they chat with Emily Logan Stedman, newly appointed partner at Husch Blackwell and advocate for lawyer well-being. Emily shares her journey to partnership, her commitment to mental health in the legal community, and how she balances leadership with personal well-being. She discusses the evolving role of women in law, mentoring, and her strategies for personal branding and business development. Emily also offers advice to junior associates and law students, including the use of the billable hour as a time-management tool. In Moves of the Week, we spotlight Kimberly Branscome's move to Paul, Weiss in Los Angeles, King & Spalding welcoming longtime Hollingsworth litigator Greg Chernack in DC, and Hogan Lovells hiring 23 M&A lawyers from Orrick in Italy. Tune in for insights on legal career growth, mental health advocacy, and the importance of personal branding. Don't forget to rate, review, subscribe, and share with your network!