Law Firm Hiring for November 9, 2026: Real Estate, Private Funds, Employment Litigation, and Finance

Weekly Partner Lateral Report | November 9, 2026 | Caroline McInnis, Esq.

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It's been another busy week for lateral partner hiring, with movement in real estate, private funds, and employment litigation. Los Angeles had a strong showing this week, while New York firms continued adding partners in finance, private capital, and energy infrastructure.

California

Alston & Bird made two additions to its SoCal real estate practice, bringing in Alex Jacobs in Century City and Krista DeGroot in Los Angeles. Both work with institutional investors, funds, owners, and developers on acquisitions, joint ventures, recapitalizations, development projects, and financing.

Sidley Austin has been busy on both coasts. In Los Angeles, the firm brought in Arman Zadeh to expand its Investment Funds practice. Zadeh advises private fund sponsors on fund formation, structuring, governance, and co-investment arrangements. 

Employment litigation is another active area in California. Ogletree Deakins brought in Timothy Pico and Brett Markson in Los Angeles, along with Lara Prodanovich in San Diego. Their practices cover employment disputes, wage-and-hour litigation, workplace investigations, and employer counseling.

New York

Back in New York, Sidley Austin continued its hiring with two more additions. Jonathan Gaynor joined the Real Estate practice, bringing experience in commercial real estate finance and structured lending. David Cohen joined the Global Finance practice, focusing on structured finance, asset-backed transactions, and private credit.

Energy and infrastructure also made an appearance this week. Orrick added William Nicholson to its New York practice, where he advises sponsors, investors, and lenders on energy projects, infrastructure transactions, and financing.

Meanwhile, Freshfields brought in Brett Bush to expand its Private Funds and Secondaries practice. His work includes fund formation, secondary transactions, co-investments, and fund restructurings.

Washington, D.C.

Private funds hiring wasn't limited to New York and Los Angeles. Troutman Pepper Locke added Jennifer Gullotti East to its Private Equity and Investment Funds practice in Washington, D.C. Her experience includes private fund formation, investment management, and fundraising for institutional sponsors.

Pacific Northwest

Ogletree Deakins also brought in Tobias "Toby" Piering in Seattle, adding to its employment practice in the Pacific Northwest.

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