Davis Wright Tremaine’s Managing Partner Steps Down Suddenly

Scott MacCormack, who has led Davis Wright Tremaine since 2021, has stepped down as managing partner of the Seattle-founded firm.

The firm’s executive committee appointed Pete Johnson, partner-in-charge of its Seattle office, to serve as interim managing partner as a search begins to identify the next managing partner.

“We are thankful to Scott for his service to the firm—guiding us through several years of the pandemic, helping oversee the launch of our new firmwide strategic plan, leading us through the successful combination with McGonigle, and helping us finish 2023 in a very strong economic position,” the firm’s executive committee said in a statement.

MacCormack will remain at the firm, it said.

Davis Wright Tremaine recorded its 11th consecutive year of revenue growth in 2023, boosting its gross revenue by 9% to more than $563.5 million. It’s equity partner profits also crossed the $1 million mark for the first time in the firm’s history.

WilmerHale Work for Harvard Scrutinized in Ethics Complaint

An anonymous ethics complaint targeting prominent WilmerHale attorney William Lee is calling on the Massachusetts attorney general’s office to investigate the firm’s relationship with Harvard University, where Lee served on its governing board for over a decade.

Lee and WilmerHale represented the elite school in its attempt to defend its race-based admission policy from legal attacks by conservative groups, a battle it lost at the Supreme Court last summer. The firm also coached ex-Harvard president Claudine Gay for what turned into a highly damaging congressional hearing on antisemitism that helped lead to Gay’s ouster.

The complaint filed with the Massachusetts attorney general’s office is over an alleged conflict of interest, a spokesman for the AG confirmed.

“There was nothing improper about the firm’s legal representations of Harvard,” WilmerHale said in a statement, noting Lee recused himself from all of the school’s decisions concerning the case.

Husch Blackwell’s Revenue Climbs 10% Ahead of Leaders Change

Husch Blackwell’s gross revenue jumped more than 10%, marking the law firm’s sixth straight year of growth.

The St. Louis-founded firm brought in $612.3 million in 2023, up from $555.8 million the year prior, according to figures shared with Bloomberg Law.

“We’re in this for the long run from a client relationship perspective and from a business sustainability perspective,” Jamie Lawless , Husch Blackwell’s chief executive officer, said in an interview. “We have enjoyed a ton of success financially—six years of growth, four years of double-digit growth—and so we are sticking with those business principles as we enter into 2024.”

The firm’s profits per equity partner dipped slightly, despite the revenue gain, dropping to $833,000 last year from $867,000 in 2022. Its revenue per lawyer ticked down $711,000 from $721,000 the year prior.

Those dips are a result of the firm’s lateral hiring activity in 2023, Lawless said. Husch Blackwell brought on 111 lateral lawyer hires and onboarded 56 fall associates. The firm’s headcount jumped 12% to 861 lawyers last year.

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