{"id":149574,"date":"2026-04-24T15:42:22","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:42:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/24\/prominent-appellate-partner-joins-paul-weiss-litigation-exodus-for-davis-polk\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T15:42:22","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T23:42:22","slug":"prominent-appellate-partner-joins-paul-weiss-litigation-exodus-for-davis-polk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2026\/04\/24\/prominent-appellate-partner-joins-paul-weiss-litigation-exodus-for-davis-polk\/","title":{"rendered":"Prominent Appellate Partner Joins Paul, Weiss Litigation Exodus For Davis Polk"},"content":{"rendered":"

Well, readers, the Paul, Weiss litigation exodus<\/a> just claimed a major name.<\/p>\n

Kannon Shanmugam \u2014 one of the most prominent Supreme Court litigators in private practice, a man who has argued 39 cases before the High Court \u2014 is leaving Paul, Weiss for Davis Polk & Wardwell. As Bloomberg Law reported,<\/a> he and partner Masha Hansford will launch the firm\u2019s new Supreme Court and appellate practice.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following the slow-motion litigation talent drain at Paul, Weiss since the firm\u2019s ignominious capitulation to the Trump administration in March 2025<\/a>, Shanmugam\u2019s departure shouldn\u2019t be entirely surprising. But it stings. This is the crown jewel of the firm\u2019s appellate litigation practice walking out the door.<\/p>\n

To briefly recap, Paul, Weiss became the first major Biglaw firm to bend the knee to Donald Trump<\/a>, signing a deal that included $40 million in pro bono services and the elimination of all DEI programs in exchange for the rescission of an executive order targeting the firm. The fallout has been considerable. Litigation co-chair Karen Dunn, along with partners Bill Isaacson and Jeannie Rhee, bolted to start their own boutique<\/a> to practice free from the constraints of the Trump deal. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams departed for Jenner & Block<\/a> \u2014 one of the firms actually fighting the executive orders in court, adding a certain poetic quality to the move. And that was just the beginning; even more litigation partners followed them out the door<\/a> in the weeks that followed. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson retired<\/a> after four decades at the firm. Through all of it, the firm\u2019s official posture was essentially that everything was fine, actually<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And now Shanmugam.<\/p>\n

To his credit, Shanmugam was one of the only Biglaw partners to say anything publicly about the firm\u2019s deal with Trump, though his comments were more in the way of explanation than full-throated endorsement. At the Aspen Ideas Festival last June, when asked directly to explain why Paul, Weiss decided to \u201ccave,\u201d he acknowledged the weight of the decision. The executive orders targeting firms, he said, \u201craise real issues concerning the rule of law and our legal system.\u201d But, he added, \u201cfor the law firms that are on the receiving end of this, there are very practical considerations concerning the implications for the firms\u2019 clients, and those implications were very real.\u201d He described the firm as being \u201cin the vortex\u201d of competing imperatives. And at Pepperdine\u2019s Caruso School of Law<\/a>, Shanmugam described the broader attacks on legal institutions as \u201cregrettable,\u201d while also allowing that the legal profession doesn\u2019t exactly have a viewpoint diversity problem working in its favor.<\/p>\n

The Shanmugam departure has to be understood in the context of Paul, Weiss\u2019s ongoing identity crisis<\/a>. Following Brad Karp\u2019s resignation \u2014 itself coming after revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, compounding the reputational damage from the Trump deal \u2014 the firm\u2019s new chair is M&A heavyweight Scott Barshay. Barshay was, by insider accounts, a vocal internal champion of the Trump capitulation, reportedly framing the cave as pragmatism. But the message his elevation sends is unmistakable: the future of Paul, Weiss is transactional work.<\/p>\n

Turns out, the lateral move may have been telegraphed in a move we missed. Legal watchers were puzzled<\/a> earlier this week when, in the Supreme Court case T.M. v. University of Maryland Medical System Corporation<\/em>, Shanmugam, who had been counsel of record from the cert petition through the merits briefs, did not argue the case. Former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar of Cooley LLP appeared on the docket and argued in Shanmugam\u2019s place, despite not appearing anywhere on the briefs. <\/p>\n

(Now, about that Prelogar angle, because it\u2019s too good to skip over. Longtime Above the Law readers may recall that Shanmugam and Prelogar have a\u2026 bit of a history. Back in 2023, we covered<\/a> the controversy when Shanmugam\u2019s supplemental brief in a SCOTUS case described Prelogar\u2019s government brief as \u2014 and this is a direct quote from the filing \u2014 \u201ca hot mess.\u201d Twitter had thoughts! The legal world had thoughts! Prelogar had thoughts<\/a>! Now Prelogar stepped in to argue a case he\u2019d briefed from scratch. The universe, apparently, has a sense of humor.)<\/p>\n

But, over on Bluesky<\/a> appellate litigator Bob Loeb of Orrick sussed out the clear signal Shanmugam was out at Paul, Weiss : \u201cI knew something was up when I saw Kannon enter his name into the appellate transfer portal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Prominent Appellate Partner Joins Paul, Weiss Litigation Exodus For Davis Polk<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, readers, the Paul, Weiss litigation exodus<\/a> just claimed a major name.<\/p>\n

Kannon Shanmugam \u2014 one of the most prominent Supreme Court litigators in private practice, a man who has argued 39 cases before the High Court \u2014 is leaving Paul, Weiss for Davis Polk & Wardwell. As Bloomberg Law reported,<\/a> he and partner Masha Hansford will launch the firm\u2019s new Supreme Court and appellate practice.<\/p>\n

If you\u2019ve been following the slow-motion litigation talent drain at Paul, Weiss since the firm\u2019s ignominious capitulation to the Trump administration in March 2025<\/a>, Shanmugam\u2019s departure shouldn\u2019t be entirely surprising. But it stings. This is the crown jewel of the firm\u2019s appellate litigation practice walking out the door.<\/p>\n

To briefly recap, Paul, Weiss became the first major Biglaw firm to bend the knee to Donald Trump<\/a>, signing a deal that included $40 million in pro bono services and the elimination of all DEI programs in exchange for the rescission of an executive order targeting the firm. The fallout has been considerable. Litigation co-chair Karen Dunn, along with partners Bill Isaacson and Jeannie Rhee, bolted to start their own boutique<\/a> to practice free from the constraints of the Trump deal. Former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Damian Williams departed for Jenner & Block<\/a> \u2014 one of the firms actually fighting the executive orders in court, adding a certain poetic quality to the move. And that was just the beginning; even more litigation partners followed them out the door<\/a> in the weeks that followed. Former Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson retired<\/a> after four decades at the firm. Through all of it, the firm\u2019s official posture was essentially that everything was fine, actually<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And now Shanmugam.<\/p>\n

To his credit, Shanmugam was one of the only Biglaw partners to say anything publicly about the firm\u2019s deal with Trump, though his comments were more in the way of explanation than full-throated endorsement. At the Aspen Ideas Festival last June, when asked directly to explain why Paul, Weiss decided to \u201ccave,\u201d he acknowledged the weight of the decision. The executive orders targeting firms, he said, \u201craise real issues concerning the rule of law and our legal system.\u201d But, he added, \u201cfor the law firms that are on the receiving end of this, there are very practical considerations concerning the implications for the firms\u2019 clients, and those implications were very real.\u201d He described the firm as being \u201cin the vortex\u201d of competing imperatives. And at Pepperdine\u2019s Caruso School of Law<\/a>, Shanmugam described the broader attacks on legal institutions as \u201cregrettable,\u201d while also allowing that the legal profession doesn\u2019t exactly have a viewpoint diversity problem working in its favor.<\/p>\n

The Shanmugam departure has to be understood in the context of Paul, Weiss\u2019s ongoing identity crisis<\/a>. Following Brad Karp\u2019s resignation \u2014 itself coming after revelations about his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, compounding the reputational damage from the Trump deal \u2014 the firm\u2019s new chair is M&A heavyweight Scott Barshay. Barshay was, by insider accounts, a vocal internal champion of the Trump capitulation, reportedly framing the cave as pragmatism. But the message his elevation sends is unmistakable: the future of Paul, Weiss is transactional work.<\/p>\n

Turns out, the lateral move may have been telegraphed in a move we missed. Legal watchers were puzzled<\/a> earlier this week when, in the Supreme Court case T.M. v. University of Maryland Medical System Corporation<\/em>, Shanmugam, who had been counsel of record from the cert petition through the merits briefs, did not argue the case. Former Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar of Cooley LLP appeared on the docket and argued in Shanmugam\u2019s place, despite not appearing anywhere on the briefs. <\/p>\n

(Now, about that Prelogar angle, because it\u2019s too good to skip over. Longtime Above the Law readers may recall that Shanmugam and Prelogar have a\u2026 bit of a history. Back in 2023, we covered<\/a> the controversy when Shanmugam\u2019s supplemental brief in a SCOTUS case described Prelogar\u2019s government brief as \u2014 and this is a direct quote from the filing \u2014 \u201ca hot mess.\u201d Twitter had thoughts! The legal world had thoughts! Prelogar had thoughts<\/a>! Now Prelogar stepped in to argue a case he\u2019d briefed from scratch. The universe, apparently, has a sense of humor.)<\/p>\n

But, over on Bluesky<\/a> appellate litigator Bob Loeb of Orrick sussed out the clear signal Shanmugam was out at Paul, Weiss : \u201cI knew something was up when I saw Kannon enter his name into the appellate transfer portal.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, host of\u00a0The Jabot podcast<\/a>, and co-host of\u00a0Thinking Like A Lawyer<\/a>. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email\u00a0her<\/a>\u00a0with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a>\u00a0or Bluesky\u00a0@Kathryn1<\/a><\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Prominent Appellate Partner Joins Paul, Weiss Litigation Exodus For Davis Polk<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Well, readers, the Paul, Weiss litigation exodus just claimed a major name. Kannon Shanmugam \u2014 one of the most prominent Supreme Court litigators in private practice, a man who has argued 39 cases before the High Court \u2014 is leaving Paul, Weiss for Davis Polk & Wardwell. As Bloomberg Law reported, he and partner Masha […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":149575,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-149574","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-above_the_law"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/xira.com\/p\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/IMG_5243-1-scaled-e1623338814705-620x568-x5HpbG.jpg?fit=620%2C568&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149574","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=149574"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/149574\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/149575"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=149574"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=149574"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=149574"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}