Heller Ehrman Silicon Valley partner Hal Milstein is leaving the firm to join West Coast rival Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton. Meanwhile, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft has suffered its second partner defection since the firm announced record layoffs earlier this summer. New York environmental litigator, Andrew Perel has defected to the New York office of Steptoe & Johnson.
News of Milstein’s exit from Heller comes amid continued speculation over the firm’s future  after its talks with Baker & McKenzie broke down earlier this month. According to The Lawyer , the firm is currently believed to be in talks with at least three firms, including Mayer Brown. Milstein is the latest in a long line of Heller partners to leave the firm in recent months, and the seventh to join Sheppard Mullin since January.

Heller spokesman Patrick Bustamante said: "We consider Hal to be a good lawyer and colleague, and we wish him well." Sure you do…

Andrew Perel’s jump from Cadwalader has left room for speculation given the glut of bad news the firm has had recently:

In the Wall Street Journal (subscription), Ashby Jones wrote:

[W]hile it might take several months to determine the full damage, so far the firm hasn’t seen large groups of partners bolt for the door, a phenomenon that can create a mini-panic at a firm and result in the loss of entire practice groups. Of course, the handsome partnership payouts provide good incentive to Cadwalader partners to stay put. And while Cadwalader might never be called a "collegial" place, its partnership is at least cohesive. It consists of a manageable 114 lawyers located predominantly in lower Manhattan.

Only time will tell where the Cadwalader ship might end up.

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