Jami Wintz McKeon sat down with Morgan Lewis Chief Business Development and Marketing Officer, Despina Kartson, to answer some questions for alumni on the recently expanded Morgan Lewis.

Despina: Jami, Thank you for sitting down to speak to our alumni on the exciting news of the Morgan Lewis expansion with 750 lawyers, legal professionals, and staff joining the firm from Bingham McCutchen.

Jami: We are so excited about this milestone for the firm and want our alumni to understand our goals and future steps as we move forward.

Despina: With only two months as Chair, how does this expansion reflect your goals for the future of Morgan Lewis?

Jami: We built this firm on long-standing, deep relationships with our clients. That’s something that will not change under my stewardship of Morgan Lewis or now that we’ve welcomed the Bingham team. I have great confidence in the firm's ability to grow where we see it being beneficial for our clients and for the firm. Expanding and building with a team at the caliber of Bingham McCutchen, is an opportunity a law firm leader could only hope for.

Despina: How will Morgan Lewis and Bingham clients be impacted?

Jami: The top priority of both the legacy Morgan Lewis and legacy Bingham partners is our clients – and they are always our top priority. We believe our clients will benefit greatly by this given the new capacity and practices. In welcoming more than 750 talented lawyers and staff from Bingham, we continue to build a firm that is capable of mobilizing teams to partner with clients on their most pressing legal and business challenges wherever they arise around the globe. The new lawyers from Bingham create great synergies for the firm that offer compelling new reasons for our current clients to continue, and for prospective clients to begin, working with Morgan Lewis. Bingham clients gain access to deeper services in areas where Morgan Lewis is highly regarded, such as white collar, litigation, corporate transactions, labor and employment, energy, FDA and healthcare, as well as offices in Houston, Chicago and international markets. Morgan Lewis gains new or expanded capabilities by welcoming top-tier lawyers who counsel clients in such specific areas as telecommunications, structured transactions, environmental litigation, securities enforcement, global asset management, project finance, restructuring, institutional investor finance, tax planning and tax controversy, antitrust, and intellectual property.

Despina: What should we expect next?

Jami: The excitement is palpable – among partners, associates, staff, and clients. We are focusing significant attention on integration, and many plans are already underway. All of our practice groups and offices have already kicked off this process, and every one of our leaders, operational teams, offices and practice teams is aligned with this goal. Importantly, we already have many lawyers working across the two firms on client work. As we move forward, I will make sure that as alumni, you are kept in the fold of all the developments. And as ever, you are welcome to contact me directly with questions, concerns, or comments.

Despina: Thank you very much Jami. We'll share your comments with the firm alumni in our next issue of Global Network.

Jami: You are welcome Despina!