Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jul 11, 2023 Mark Lansing rejoins Barclay Damon Mark Lansing, previously Member at Dickinson Wright, has rejoined Barclay Damon as Counsel in the firm's Property Tax & Condemnation, Energy, and Project Development Practice. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jun 17, 2025 Jeff Korenblatt joins Norton Rose Fulbright Jeff Korenblatt, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Norton Rose Fulbright as Partner. Jeff focuses on tax law, insurance and transactional risk mitigation. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jul 10, 2023 Sean Donahue joins Paul Hastings Sean Donahue, previously Partner at Goodwin Procter, has joined Paul Hastings as Partner. Mr. Donahue's practice focuses on counseling public companies and their Boards of Directors on securities regulation, shareholder activism defense, capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance matters. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Aug 31, 2023 Vadim Brusser joins Sidley Austin Vadim Brusser, previously Partner at Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has joined Sidley Austin as Partner in the firm's Antitrust Practice. Mr. Brusser will focus on merger clearance work for the firm’s growing Private Equity practice and for strategic corporate clients. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Dec 7, 2023 In-House Government Contracts Hiring in the D.C. Region: Recruiting Strategies for Employers By: Kaitlyn Hunter & Nancy Palermo Government Contracts is among several highly D.C.-centric practice areas and one of the most in demand for in-house lawyers. For context, government contracts constitutes more than 20% of the searches we conduct annually. At any given time, there are at least a handful of law firms seeking associates with this experience, but there is always a steady flow of in-house opportunities. What does this mean? Government contract lawyers often have a higher number of options to consider than many other practice areas, and it’s not unusual to have multiple competing offers. Given this high demand, recruiting a government contracts lawyer versus, say, a general litigator requires a different approach. This article provides a detailed overview of the current market and some best practices for attracting government contracts attorneys in this market. Practice Evolution: Over the past 20 years, the in-house hiring market for government contracts attorneys has changed a fair amount. From around 2000 to 2010, the majority of positions for government contracts lawyers were on the law firm side. In-house opportunities were not nearly as plentiful. However, due to rising law firm billing rates, more and more companies have brought a larger amount of this work in-house, which necessitates the need for more hiring at all experience levels. As a result, the candidate pool on the law firm side – particularly at the Counsel and Junior Partner levels – has become much smaller. Additionally, law firm associate compensation has increased significantly over the past decade, and the gap between law firm and in-house compensation has continued to widen. So how can you attract top talent today? Understanding the Candidate Pool and Differentiators You Can Use Expertise and Mix of Work : Approximately 90% of the government contracts positions in-house are a mix of regulatory counseling/compliance and drafting and negotiating government contracts; whereas litigation and/or investigations focused positions are maybe 10%. Conversely, government contracts Associates are usually trained on litigation and bid protest work, and it’s often not until they reach the Senior Associate or Counsel level that they start handling transactions and doing a significant amount of regulatory counseling on the FAR, DFARS, and other federal statutes. Profile/Background Consideration : As an employer, you need to be prepared to train more junior-mid level attorneys on drafting and negotiating contracts, as well as on some regulatory areas they haven’t previously had exposure to. However, litigators can add value in a way that non-litigators may not be able to due to their ability to issue spot based on the cases that they’ve worked on. If you are a large, multinational corporation, you may have a separate litigation/investigations group within your OGC, and those in-house positions are rare and hard to find. Thus, you should have high interest in your position because government contracts lawyers who focus on litigation/investigations have very few opportunities to transition in-house. Attorneys coming out of the OGC’s at Dept. of the Navy, Air Force, DOJ, FBI, etc. also have great experience for these roles, so be open to lawyers coming from the Government sector as well. In addition, the majority of our in-house clients want to hire government contracts lawyers who come from AmLaw 200 firms because of their training. However, don’t be too quick to discount lawyers who have been trained in-house. We’ve found their training can be equally as strong. Why? Because many of them have been trained and mentored by more senior lawyers who previously practiced at top law firms (some as Partners) before going in-house. Compensation/Benefits : 90% of the time when a lawyer transitions from a firm to a corporate legal department they take a hit in their base compensation (and these days it can be as much as a $100K salary decrease). However, if a government contracts lawyer is coming from a Government position, salary will rarely be an issue. The way that companies can “win” in this area is by having candidates look at the totality of the compensation package (including benefits). Staples (the baseline elements of compensation at companies that hiring attorneys can’t work with, but these are the norms): Bonus: Most companies offer a bonus target of 20-30% of base salary. Equity: While equity is becoming scarce at more junior levels, most Director and VP level positions have an equity component (even a phantom stock program for privately held companies). So, offering candidates RSU’s and/or stock options is the norm for more senior roles, but a differentiator for more junior roles. 401(k): Most companies have a 3% contribution at a minimum, and some offer as high as 8%. Differentiators: Sign-on Bonus: Given the supply and demand, this one of the few practice areas (like M&A) where a sign-on bonus is warranted to bridge the gap with the salary differential if the candidate is coming from an AmLaw 200 firm. PTO: Most companies offer new employees three to four weeks of PTO (vacation & personal leave). You may consider enhancing this by requesting that your HR department waive the formal policy and provide the attorney one additional week of leave. It’s not huge, but it’s one more arrow in your quiver. Equity: If the position is equity eligible, consider giving the attorney a small initial grant of equity either at the outset or after six months of employment. In Office Schedule: Allow the attorney to work from home one additional day per week after their initial onboarding and integration. Best Recruiting Practices: Your Story : It is important that your search narrative and reason for the need is clear and understandable. If a candidate is considering the opportunity with your company, odds are they are considering other positions because they are ready to transition in-house. Your story should crisply and quickly explain not only the substance of the position, but the selling points to the candidate. In terms of why your position is open, it’s always preferable if the role is newly created due to increased workflow or an internal promotion. However, if the position is due to an attorney departure, this is a bit more challenging unless there’s a “candidate friendly” explanation as to why (e.g., the person relocated, left to become GC of another company, etc.). Just remember that the search narrative is essential and must be developed carefully. Oftentimes, we spend a considerable amount of time helping our clients best articulate their story, which differs from company to company. Interview Process : Making your interview process as streamlined as possible and knowing the process (e.g., number of rounds, who they will be meeting, etc.) at the outset is extremely important. Take the time to explain to your recruiter and/or the candidate what the process will look like, from beginning to end. Think of it as “mapping” the process. As mentioned above, many candidates are likely to consider multiple opportunities, so having a process in place that is somewhat predictable (in terms of timing) reflects very well on your organization. Another point worth noting: If someone on your interview panel is unable to meet in person on a particular day, it is better to have them meet via Zoom vs. waiting until they can meet in person. At the current time, we are still seeing interviews as a combination of in person and video and that will likely remain the case. Also, if there’s a large number of people to meet, consider doubling up your interviewers or doing panel interviews (for more senior positions). We recognize the importance of thoroughness and proper vetting, but we’ve seen too many companies lose their top choice candidate due to a process that is not as streamlined and efficient as it could have been, which we explain below. Speed of Search : Time kills all deals. In the current market, employers are moving incredibly fast in terms of their hiring process (some of our clients do all interviews via Zoom and only have the finalist candidate come into the office for the final interview with the General Counsel). You need to be prepared to make decisions on candidates much quicker than you may have historically in order to be in the running if your top candidate receives multiple offers. Geography and Remote/Hybrid Schedule : The majority of our government or defense contractor clients are located in Northern Virginia. However, most law firm Associate candidates live and work in D.C., so they are likely looking at a much longer commute by transitioning in-house. Most companies are offering hybrid schedules with two or three days a week in the office. If you require four or five days, your in-office requirement is likely going to be a non-starter for some candidates. Sweet-Spot : The majority of government contracts opportunities are for attorney candidates with five to ten years of relevant experience [note: opportunities for candidates with less than five years of experience are quite rare, so if you are open to someone a bit more junior, you may have an easier time filling your role.] Secondarily, our clients look for candidates with 15+ years of tenure as a government contracts lawyer for Director level openings (and 20+ for VP level, Division Counsel, or General Counsel roles at smaller companies). Timing of Year : Because the average search takes three months (the tightest time frame being two months) from launching the search to offer, if you decide to start your search in August or shortly thereafter, you are going to be faced with candidates wanting to start the following January to March due to year-end bonuses. If you want them to start sooner, you need to be prepared to make them “almost whole” in terms of what they are leaving on the table. Because law firm bonuses have become so significant (e.g., a 5th year associate in BigLaw receives a bonus of $90k), most of our clients are not willing to do this for good reason, but if your company has the resources to and the immediacy of the need is great enough, this will obviously be a significant and enticing factor. Where Garrison Can Help: Garrison has been recruiting for corporations in the D.C. Metro region for nearly four decades and we have placed over 500 attorneys in corporate legal departments. We are proud that 98% of our candidates remain with our client organization for at least one year and, typically, many more. We will work closely with you to ensure your search will resonate with the right candidates as quickly as possible. We are by your side through every step from crafting the perfect search narrative, to interview scheduling and counseling, to offer and negotiation support, and, finally, to candidate integration. You can learn more about our process by visiting our in-house recruiting page here . “Garrison takes good care of me – they’re sensitive to the needs of my company, communicate honestly and are interested most in the long-term business relationship. I’ve never used any firm other than Garrison for legal searches. That’s how good they are.” - President and former General Counsel of a leading media technology company Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jun 23, 2024 Austin Ownbey joins Akerman Austin Ownbey, previously Counsel at Foley Hoag, has joined Akerman as Partner. Austin counsels clients on a wide range of competition and antitrust issues, including the review of mergers and other enforcement matters. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters May 3, 2023 Allen Denson joins Morgan Lewis & Bockius Allen Denson, previously Partner at Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, has joined Morgan Lewis & Bockius as Partner. Mr. Denson represents financial institutions and fintech companies that are forced to defend their business practices against federal and state financial regulators. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jan 5, 2023 Joshua Shapiro joins Eversheds Sutherland Joshua Shapiro, previously Partner at Thompson Hine, has joined Eversheds Sutherland as Partner in the firm’s Corporate Practice Group. Mr. Shapiro’s practice is focused on counseling clients through the regulatory review of mergers and acquisitions, from deal inception and risk assessment to clearance by the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ). Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Feb 21, 2023 Jason Fleischer, Laura Swett, Jennifer Mansh, Thomas Kirby and Judge John Dring join Vinson & Elkins Jason Fleischer, Laura Swett, Jennifer Mansh, Thomas Kirby and Judge John Dring, which formerly practiced at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, have joined Vinson & Elkins as Counsels in the firm’s Energy Regulatory Practice. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Oct 6, 2023 New Dan Binstock article in American Lawyer on lateral partner interviews and integration Certain law firms beat others in lateral partner recruiting by using client-related integration discussions earlier in the interview process. Garrison partner Dan Binstock touches on some of those strategies and provides specific examples for law firms to implement. Click here to read the full article on The American Lawyer/Law.com. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Apr 17, 2024 Roger Swartzwelder joins Thompson Coburn Roger Swartzwelder, previously Shareholder at Maynard Nexsen, has joined Thompson Coburn as Partner in the firm's Higher Education Practice. Roger represents institutions of higher education in a wide array of regulatory, accreditation, and operational issues. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.

Reach out to our team: Our Recruiters Jan 26, 2025 Luis Torres joins Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo Luis Torres, previously Partner at Dentons, has joined Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo as Member in the firm's Energy & Sustainability Practice. Luis' practice focuses on the structuring, development, and financing of energy, transport, telecommunications, and infrastructure projects. Back to News and Insights Recent Posts Oct 26, 2025 Antonia Tzinova joins Weil, Gotshal & Manges Antonia Tzinova, previously Partner at Holland & Knight, has joined Weil, Gotshal & Manges as Partner in the firm's Corporate Department. Antonia practices in the areas of international trade, foreign direct investment and industrial security. Oct 20, 2025 Garrison quoted in American Lawyer Dan Binstock was quoted in " In Big Law's 'Free-Agent' Era, Are New Partners 'Ripe' for Moves? " (American Lawyer Online, 10/20/25). Oct 19, 2025 Kenneth Nunnenkamp joins Blank Rome Kenneth Nunnenkamp, previously Partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, has joined Blank Rome as Partner in the firm's International Trade Practice Group. Ken’s practice focuses on national security matters, including experience with Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”) reviews, export controls, economic sanctions, trade enforcement investigations, and anti-money laundering.