High-Profile Supreme Court Attorney Exits Paul Weiss for Rival Wall Street Firm
New York, Thursday, 23 April 2026.
Elite litigator Kannon Shanmugam is joining Davis Polk, highlighting a fierce Wall Street talent war driven by higher partner profits and shifting corporate strategies at his former firm.
A Strategic Shift and High-Profile Exits
On Thursday, April 23, 2026, it was announced that prominent appellate attorney Kannon Shanmugam, alongside partner Masha Hansford, departed Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison to establish a new Supreme Court and appellate practice at Davis Polk & Wardwell [1][2][3]. The move comes amid a significant strategic realignment at Paul Weiss, which has been shifting its primary focus away from litigation and toward corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions [1][2]. This pivot accelerated under the leadership of Scott Barshay, who assumed the role of chairman in February 2026 [1][2]. Within weeks of Barshay’s tenure beginning, the firm overhauled its associate training structure, abandoning its traditional model of treating litigation associates as generalists and instead assigning them to specific practice groups [1][2].
The Financial Imperative and Talent War
The competitive landscape for elite legal talent is heavily influenced by partnership profitability, an economic metric where Davis Polk currently holds a quantifiable advantage [GPT]. In 2025, Davis Polk reported average partner profits of $9.8 million [1][2]. By comparison, Paul Weiss reported average partner profits of $8.6 million during the same period [1][2]. This represents a financial premium at Davis Polk of 13.953 percent over its rival. At Davis Polk, Shanmugam and Hansford will integrate into a premier corporate firm known for representing major banking institutions, providing a robust, highly capitalized platform for their specialized appellate services [1].
A Prestigious Portfolio of Appellate Advocacy
Shanmugam brings an exceptionally distinguished résumé to his new firm, having originally joined Paul Weiss in 2019 from Williams & Connolly to launch their first dedicated Supreme Court practice and lead their Washington, D.C. office [1][2]. A former clerk to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and a veteran of the U.S. Solicitor General’s office, he has argued 39 cases before the United States Supreme Court [1]. His high-stakes litigation history includes serving as lead counsel in a landmark 2020 case that successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s leadership structure [1]. His client roster includes corporate behemoths such as Meta Platforms Inc. (ticker: META), Exxon Mobil Corp. (ticker: XOM), and the National Football League [2][GPT].
Navigating Complex Corporate Histories
The strategic divergence between Shanmugam and Paul Weiss may also reflect broader institutional decisions made in recent years [GPT]. In 2025, with Barshay’s support, Paul Weiss reached a controversial agreement with the Trump administration, providing $40 million in pro bono services in exchange for the rescission of an executive order [1][2]. At the time, in June 2025, Shanmugam publicly noted that “practical considerations” heavily influenced the firm’s choice to settle the matter rather than pursue litigation against the executive order [1][2]. As corporations face increasingly complex regulatory environments, the ability to navigate both public relations and the appellate courts remains paramount, making Shanmugam’s move to Davis Polk a transformative acquisition in the Wall Street legal sector [GPT].