October 30, 2008 12:44 PM

Heller Chairman Lands at Dechert

Posted by Nate Raymond

The former chairman of Heller Ehrman has finally found a new home.

Matthew Larrabee (right), the former head of the now-dissolved Heller, will join Dechert's San Francisco office, the firm announced today. He'll practice in the litigation group.

"Dechert's litigation practice is recognized as one of the best in the country," Larrabee said in a statement. "I have had the privilege of knowing and working with many of Dechert's trial lawyers and I feel fortunate to be joining such an outstanding team."

Larrabee moved into the San Fransisco office today, though a partnership vote on Larrabee officially joining is still underway, a spokeswoman says. The vote will take one to two weeks to complete, the spokeswoman says.

Larrabee, 53, took the reins of Heller Ehrman in 2004 when the firm's popular chairman at the time, Barry Levin, came up against term limits. Larrabee was reelected to the chairman's post in January, despite the departure of several partners and a downturn in firm finances. As more partners continued to decamp, Larrabee spent much of the last year trying to arrange a white-knight merger with such firms as Baker & McKenzie, Winston & Strawn, and Mayer Brown before partners voted to dissolve Heller.

At Dechert, Larrabee will practice in the white collar and securities litigation group, with an understanding that he can cross over into other areas such as class action and antitrust, a spokeswoman says.

"Matt's experience is unusually diverse," Dechert chairman Barton Winokur said in a statement. "Perhaps most importantly, Matt will provide yet another highly experienced and sophisticated first chair litigator to Dechert's already impressive group of trial lawyers. I think everyone would agree that Matt is one of the most respected trial attorneys in the nation and we welcome him to the firm."

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