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Would you leave a thriving law firm to strike out on your own? Many risk-averse lawyers would not, but David Elsberg has done so—twice.

In 2018, David left Quinn Emanuel to launch Selendy Gay, later Selendy Gay Elsberg—which today is one of the nation’s top litigation boutiques. Then last month, he made the news again with the launch of Elsberg Baker & Maruri, which he co-founded with former colleagues from both Quinn Emanuel and Selendy Gay.

David is one of the country’s leading commercial litigators—according to Chambers, Law360, Lawdragon, and Benchmark Litigation—and in this new episode of the Original Jurisdiction podcast, we discussed his career as a trial lawyer. But I was just as interested in getting his thoughts on two topics that have been on my mind a fair amount lately.

First, why are so many great lawyers, especially litigators, leaving Biglaw to launch boutiques? And second, if you could design a law firm from the ground up, how would you structure it? David and his new partners have put a lot of thought into institutional design—and their firm bucks Biglaw trends in several different ways, as he explained to me in our conversation.

Congratulations and good luck to David and his colleagues on the launch of their new firm. Based on his track record as both a litigator and a founder, I’m predicting great success for David and Elsberg Baker & Maruri.

Show Notes:

* David Elsberg bio, Elsberg Baker & Maruri PLLC

* Wall Street Litigation Firm Starts With Selendy Gay Recruits, by Tatyana Monnay for Bloomberg Law

* Selendy Gay Founder, Quinn Emanuel Partners To Form New Law Firm, by Sara Merken for Reuters

* Selendy Gay’s David Elsberg, Quinn Emanuel Partners To Launch New Litigation Boutique, by Dan Roe for the New York Law Journal

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NexFirm helps Biglaw attorneys become founding partners. To learn more about how NexFirm can help you launch your firm, call 212-292-1000 or email [email protected].