McGuireWoods has hired a nine-partner team of litigators and appellate advocates from Perkins Coie to launch in Seattle.
The new office will be the firm’s 21st globally and marks its first new location since 2016, when it set up shop in San Francisco.
The group, who are leaving Perkins Coie ahead of its proposed merger with UK-based Ashurst, include a former federal judge and two former US Supreme Court clerks and bring expertise covering class actions, multidistrict litigation, commercial and product liability litigation, antitrust litigation and appellate matters.
McGuireWoods’ chairman, Jonathan Harmon, said the hire of the group and launch in Seattle elevated the firm’s market position and its ability to serve longstanding clients across the Pacific Northwest.
“These partners also enrich our capabilities in practices and industry sectors that are pillars of our strategic plan and solidify our stature as a destination firm for high-performing talent,” Harmon added. “We will build on this foundation with additional litigation and transactional practices to deliver the highest level of service to clients and demonstrate our commitment to the Seattle community.”
The office will be led by Rike Connelly, who had chaired Perkins’ firmwide business litigation practice. She oversees large-scale commercial litigation, including antitrust and intellectual property disputes.
Joining her for the move are Eric Wolff, who co-chaired Perkins Coie’s appellate practice, and Mike Schultz and Todd Rosencrans, who were firmwide chair and vice chair of its product liability litigation group. At McGuireWoods, Rosencrans will co-lead the firm’s aerospace and defence industry team.
The group also includes Christopher Ledford, who will co-lead the firm’s product liability and mass tort litigation practice, and Judge Abdul Kallon, who co-chaired Perkins’ trial practice group. Meanwhile, Daniel Ridlon will spearhead McGuireWoods’ new autonomous vehicles practice, having co-chaired the autonomous and uncrewed vehicle systems industry group at his former firm and Monique Wirrick will represent clients in cases involving aviation accidents, consumer products and toxic torts.
The group is completed by Michael Scoville, who moved over from Perkins Coie in 2024. A former federal prosecutor and law clerk to US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, Scoville represents global companies in government investigations and litigation and co-leads McGuireWoods’ aerospace and defence industry team.
A Perkins Coie spokesperson commented: “Perkins Coie is grateful for the contributions of our former colleagues, and we wish them well.”
J. Tracy Walker IV, McGuireWoods managing partner, said the team members’ legal acumen and industry knowledge would provide “enormous value” to the firm’s clients, adding their community ties would “form a steadfast cornerstone for what we will build in this vibrant region”.
The firm’s launch in Seattle comes just a few days after UK-based insurance heavyweight Clyde & Co announced it was opening in the city through a merger with 32-lawyer litigation defence firm Forsberg & Umlauf.
Another recent entrant was Arnold & Porter, which hired a trio of partners, including two litigators from K&L Gates last July to open in the city.
Last November, Perkins Coie and Ashurst agreed to merge in a landmark deal set to create a top-20 global law firm by gross revenue. The merger is expected to close in Q3 of 2026, subject to a partner vote at both firms.
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