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On Tuesday, Orrick, Herrington & Stucliffe LLP announced that Silicon Valley partner Michell Zuklie, 43, has been selected as Chair-Elect of the law firm. At present, Zuklie leads the Corporate Business Unit of Orrick, which is the second-largest of the five global business unit run by the law firm. He is expected to succeed the current Chairman of Orrick, Ralph H. Baxter from January 2014, following ratification of the selection by partners.
Speaking upon the selection of Zuklie to succeed him, Ralph Baxter said, “Mitch has a tremendous sense of the firm and is a superb lawyer as well as an insightful leader. Having worked closely with Mitch both on our Board and Management Committee, I have come to appreciate what an outstanding person he is and how highly regarded he is across the firm, by our clients and in the legal community – both for his advice and judgment and for the way his values mirror Orrick’s own. We could not be more fortunate to have Mitch step into this role, and I look forward to collaborating with him in the coming year.”
Other candidates who had been considered for the position include James Stengel, Alan Benjamin, and Walt Brown. The selection was an 18-month process where direct input from 370 partners of the law firm were solicited.
Commenting on his selection as Chair-Elect of Orrick, and affirming his faith and appreciation of the current leadership, Zuklie said, “We are fortunate to have at Orrick a great many partners who could have very ably filled this role, and I am looking forward to working closely with all of them in managing the firm in the years ahead. Under Ralph’s leadership, Orrick has grown from a regional firm with 250 lawyers to a global leader with more than 1,100 lawyers in 25 offices worldwide. Among other accomplishments, Ralph has led a series of innovations in our business model that have more closely aligned Orrick with our clients.”
