Catholic University President John Garvey said on Attridge’s hire, “We are most fortunate to have recruited such an accomplished lawyer to be the dean of The Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. The breadth and depth of Dan Attridge’s experience are exceptional.”
Given that there has been a lot of renewed focus on making law students being able to “act the part of a lawyer” rather than exclusively earn abilities to “think like a lawyer,” the choice of Attridge is a sensible one.
Attridge has been the managing partner of Kirkland’s DC office for over a decade, since 1998 to be precise, and has the experience of litigating before federal and state courts, arbitration panels, and before administrative agencies. And of course, he knows almost everything there is to know about the inner workings of law firms.
Garvey, who was previously the dean of Boston Law School, also added, “As a former law school dean, I know it is rare (and in these times, wise) to recruit a highly-experienced practitioner and a senior partner of one of America’s most distinguished law firms to lead a law school.”
Currently, as the managing partner of Kirkland & Ellis’s D.C. office, Attridge oversees the work of more than 225 lawyers and 200 staff. His personal experience in litigation is very broad and includes disciplines like intellectual property, antitrust and unfair competition, commercial and government contracts, insurance coverage and discrimination, and corporate and securities.
Attridge’s litigation experience has also been recognized by Chambers USA: America’s Leading Lawyers for Business, by The Best Lawyers in America, and Super Lawyers. He has also been rated “AV” – the highest level of professional excellence, by Martindale-Hubbell.