Michael S. Caccese and James R. Segerdahl of K&L Gates (K&L Gates via Law.com)
That was fast. Just two weeks after we learned that Peter Kalis would not run for re-election as head of K&L Gates, the firm he has helmed since 1997, the firm has announced its new leaders — plural. From the K&L Gates press release:
Global law firm K&L Gates LLP has selected Michael S. Caccese and James R. Segerdahl to succeed Peter J. Kalis in the positions of Chairman of the Management Committee and Global Managing Partner, respectively. Caccese and Segerdahl will assume their responsibilities on March 1, 2017, upon the conclusion of Kalis’ term in February, and will work with Kalis to ensure a smooth transition in leadership during the coming months.
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The selection of Caccese and Segerdahl doesn’t come as a huge surprise. Both are close to Kalis, and both were on the shortlist of Kalis successors (along with Michael Zanic, a longtime management committee member). Caccese currently serves as vice chairman for practice management and leads the financial services practice area, which includes the firm’s successful investment funds practice. Segerdahl, who right now holds three titles — vice chairman, general counsel, and secretary to the management committee — was a co-founder of the firm’s insurance coverage practice.
Like Kalis’s recent re-elections,[1] the selection of Caccese and Segerdahl was unanimous:
After a two-month deliberative process commencing in early July, K&L Gates’ 75-partner global Management Committee unanimously recommended Caccese and Segerdahl during a period of partner consultation. With a positive response from partners in the firm’s offices on five continents, the Management Committee then finalized the appointments through a unanimous vote.
Note the reference to a two-month process. Even though the outside world has known about Kalis’s departure for just two weeks, succession planning has been taking place internally for quite some time.
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And note the divvying up of Kalis’s two titles, with Caccese becoming chairman of the management committee and Segerdahl taking over as global managing partner — a sign that, as Julie Triedman puts it, “Kalis’s role had grown too large for one person to fill.” In terms of the difference between the two positions, Triedman explains that Segerdahl’s role as CEO and global managing partner is more inward-facing and management-oriented (a logical fit for Segerdahl given his service as the firm’s GC).
Congratulations to Michael Caccese and James Segerdahl on their new roles, which they will assume in March. K&L Gates faces a number of challenges — as do all major law firms — but these two seem well-equipped to tackle them.
[1] Critics of Kalis used to complain that this unanimity was like that of the Politburo. But it’s worth noting that several anti-Kalis partners were part of the wave of partner defections that we’ve covered previously (see here, here, and here). It’s possible that Caccese and Segerdahl could benefit from the departures of these dissenters, at least in terms of exerting their will over the firm.
K&L Gates Picks Leadership Pair to Take Reins from Kalis [Law.com]
Two Lawyers to Take Helm of K&L Gates Post-Kalis [Big Law Business]
K&L Gates Announces New Firm Leaders, Effective March 2017 [K&L Gates (press release)]
Earlier: K&L Gates After Peter Kalis’s Reign
Peter Kalis Won’t Run For Re-Election As Chair Of K&L Gates
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at [email protected].