Neil H. MacBride, the former United States attorney in Alexandria, Va., will join Davis Polk & Wardwell as a partner, the firm will announce on Thursday.
In the latest example of a government prosecutor jumping to a high-paying law firm, Mr. MacBride will start in Davis Polk’s white-collar criminal defense practice early next year after four years in one of the country’s most prominent federal prosecutor’s offices. During his tenure, Mr. MacBride oversaw many newsworthy cases, including the criminal charges against Edward J. Snowden, who leaked classified documents from the National Security Agency, and the high-seas piracy convictions of 26 Somali pirates.
The managing partner of Davis Polk, Thomas J. Reid, said in an interview that Mr. MacBride’s hiring reflected the firm’s continued push to increase its presence in Washington at a time of stepped-up regulatory and criminal enforcement.
“We have been looking for a senior ex-prosecutor, and Neil is a great fit both professionally and personally,†Mr. Reid said. “Neil can provide the best risk advice to our clients on both regulatory and white-collar matters.â€
Several other senior government lawyers left recently for lucrative partnerships at the country’s largest law firms.
Never before has white-collar criminal defense work been so profitable. Internal corporate investigations, foreign bribery cases and defending executives from accusations of financial wrongdoing have flourished after the financial crisis. Mr. Reid said his firm could hardly keep up.
“The biggest headache I have right now is staffing the burgeoning caseload we have in New York, D.C. and Asia,†he said.
At Davis Polk, which has more than 900 lawyers, Mr. MacBride will be based in the Washington office, which already has a battery of former senior government officials. Most recently, the firm hired Jon Leibowitz, a former chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. Other partners in Washington include Annette L. Nazareth, a former S.E.C. commissioner, and Linda Chatman Thomsen, a former S.E.C. enforcement chief.
Before his appointment as United States attorney, Mr. MacBride, 48, served in a variety of government posts, including chief counsel for Senator Joseph R. Biden Jr. from 2001 to 2005. Mr. MacBride also did a stint as general counsel of the Business Software Alliance, a technology industry trade group. He left his prosecutor’s job in September.
Mr. MacBride said he had chosen Davis Polk partly because of its culture. While most large law firms lavish multimillion-dollar salaries on their top producers, Davis Polk pays its partners in a narrow range.
“Lock-step compensation fosters a real camaraderie and esprit de corps that I found compelling,†Mr. MacBride said.
Despite the firm’s egalitarian compensation plan, Mr. MacBride will get a considerable pay raise. As United States attorney, he earned $155,000 a year; the average Davis Polk partner earned about $2.5 million last year, according to American Lawyer magazine.
Mr. MacBride won’t start his new job until April. Until then, he plans to spend time at home in Northern Virginia with his wife and three school-age children. “I plan to become reacquainted with my family and do my best Mrs. Doubtfire impression,†he said.
