The appointment of James Slaughter as the new managing partner at Keker, Van Nest & Peters marks "a change in leadership, not a change in identity," reported Law.com.
Slaughter, a veteran trial lawyer who has been with the firm for 25 years, succeeds Laurie Carr Mims, who returns to full-time litigation after serving in the role for three years. The leadership transition also includes the appointment of Steven Ragland as general counsel, succeeding Jan Little, who continues as partner. As managing partner, Slaughter said he intends to build on the firm’s longstanding model rather than pursue significant changes.
"All we do is litigation, and from our viewpoint, that one-office model matters," Slaughter said. "It means that the people know each other and trust each other. We work across cases in a way that I think is harder to collaborate and replicate when you have multiple offices and practice areas."
Slaughter takes on the new role amid a period of growth and high-profile advocacy for the firm. During Mims’ tenure, Keker expanded to approximately 140 lawyers while maintaining its focus on high-stakes litigation, public-interest matters, and pro bono work. The firm took a leading role in opposing the Trump administration’s executive orders aimed at major law firms and has taken several cases challenging its immigration policies. The firm also has maintained its diversity initiatives, including its Diversity Scholars Program, which Slaughter said the firm plans to expand.
"We are trial lawyers, and we stand in front of judges and juries who bring different life experiences and instincts and ways of hearing a story," Slaughter said. "A great trial team needs to be able to see the case from different angles and needs to be able to present, and you never know who a judge or a jury is going to connect with, and so this is important, to continue to invest in the pipeline of people to come so we have a diverse bar."
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