Former Dickstein Shapiro chairman makes a career change
The former chairman of defunct law firm Dickstein Shapiro decided at age 63 that he was ready for a career change.
Michael Nannes had worked at Dickstein since 1978, becoming chairman of the firm for a 10-year stint in 2004, the National Law Journal (sub. req.) reports. Blank Rome acquired more than 100 Dickstein lawyers last year, and Nannes joined the law firm as senior counsel.
Now Nannes has a job with the U.S. Justice Department as a special counsel in the national security division. “I concluded pretty quickly I had another good lap left in me,” he told the National Law Journal.
Few law firm leaders rejoin law practice as top rainmakers, he tells the NLJ. “The things you worry about when you’re managing a law firm are very different than the things the people who practice worry about,” he says.
Nannes says his colleagues were supportive of his career change. And he won’t miss dealing with billable hours, client conflicts and the difficult task of setting partner compensation.
