"Dickstein clearly has significant clients in Asia, but I believe that having offices there will be very beneficial," he said.
Guite said he was attracted to Sheppard Mullin by its bench strength in California. With strong offerings in unfair competition, IP, ERISA and general commercial litigation, the firm also seemed like a good fit for his mix of practices, he added. Guite's clients include Starbucks Corp., Sun Life Financial Inc. and Cascade Yarns.
"It resonated to me as a place where I could serve clients well," said Guite, who served as Squire Sanders' hiring partner in Northern California. Fred Puglisi, co-chair of Sheppard Mullin's business trial practice group, said Guite brings a depth of experience with ERISA litigation that the group did not have before.
"We have a lot of clients where that is an issue, and this gives us an ability to service those clients," Puglisi said.
The business trial practice group is not done growing either, Puglisi said. He said he has interviewed eight prospective lateral partners in the past two weeks.
A Squire Sanders spokesman declined to comment on Guite's departure, other than to wish him well. Representatives for Dickstein Shapiro did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
