Paul Hastings has hired two marketing professionals, including a new CMO, from Skadden, Arps, Meager, Slate & Flom, as a wave of marketing moves continues across Big Law.

Paul Hastings added RJ Williams as chief marketing officer and Lisa Searing as managing director of business development and marketing, the firm said Monday. Both arrive from Skadden. Paul Hastings’ prior CMO, Kristen Zadourian, was appointed chief strategy officer to work with leadership in developing and driving priority initiatives.

Williams and Searing came from a marketing department under a leadership transition. Amid the retirement of Skadden's longtime CMO, Sally Feldman, Skadden last month hired Luke Ferrandino, who was moving to take the enhanced role as the chief business development and marketing officer.

Ferrandino was the CMO at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. His deputy CMO, Shaina Aran, was promoted to the marketing role at Paul Weiss.

While industry recruiters say law firms increasingly value C-suite officers who have experience outside the law, many law firms still hire professionals directly from other peer and rival firms. The relative scarcity of available candidates who have either done the CMO job previously or have worked their way into being elevated to that role leads to some musical chairs.

Williams, who had been at Skadden for over a quarter of a century, served as director of global marketing, communications, and alumni initiatives at Skadden, Paul Hastings said. At Skadden, he was responsible for scaling the firm’s global marketing team through proactive recruitment and talent development efforts and served as an ex-officio member of the firm’s diversity committee. Meanwhile, Searing was associate director for marketing and communications at Skadden, according to her LinkedIn.

Williams’ “wealth of experience in marketing strategy and business development will be instrumental in driving opportunities to further elevate our market presence and creating deeper connections with new and existing clients across our global platform,” Paul Hastings firm chair Frank Lopez said in a statement.

Paul Hastings has seen a series of c-suite moves over the last few years, including arrivals and departures. More recently, the firm brought on general counsel Adele Moloney from Kirkland & Ellis; COO Chris Davis from Goodwin Procter; and chief practice innovation officer Kay Kim from Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett.