When his small Boston-based boutique was mostly absorbed by Greenberg Traurig in 2015, Pete Michaels went all in, becoming a shareholder and, soon after, co-chair of the global firm’s financial regulatory and compliance practice, splitting his time between Boston and New York.

Now, Michaels and his longtime colleague, David Ward, are joining another firm, Boston-based Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, which is one quarter the size of Greenberg in head count but not too different in partner profits.