Marc Mukasey is closing his trial boutique and bringing his team to Seyfarth Shaw LLP, where Mukasey will serve as co-chair of the megafirm’s national trial practice. The apparent drivers for this move: the boutique firm’s talent and Seyfarth’s bespoke technology capabilities. What does Mukasey’s move suggest about the next phase of law firm consolidations?

Coverage and commentary—and a rich discussion of spreadsheets—below the fold.

Mukasey’s firm represented various high-profile clients, including President Donald Trump, crypto entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, and NBA Hall-of-Famer Chauncey Billups. This roster, however, is less interesting than Mukasey’s frank foregrounding of Seyfarth’s technological capacities in his decision to join the firm. Scale and presence clearly matter: Mukasey cited Seyfarth’s more-than-decade-old Seyfarth Labs team, which focuses on integrating data analytics and AI into legal practice.

As law firms grapple with the age of AI, will other well-known boutiques follow Mukasey’s path to pair sought-after talent and infrastructural innovation platforms? The rising costs of talent and technology are an established factor in recent law firm consolidations, and more announcements like Mukasey’s may be forthcoming. Along with transatlantic combinations and alternative investment and financing models, these boutique-to-BigLaw deals are a possible trend to watch in 2026.

And, although law’s current technological revolution is about more than just dueling spreadsheets, sometimes it’s, um, all about the spreadsheets.

Daniel Connolly, Marc Mukasey Shutters Boutique To Move Team To Seyfarth, Law360 (Jan. 5, 2026):

[Mukasey said] that handling today’s complex cases on financial crimes and similar matters required the help of data experts and analysts, and that Seyfarth offered a lab full of professionals who handle just that. . . .

“The government’s trying more and more cases by spreadsheet statistics, financial data, trading data [or medical data], and what they can get their hands on now, and the speed with which they can do it, is astounding,” [Mukasey] said. . . .

“You know, if they have a spreadsheet that they introduce at trial, you need to be able to introduce a corresponding or combating spreadsheet.”

Chris Dolmetsch, Trump Organization, SBF Lawyer Mukasey to Join Seyfarth Firm, Bloomberg Law (Jan. 5, 2026):

The “game is changing rapidly [because of technology],” [Mukasey] said, adding, “You better know not only how to cross examine a cooperating witness, you better learn how to cross examine a spreadsheet.”

David Thomas, Ex-Trump Lawyer Mukasey Joins Law Firm Seyfarth Shaw, Reuters (Jan. 5, 2026): 

“I want to be in a growth mode with people who have been thinking through technology and innovation for seven, 10, 12 years,” Mukasey said.

Ryan Harroff, Marc Mukasey Closes Boutique to Colead Seyfarth Trial Practice, N.Y. Law Journal (Jan. 6, 2026):

“The future of complex litigation will be defined by firms that combine exceptional trial talent with technology-enabled insight,” [said Lorie Almon, chair and managing partner at Seyfarth.]