Jenner & Block has named Ishan Bhabha as its new co-managing partner. 

Washington DC-based Bhabha will take up the role 1 January 2025 and succeed Katya Jestin, who will remain at the firm. He will serve alongside Randy Mehrberg, who has been co-managing partner with Jestin since January 2020. 

At 42, Bhabha will be one of the younger firmwide leaders in Big Law. He has been a partner at Jenner & Block since 2017, having joined as an associate in 2012 following a clerkship at the US Supreme Court and a stint as an appellate lawyer at the US Department of Justice. 

Bhabha is a first-chair litigator and often represents higher education clients. He also leads Jenner & Block’s diversity, equity and inclusion protection task force, co-chairs the firm’s education and technology practices and serves on its management committee. 

“Ishan has a proven track record of driving innovation and growth, and his leadership will ensure that we continue to evolve and thrive in this ever-changing market,” said Mehrberg. “Ishan represents the exciting future of Jenner & Block.”

Meantime New York-based Jestin will continue to co-lead the firm’s investigations, compliance and defence practice after stepping down as co-managing partner. 

She and Mehrberg, a Chicago-based partner who launched the firm’s energy industry practice after joining in 2016, have overseen a period of significant growth at Jenner & Block. The 500-lawyer firm expects revenue to hit $660m for the full year, according to Bloomberg, an increase of more then 48% since 2020. Meantime profits per equity partner were $2.3m last year, up nearly one-third since 2020. 

In 2021 Jestin and Mehrberg also oversaw the launch of the firm’s five-year $250m pro bono service commitment, which the firm said it surpassed 18 months early. 

“It has been a privilege to serve in this leadership role for the last five years,” Katya said. “Ishan is an extraordinary practitioner and leader and will further the firm’s success and unique culture. I’m not going anywhere and I look forward to supporting him in his new role.”

Bhabha will lead Jenner & Block alongside chairman Thomas Perelli, who took over in March 2020 after his predecessor, Craig Martin, left after a year as chair to launch a Chicago office for Willkie Farr & Gallagher. 

Perrelli leads the firm’s policy committee, while the managing partners run day-to-day management and strategy at that committee’s discretion, Bloomberg reported.