The heads of one of Loeb & Loeb’s largest departments are set to take over as co-chairs of the firm next year. 

Mitchell Nussbaum and Arash Khalili, who currently serve as co-chairs of Loeb’s capital markets and corporate department, will succeed firm chairman Kenneth Florin on 5 February. 

Florin had decided not to seek a third term, Loeb said. He has chaired the 450-lawyer firm since 2018 and will continue to practise after standing down as chairman. 

The incoming leaders are both veterans of the firm and sit on its senior leadership committees; Nussbaum also currently serves as Loeb’s vice chairman. 

Historically Loeb has had two co-chairs, a structure that will enable New York-based Nussbaum and Khalili, who is based in Los Angeles, to maintain active practices while leading the firm. 

Nussbaum has been at Loeb for 22 years; he founded the firm’s two international offices in Beijing and Hong Kong and was the managing partner of the New York office before becoming vice chairman. He represents emerging growth companies and investment banks in IPOs of operating companies, SPACs and other transactions. The firm said that last year Nussbaum’s team was the most active legal adviser for SPAC IPOs and SPAC mergers in the country.

Meantime Khalili has spent the past 20 years at Loeb and co-founded its sports group. He advises on M&A and other deals in the media, entertainment, technology and sports industries.

Loeb said that under Florin’s leadership it had grown in size and revenue, entered into new markets, made significant commitments to diversity, equity and inclusion and expanded its community and pro bono work.

The firm brought in $411.7m dollars in gross revenue last year, according to data from Law.com, placing it 105th on the 2023 Am Law 200 ranking.  

“I am humbled by the trust that the firm has placed in us, and we are committed to its continued success and excellence,” Khalili said. “Ken Florin did a great job of growing our firm financially, geographically and culturally. We look forward to building upon that strong foundation.”

Florin will transition in February to a role as chair emeritus and return to his practice in Loeb’s advanced media and technology department, which he co-founded and has grown to house more than 70 professionals. 

Khalili and Nussbaum have been in co-chair-elect roles since mid-November. The firm said that they would work closely with Florin, the board and senior members of firm administration in the upcoming months to ensure a smooth transition.