DLA Piper announced today that Elisha King has been named the firm's general counsel.

King, a partner in the Washington, DC, office who previously served as the firm's deputy general counsel since 2012, succeeds Peter Pantaleo, who had been in the role since 2013. She joined the firm in 1997 as an associate in the Employment practice and, after her promotion to partnership, began working with the Office of General Counsel in 2008.

"Throughout her more than two decades at the firm, Elisha has proven to be an exceptional lawyer and has become an invaluable part of the Office of General Counsel," said Jay Rains, DLA Piper's global co-CEO and co-chairman for the Americas. "We are looking forward to working with her in this new role."

Pantaleo will retire as a partner at the end of 2018 but will continue to act as senior counsel and a consultant to the firm. He joined the firm in 2002 after its merger with Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand, of which he was president, and has also served as a past chair of DLA Piper's global Employment practice, as the firm's lateral hiring partner and as managing partner of the New York office from 2006 to 2013.

"We are profoundly grateful for Peter's years of leadership, as well as his guidance in navigating innumerable legal, regulatory and professional responsibility issues as we have grown and evolved as a firm during his time as general counsel," said Roger Meltzer, DLA Piper's global co-chairman and co-chairman for the Americas.