Morgan Lewis Hired Sara Kalis as Partner

The legal firm added a former Amazon counsel to its Chicago labor and employment team.

Updated on Sept. 21, 2026 in Job Search

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Morgan Lewis has appointed former Amazon senior corporate counsel Sara Kalis as a partner within its Chicago-based labor and employment law practice. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Morgan Lewis announced that Sara Kalis has joined its Chicago office as a partner within the labor and employment practice. She brings extensive legal experience from both in-house and private practice roles to the team.

Why it matters

Expanding the partner roster with high-level corporate talent strengthens the firm's ability to navigate complex employment litigation and advisory work for its clients.

The firm added one new partner to its Chicago practice through this executive hire. The specific terms of her compensation package were not disclosed in the official announcement.

The players

Sara Kalis

A legal professional who joins Morgan Lewis as a partner after a tenure as senior corporate counsel at Amazon.

Morgan Lewis

An international law firm that provides legal services across labor, employment, and corporate sectors.

The details

Sara Kalis arrives at Morgan Lewis after previously serving as senior corporate counsel at Amazon. Her professional background also includes tenure at law firms Littler Mendelson and Paul Hastings.

Timeline

  1. Morgan Lewis announced the hiring of Sara Kalis on September 21, 2026.

Market Landscape

This strategic hire reflects the broader trend of major law firms aggressively recruiting top-tier legal talent from major tech companies. By integrating senior corporate counsel, Morgan Lewis positions itself to offer clients direct expertise in managing complex regulatory and labor environments.

This appointment signals potential changes in service capacity for existing and future labor clients in the Chicago market. Clients may see new advisory frameworks as the firm integrates Kalis's expertise from her time at Amazon into their employment practice.

The takeaway

The movement of veteran in-house attorneys into senior partnership roles continues to reshape the competitive capabilities of elite law firms. Professionals seeking to understand this trend should monitor firm hiring announcements to track how such expertise is being deployed.

Further reading

For more information on legal hiring shifts in the region, visit the Chicago Job Search section.

Source note: This article includes information reported by Bloomberglaw.

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Do you trust the influence of former corporate counsel in current labor law practice?