Major Regional Firms Expand in Calif., NYC; BigLaw Firm Reportedly to Plant Flag in Boston
As the economy reportedly picks up, a number of law firms are experiencing a spring growth spurt.
Two regional powerhouses are expanding in new territory far from their longtime headquarters offices. And a BigLaw firm report with multiple offices in the United States and abroad has found another American city in which to plant its flag.
A westward expansion plan at Drinker Biddle & Reath will strengthen the firm’s California offices with the firm’s acquisition of 11 employment lawyers from the disbanding Reish & Reicher, reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The 650-lawyer Philadelphia-based firm will now have 63 lawyers in its Los Angeles and San Francisco offices, which opened in 2001.
“If you are not on the West Coast in a significant way, you are just an East Coast firm,” chairman Alfred Putnam Jr. tells the newspaper. “You are going to be perceived as a regional firm.
Meanwhile, Northwest regional powerhouse Perkins Coie has begun an eastward expansion, opening an office in New York City with former Arent Fox partner Schuyler Carroll, who will serve as partner in charge as the office expands. A firm press release provides further details about the office and his practice, which focuses on complex restructuring matters.
The 750-attorney firm has nearly 20 offices in the United States and China, but, aside from a significant presence in Washington, D.C., the majority are located in the West and Midwest and Asia.
Also in the news this week is reported plan by Latham & Watkins to open a Boston office, according to a Boston Business Journal article that relies on unidentified sources.
Additional law firm growth in Canada and elsewhere is discussed in the Am Law Daily.
Hat tip: Above the Law.
