Tag Archives: branch offices

More Senior-Level Lawyers Moved to Asia-Pacific

Posted on April 2, 2013 by | 1 Comment

An increasing number of top firms are moving senior leadership to the Asia-Pacific region. A recent Legal Week survey of 30 U.K. and U.S. law firms found that of the firms surveyed, 57 percent now have “at least one global practice head, department co-chair or deputy chair based in Asia.” And the majority of those positions were appointed in the last three years.

Why so many moves to Asia?

“It’s a reflection of the fact that we believe we can grow our business more quickly in Asia than we can in other parts of the world,” Mark Hyde, the global head of restructuring and insolvency at Clifford Chance (CC), was quoted as saying in the Legal Week article. Hyde recently relocated to Hong Kong as CC’s new Asia-Pacific finance head.

The firms with at least two global practice heads based in the Asia-Pacific are:

  • Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer
  • Clifford Chance
  • Herbert Smith Freehills
  • Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom
  • Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe
  • Reed Smith

Firms with at least one global practice head in Asia include:

  • Linklaters
  • Allen & Overy
  • Norton Rose
  • Olswang
  • SJ Berwin
  • Stephenson Harwood
  • Berwin Leighton Paisner
  • RPC
  • Baker & McKenzie
  • Shearman & Sterling

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Lone Star State Law Firm Business Booming

Posted on January 17, 2013 by | Leave a comment

Texas remains a hot bed of law firm activity with the opening of a new office, mergers and the possibility of more foreign lawyers sitting for the state’s bar exam.

Reed Smith became the latest law firm to expand into Texas with the announcement of a new office in Houston. While no opening date has been set, it will be the 25th location of the Pittsburgh-based firm. Reed Smith joins the ranks of a number of law firms—including Sidley Austin and Paul Hastings—who “opened Houston offices and hired several partners from Texas-based law firms to bulk up their energy practices” last year.

The region’s energy work is a big draw. Houston-based Beirne, Maynard & Parsons LLP recently announced it will merge with Lemle & Kelleher LLP, a Louisiana law firm, in part to bolster its litigation practice in energy. The addition of Lemle & Kelleher’s 19 lawyers increases Beirne to a total of 80 lawyers in six offices, increasing its foothold in the Gulf Coast area.

Why Texas? As a WSJ Law Blog post states:

An international legal hub Texas is not. But it has certain traits to recommend it. More Fortune 500 companies are based in Texas than in any other state. It has the second-largest economy. It borders another country.

And with the possible lowering of the state’s bar requirements for foreign lawyers, law firm expansions into Texas will most likely continue at an increased pace.

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National, International Mergers Continue

Posted on January 3, 2013 by | Leave a comment

The mergers just keep coming. With the finalization of national and international mergers, the trend of quickly growing firms through law firm acquisitions continues.

AmLaw Daily reports the acquisition of Phoenix law firm Mariscal Weeks McIntyre & Friedlander by Detroit-based Dickinson Wright. The merger took effect Jan. 1. It increases Dickinson Wright’s foothold in the Phoenix market by 60 lawyers, giving the firm more than 350 lawyers in the U.S. and Canada who cover more than 40 practice areas.

Also effective Jan. 1, Houston’s Powers & Front LLP merged with national firm Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. This adds eight lawyers to Wilson Elser’s Houston office, bringing the total number of lawyers in that office to 20. According to the Houston Business Journal, legal experts expect that mergers and acquisitions by law firms who want a foothold in the Houston law firm market will be on the rise in 2013.

On the international side of things, U.S.-based K&L Gates LLP merged with Australian firm Middletons on Jan. 1. This makes K&L the “largest U.S.-based firm in the Asia-Pacific region” and increases the firm’s Asian presence from seven offices to 11. It also gives K&L Gates a foothold in the Australian market with the addition of Middletons’ four offices. The increase of 400 lawyers in Asia and 300 in Australia brings K&L Gates’ total to more than 2,000 attorneys around the world.

According a Wall Street Journal article, “past expansions by U.S. and U.K. law firms largely targeted world financial centers such as London or Hong Kong.” The current trend in international and national mergers, however, seems to be aimed at putting “lawyers on the ground wherever clients are doing business.”

Getting lawyers on the ground is only part of the puzzle, however, as evidenced by U.S.-based Edwards Wildmans’ 2006 expansion into Hong Kong. Until the beginning of this year, the firm “operated through an association with Lister Lo Lui & Choy” and not under its own brand. This changed at the beginning of the year as the Hong Kong Law Society approved the firm’s full integration and the Hong Kong office changed its name to Edwards Wildman Palmer.

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A Year in Review: Global Expansion Continues at Pace

Posted on December 4, 2012 by | 4 Comments

One of the most intriguing developments since the global financial meltdown has been the explosion of interest in new markets by firms around the world. This push toward globalization has continued unabated during 2012. An analysis of new office openings by the Hildebrandt Institute has demonstrated that 56 new foreign offices have been announced by U.S. firms so far this year*, matching the activity levels of 2011 with one month of 2012 remaining.

U.S. office openings 2010-2012Source: Hildebrandt Institute

This continued globalization has been stimulated, at least in part, by the continued economic turmoil in the US domestic market and the corresponding improved economic attractiveness of high growth foreign markets. However, deregulation of legal markets in foreign jurisdictions, most particularly South Korea, has also played a strong role in promoting new foreign office activity during 2012, as U.S. firms have scrambled to gain a foot-hold in this new legal market.

2012 US Office Openings by Region

In fact, South Korea has seen the greatest activity levels of any jurisdiction, with 14 U.S. firms having announced plans to open a foreign office there (for an account of current market entrants please visit last week’s post by Marianne Purzycki). This was followed closely by China (5 in Shanghai, 2 in Beijing and 2 in Hong Kong) and as a result, the Asia-Pacific market remains the most sought after jurisdiction in terms of international footprint.

Following Asia-Pacific was Europe, with a total of 15 new office openings during 2012. Germany, the largest market in the EU and perhaps perceived as lower risk, saw 5 new office announcements (2 in Frankfurt, and one each in Dusseldorf, Berlin and Hamburg) in what remains a relatively stagnant European market struggling with a persistent sovereign debt crisis. Former Soviet bloc nations with their strong energy and natural resources sectors also saw 4 new U.S firms enter their markets (Russia – 1, Kazakhstan – 2, Georgia – 1).

Much of the activity in mainland European and Russia/CIS occurred in the wake of Dewey & LeBoeuf’s demise, which saw its European network break-away and join competitor firms during the now defunct firm’s insolvency. McDermott Will & Emery acquired Dewey’s Frankfurt office, and Greenberg Traurig added the Warsaw office. Morgan Lewis also picked up Dewey’s well regarded Moscow and Almaty outposts, while Dechert opened in Tbilisi†.

Within Latin America, the focus in Brazil has switched somewhat from the now reasonably crowded São Paulo market to Rio de Janeiro, following very recent office opening announced by both Hogan Lovells and Baker Botts. Other firms have been attracted to emerging Latin American economies, such as Columbia (Holland & Knight), Peru (Baker & McKenzie) and Mexico (DLA Piper).

Last, but certainly not least, the Middle East & Africa saw 6 new foreign office announcements by U.S. firms.  Four of these openings occurred in oil rich Middle East nations (Patton Boggs in Riyadh, Curtis Mallet in Kuwait, Dechert in Dubai, and Cleary Gottlieb in Abu Dhabi). Baker & McKenzie, by contrast, continued its global expansion by moving into the relatively buoyant African continent with openings in both Johannesburg in the south, and Casablanca in the north‡.

The competitive advantage

With firms concentrating so heavily on building geographic footprints, the question of how best to create competitive advantage from the international network becomes a progressively more important focus for many firms.

In order to capitalize fully on their growing international networks, firms will likely be forced to develop greater levels of network integration, in terms of services, standards and quality on a worldwide basis. This requirement reflects the growing recognition that developing higher levels of integration across a network will be critical to meet the needs and expectations of clients on their international mandates or to win ‘global supplier’ status among large multi-nationals. Firms that are able to accomplish integration – and by that we mean harmonizing multiple cultures around a shared, common set of values, and achieving consistency in terms of their approach to client service and technical quality – are likely to improve a firm’s chances of capitalizing on the significant competitive advantage a global network can provide.

Posted by Tricia Pelton

* Based on new office announcement date, rather than when the actual office opened

† As part of a wider addition of Dewey partners in London and Dubai. Dechert further strengthened its presence Russia/CIS region when it took over the Almaty office of Chadbourne & Parke during 2012.

‡ The final two office openings of 2012 relate to litigation boutique, Kobre & Kim’s new offices in offshore Caribbean markets (Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands).

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Korean Office Round-Up

Posted on November 29, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Last week, Baker & McKenzie was the most recent name in a long line of firms that have been beating a path to South Korea now that the country has begun to liberalize its legal market.  Currently, at least 16 U.S. and U.K. firms have either opened branches in Korea or have announced that they intend to do so.

What a difference a year makes!  It was just a year ago that Cleary Gottlieb became the first U.S. firm to announce plans to enter the market, after the US-Korea free trade agreement resulted in the Korean legal services market opening for the first time to U.S.-based firms.  Cleary’s disclosure was quickly followed by similar announcements from Sheppard Mullin and Simpson Thacher to open offices in Seoul in 2012. All three firms are now open for business in South Korea — Sheppard Mullin in August; Cleary Gottlieb and Simpson Thacher in October.

In February, McDermott Will & Emery signaled its intention to open an office and there was also a flurry of activity in March – the first time that international firms could actually begin applying for approval to set up offices.  Covington & Burling, Paul Hastings, Ropes & Gray, and Squire Sanders, all submitted applications to South Korea’s Ministry of Justice.  Ropes & Gray’s office opened in July, followed by McDermott’s office in September, Squire Sanders’ office in October, and in November, the offices of both Covington & Burling and Paul Hastings.

In June, O’Melveny & Myers signaled its intention to open an office, filing an application with the Korean Ministry of Justice; the office subsequently opened in November.  It was also reported in June by Thomson Reuters News & Insight that DLA Piper, K&L Gates, and McKenna Long & Aldridge had applied to open offices.  K&L Gates was granted approval for its office in mid-November and pending registration with the Korean Bar Association, the firm intends to formally launch in January 2013.

New York boutique Cohen & Gresser also joined the drive into Korea, launching its first overseas office in October.  The firm focuses on complex litigation and corporate transactions, counting Samsung Electronics and Hyundai Rotem among its Korean clients.

So far, Clifford Chance is the only U.K. firm to open an office in Korea.  One of the reasons for the lag in branch office openings by U.K. firms may be due to demographics. According to a report in The Asian Lawyer, U.S. firms have an edge in meeting the requirement that foreign firms have a representative qualified to practice in South Korea, due to the number of Korean immigrants to the U.S.

However, it has been reported that Ashurst is gearing up to launch in Seoul, and firms such as Allen & Overy and Linklaters are known to be active with Korea work.  And recently, Norton Rose chief executive Peter Martyr, shared plans for the further expansion of the firm following the announcement of its merger with Fulbright & Jaworski.  These plans include South Korea as well as other markets such as Brazil, Turkey and the expansion of the New York office.

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

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Singapore: Attracting More Private Wealth Practices

Posted on August 28, 2012 by | 1 Comment

We’ve written before about Singapore as an important financial and legal center in Southeast Asia, and with new legal reforms opening up the market, firms continue to flock to the city-state.  So far, we’ve mostly concentrated on the cross-border transactional nature of the work that is driving an increasing number of firms to establish a presence in Singapore. However, in the July/August issue of Legal Business (subscription required), an article titled Filling Big Shoes focuses on Singapore as a highly desirable destination for firms serving high-net-worth-individuals (HNWIs).  For wealth management practices of offshore and onshore firms alike, Singapore has become strategically important as the global diversification of wealth tilts more towards the Asia-Pacific region. 

According to the 2012 World Wealth Report (free; registration required), published in June by Capgemini and RBC Wealth Management,there were approximately the same number of HNWIs in the world in 2011 as there had been in 2010.  While the number of HNWIs in the Asia-Pacific increased slightly in 2011, the number in North America declined.  For the first time, the Asia-Pacific region became home to slightly more HNWIs than any other region, although North America still accounted for the largest regional share of HNWI wealth.  Specifically:

  • The number of Asia-Pacific HNWIs rose 1.6% to 3.37 million in 2011, compared to 3.35 million in North America, and 3.17 million in Europe.
  • In North America, HNWIs’ wealth was down 2.3% in 2011 to US$11.4 trillion
  • In Asia Pacific, wealth was down 1.1% in 2011 to US$10.7 trillion
  • In Europe, wealth was down 1.1% in 2011 to US$10.1 trillion.

Along with the changing demographics in the global HNWI market there are also increasing regulatory pressures on established financial centers, both of which are contributing to the rise of more non-traditional centers according to the latest PwC Global Private Banking and Wealth Management Survey. Respondents to the 2011 survey predicted that by 2013, London and Switzerland and to a lesser extent New York, would be challenged by the rise of Singapore and Hong Kong, and in fact Singapore would top the list of these five international financial centers.

Offshore Firms

Offshore firms that have opened branches in Singapore in the last four years include Collas Crill, Bedell Cristin, Walkers and Cains[1]. 

Channel Islands-based Collas Crill opened an office in Singapore on August 1 of last year to satisfy demand from institutional and private clients in Asia for Channel Islands legal services.  Collas Crill’s joint managing partner in Guernsey, Jason Romer, said:

We are breaking the mould by choosing to open in Singapore with a Channels Islands offering rather than, say, Hong Kong or mainland China. Singapore provides an excellent hub from which to service the region and its established and emerging economies.

Bedell Cristin is the most recent newcomer, opening an office in July to provide British Virgin Islands (BVI) legal services.  Richard Gerwat, Managing Partner at Bedell, commented that it was a logical move, increasing the firm’s global reach and range of services to clients in the Asian region. 

In February 2009, driven by demand for Cayman Islands and BVI legal and corporate services, Walkers opened a new office in Singapore.  The office advises both corporate and individual clients, including ultra-high net worth individuals and their advisers.

Cains, located on the Isle of Man, opened a new office in Singapore in July 2008.  Headed by Mike Edwards, a director of Cains, who presciently said at the time, “It is evident that as markets in the West slow down, investors are looking to the East, and Singapore is well positioned as Asia’s financial hub and a gateway to emerging global markets”.

Onshore Firms

In addition to the offshore firms, a number of onshore firms known for their private client work have also planted a flag in Singapore. 

UK-based Lawrence Graham (LG), with its strong private client and wealth management practice, announced in February the launch of an office in Singapore after forging an alliance with local firm PK Wong & Associates.  LG’s former senior partner Penny Francis has relocated to Singapore to spearhead the launch.  She is joined by private capital partner Nick Jacob, corporate partner Geoff Gouriet, and Sunil Kakkad, head of LG’s India Group, who divide their time between London and Singapore.  Nick Jacob said:

Singapore is an important centre for wealth management and we have a large number of longstanding private capital clients across South East Asia. This alliance with a local firm will enable us to provide local law advice and enhance our ability to look after clients and offer more services.

In May, UK private wealth specialist Withers confirmed that it had launched an office in Singapore to meet the growing demand from high-net-worth individuals for tax and trust advice in South East Asia.  The four-lawyer Singapore team includes Jay Krause, who heads Withers wealth planning group in Asia. Margaret Robertson, the firm’s Managing Director commented: 

Even when we opened in Hong Kong [2008] we knew it would only be a question of time before we set up in Singapore. Having a presence in both locations along with our offices in Europe and the US enables us to deliver integrated advice both quickly and directly to clients across Asia. I forecast that our Singapore office will grow as quickly as our Hong Kong office.

More Room to Grow

Opportunities for private client lawyers appear to be plentiful in Singapore as well as Hong Kong.  Alan Binnington, private client director at RBC Wealth Management, says in Legal Business that he does not see an oversaturated market in either location.  “I don’t see there being a finite amount of space for international wealth management teams operating in Singapore or Hong Kong, as that part of the world is where the wealth is being created.” 

Despite the threat of slowing economies in Asia, with the number of HNWI individuals in Asia Pacific on the rise, there is reason for optimism for firms that specialize in wealth management as well as for the international private client teams at major law firms.  Singapore presents an opportunity for many of these firms to effectively grow their practices in Southeast Asia, where the highest number of HNWIs of anywhere in the world is yet one more measure of the continuing transformation of the global economy.

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

[1] Hildebrandt Institute office opening data.

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Headcounts Continue to Drop in Washington, DC Offices

Posted on August 24, 2012 by | Leave a comment

The most recent edition of the Legal Times 150, the annual ranking of the largest Washington, DC law offices, shows that headcounts for law firms in the DC-metro area continued to drop.  As of December 31, 2011[1], the total number of lawyers declined by 3%, to 14,497 lawyers, according to the National Law Journal (subscription required). The drop was not quite as steep as the decline from 2009 to 2010, when headcounts dipped 4.5% – the largest drop in 25 years, but it still indicates that firms are being cautious given the current economic uncertainty.

Firms were asked to provide numbers for full-time equivalents and not staff or contract attorneys, patent agents or summer associates. Data was collected for each office in the District of Columbia; Montgomery and Prince George’s counties in Maryland; and Arlington and Fairfax counties and the cities of Alexandria and Falls Church in Virginia.

Hogan Lovells holds the top spot on the list with 433 lawyers in 2011.  Arnold & Porter and Covington & Burling followed closely behind Hogan, tying for the number two spot, with 429 lawyers each.  Rounding out the top ten were WilmerHale (402), Crowell & Moring (291), Skadden (282), Steptoe & Johnson LLP (276), Latham & Watkins (273), Sidley Austin (266) and Williams & Connolly (264).  Among these top ten firms, six reported an increase in headcount.  However, from April through December of last year, NLJ reports that a total of 55 firms increased their headcount while 14 firms saw no change.

Despite the overall decline in the number of lawyers recorded by the Legal Times 150 ranking, firms are expanding into the Washington, DC market, as we noted earlier in the year, including Allen & Overy, Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan and Miles & Stockbridge.  Add to the list Bass, Berry & Sims, Chapman and Cutler, Gordon & Rees, and Quarles & Brady, all of which have opened DC offices this year.[2]  An increase in regulatory matters is driving some of this expansion as well as an increase in intellectual property work, particularly Section 337 investigations at the International Trade Commission, a growing venue for international patent disputes.

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

[1] This marks a change in methodology going forward. Prior surveys used an April 1 to April 1 time period.

[2] Hildebrandt Institute office opening data.

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Malaysia: New Financial Center, New Legal Market Reforms

Posted on August 1, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Malaysia has launched a new financial center in Kuala Lumpur, reports Asia Legal Business.  Named the Tun Razak Exchange, the center has reportedly already attracted $1 billion in investment, in a bid to create a new business and financial hub in Asia.  With the world’s biggest Islamic bond market, Kuala Lumpur hopes to create a hub for both Islamic and conventional finance, according to Lodin Wok Kamarrudin, chairman of the board of directors at 1Malaysia Development Berhad, a strategic development company wholly owned by the Government of Malaysia. The project is part of Malaysia’s $444 billion Economic Transformation Program (ETP) aimed at making the country a high-income nation by 2020.

In a separate, but complimentary initiative, Malaysia is also enacting measures to open up its legal market to foreign firms, similar to liberalization efforts already underway in other parts of Asia, such as Singapore and Korea. The Legal Profession (Amendment) Act 2012 which was approved by the Malaysian Parliament in June amends the legislation governing the legal profession. The amendment allows a number of foreign law firms to open offices in Malaysia, the establishment of joint ventures with Malaysian law firms and for foreign lawyers to be employed by Malaysian firms.

Some foreign firms already have close ties to the country in the form of associations with local Malaysian firms.  Wong & Partners, for example, is the Malaysian member firm of Baker & McKenzie International, while Rahmat Lim & Partners is the Malaysian associated firm of Singapore’s Allen & Gledhill.

Interest from other global firms is just beginning to stir.  In mid-July, UK firm Trowers & Hamlins, after gaining special approval from the Malaysia Investment Development Authority, announced the opening of a non-trading representative office in Kuala Lumpur, the first foreign firm to establish a local presence in the country.  Law.com reports that as soon as the new legal framework is set, the firm plans to apply for an independent license to practice. Nick White, Trowers Malaysia head said:

“Right now, we seek to develop our relationships with Malaysian clients in terms of the wide-ranging business sector legal advice they need outside of Malaysia.  But with a full license, we would expand that strategy by providing international expertise in relation to, for example, the energy, infrastructure, PPP and Islamic finance sectors.”

The article also reports that other UK firms that may be interested in practicing in the country include Norton Rose and Allen & Overy.  However, not all firms are as enthusiastic. Crispin Rapinet, regional managing partner for Hogan Lovells in Asia and the Middle East said:

“Historically, the Malaysian market has always been a fairly domestic one, with less international work than is the case in other jurisdictions in Southeast Asia. This may change if the suggestion that the banking market might open up more to international banks becomes a reality.”

And that is just what the government is hoping will happen with the opening of the financial center and the enactment of legal market reforms.  The global market for Islamic finance at the end of last year was valued at approximately $1.3 trillion, according to the UK Islamic Finance Secretariat.  Malaysia dominates the global sukuk (a type of bond that complies with Islamic law)issuance market, with almost 70% of the world sukuk issuance in 2011, valued at $58.1 billion (out of a total of $84.4 billion).  As Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Liew Vui Keong said in The Star Online, “With the [Legal Profession] amendment, Malaysia can secure its position as one of the key players in Islamic finance.”

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

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More Office Openings on the Horizon in South Korea

Posted on June 19, 2012 by | 3 Comments

O’Melveny & Myers has become the latest firm to signal its intention to open an office in Seoul, South Korea, filing an application with the Korean Ministry of Justice.  This announcement follows on the news last week that the Ministry of Justice has given final approval to individual lawyers at three law firms to be designated as foreign legal consultants, an important milestone towards opening an office in the country.  The three firms are Ropes & Gray, Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton and Clifford Chance.

The Korean Ministry of Justice officially started accepting applications from U.S. firms in March.  In addition to Ropes & Gray and Sheppard Mullin, other U.S. firms filing applications include Covington & Burling, Paul Hastings and Squire Sanders.  Other AmLaw firms that have previously announced plans to launch in Korea include Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, McDermott Will & Emery and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett.

So far, Clifford Chance is the only U.K. firm to submit an application.  However, Legal Week is reporting that Ashurst is preparing to launch in Seoul, with the firm due to file an application within the next month.  Other firms such as Allen & Overy and Linklaters are also known to be active with Korea work.  Last year U.K. firms were granted permission to open offices in South Korea with the approval of the free trade agreement that was signed by the European Parliament in February. 

William Y. Kim, Korea practice chair at Ropes & Gray, says the firm plans to focus on intellectual property litigation in Seoul, according to The Am Law Daily.  The firm’s Korean clients have included LG, Samsung and Daewoo.  O’Melveny, too, has a long history of serving Korea-based clients, including Asiana Airlines, Samsung, and SK hynix.

Initially, U.S. firms will be permitted to advise only on U.S. law, public international law and international arbitration.  In 2014, firms can enter into cooperative agreements with local firms on work that combines elements of international and local counsel.  In 2017, U.S. firms will be able to hire local lawyers and merge with local firms.

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

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No Cool Down Seen in Hot Pennsylvania Energy Market

Posted on May 16, 2012 by | 1 Comment

Last October we reported on the growth of law firms in western Pennsylvania drawn to the area as the result of energy work in the Marcellus Shale.  A number of firms, including Fulbright & Jaworski and Texas energy boutique Burleson, opened offices in the area around Pittsburgh.  Pittsburgh’s largest firms have also been growing their energy practices, as the expansion in this region shows no signs of letting up.  As Drew Singer wrote in February of this year in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Firms that already had oil and gas practices are making them bigger. Firms that didn’t have a practice are rushing to create one. Small firms and solo practitioners are also catching up, hoping to represent landowners as Big Law allies with the gas companies.

Recent “newcomer” activity includes:

  • On May 1, Charleston, West Virginia-based Jackson Kelly, acquired the Indiana, Pennsylvania law firm of Gormly Gormly & Yuhas which has represented clients in the oil and gas industry including those involved in the Marcellus and Utica Shale plays.  The Gormly lawyers will relocate to the firm’s Pittsburgh office, which it opened in 2004.  In addition, Jackson Kelly announced that the firm will be opening a new office in Canton, Ohio in support of the firm’s growing energy practice and has plans to add another dozen or so lawyers in the Pittsburgh and Canton offices this quarter.
  • Marking Saul Ewing’s expansion into western Pennsylvania, the firm opened a new office in Pittsburgh on May 1 with four attorneys from the local office of Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis. Their practices include corporate finance, business counseling, tax and mergers and acquisitions.  Saul Ewing’s managing partner David S. Antzis said in an interview with The Legal Intelligencer, “We view the Pittsburgh market as, economically, one that’s been really picking up.”  He added that the energy industry and in particular the Marcellus Shale work has contributed to that growth.
  • San Francisco’s Gordon & Rees opened a new office in Pittsburgh in March staffed by seven litigators from Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. The office initially will focus on commercial litigation, construction, health care and some ancillary practices.  While Marcellus play work was not a motivating factor for entering the western Pennsylvania market, the firm “hopes to eventually capitalize on the energy rush as well,” according to a recent article in the Pittsburgh Business Times.
  • Houston-based energy boutique Sadler Law opened an office in the Canonsburg area southwest of Pittsburgh in December of last year.  The firm specializes in representing energy companies in transactions, litigation and the preparation of oil and gas title opinions.

Pittsburgh’s largest firms, notes the Post-Gazette, are recruiting lawyers from across the country to grow their energy practices.  At K&L Gates, “the oil and gas team has expanded over the past five years from three or four lawyers to about 45” and at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, the firm “has added more than 20 lawyers to its oil and gas team in the past two years, said Sean Moran, co-chair of the firm’s Energy Section and Oil & Gas Practice Group.”

As all this activity makes abundantly clear, energy work continues to be a major driver of strategic direction at law firms.  Firms continue to see value in having a presence in the Pittsburgh regional area and are eager to seize opportunities to serve clients there.

Posted by Marianne Purzycki

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