Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALMDuane Morris Scoops Up 4 Partners From LeClairRyan
The group includes five lawyers spread between Boston, Newark and New York.
June 17, 2019 at 02:53 PM
3 minute read
Five LeClairRyan lawyers have left the firm to join Duane Morris, extending a string of departures from the firm.
The group includes Boston-based partners Charles Ognibene and Michael Grant, partner Robert Brener in Newark and partner William Dubon in New York.
Philadelphia-based Duane Morris announced the moves Monday.
While at LeClairRyan, Ognibene led the firm's business law department for nearly two years, and he has experience in domestic and cross-border financing as well as the auto-finance industry. Grant's practice has focused on consumer finance and banking litigation. Bryner is a litigator with experience representing financial institutions and other companies in corporate and labor disputes. Dubon has a background in commercial banking and is also focused on the auto-finance industry.
“As our firm continues to grow across practices, adding this group will be a tremendous asset to our corporate clients,” Duane Morris CEO and chairman Matthew Taylor said in a statement. “Charlie and his team have extensive experience working together on complex legal matters, which will mesh nicely with the firm's deeply collaborative culture. This team's focus has been in the automotive finance industry, which melds well with industries in which we have real depth.”
Additionally, Michael Garcia, also formerly of LeClairRyan, will join Duane Morris as a trial associate in the firm's Boston office. He too has experience with the auto-finance industry and focuses on commercial litigation.
“We are excited to welcome these talented attorneys to Duane Morris,” Boston office managing partner Michael Gottfried said in a statement. “They are highly skilled lawyers who bring a diverse background and service-first approach to counseling clients on their most complex matters.”
The moves are only the latest in a string of departures from LeClairRyan, which was ranked at 179 on the 2019 Am Law 200. The firm's equity partnership contracted by more than a quarter in 2018, down to 90 partners from 124 the prior year.
However, the firm also added a new office in Dallas in May of this year, joining Houston and becoming the firm's second Texas-based office. LeClairRyan was founded two decades ago in Richmond, Virginia; its largest offices are currently in Richmond and Alexandria, Virginia.
The firm's revenue and head count peaked in 2015, when it grossed $163 million and employed 353 attorneys, according to ALM data. By last year revenue had fallen to $122.5 million, and head count stood at 273 lawyers.
Representatives from LeClairRyan did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In June 2018, the firm partnered with alternative legal services provider UnitedLex in an effort to reshape itself and concentrate efforts on key practice areas. The partnership also recently adopted a new leadership structure, and Elizabeth Acee was announced the new president of the firm earlier this year.
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