Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough has added 11 partners in a raid on Baltimore-based Miles & Stockbridge and is opening an office in the Maryland city.

The group includes a nine-partner litigation team led by veteran trial lawyer Michael Brown. Two corporate partners, Timothy Hodge Jr. and Colleen Kline, who co-chaired Miles & Stockbridge's corporate and securities practice, are also making the move. Hodge will be managing partner for Nelson Mullins' new Baltimore location.

“When we open an office, we want to make sure we have the right people whose practices are a strategic fit for our firm,” said Nelson Mullins' managing partner, Jim Lehman, in an announcement. “That is certainly the case with this group of high-caliber attorneys.”

Lehman said the litigators are strong in key Nelson Mullins practice areas, including products liability, and top industry areas for the firm, such as automotive, medical device and pharmaceuticals. He added that the corporate duo fit “our strength in midmarket M&A on the East Coast.”

The 11 new partners give Nelson Mullins, which is based in Columbia, South Carolina, about 580 lawyers. This is the 18th office for the super-regional firm and expands its Eastern Seaboard footprint. The firm also has offices in New York and Boston.

Nelson Mullins was ranked No. 88 by revenue among Am Law 100 firms last year, based on its 2016 performance.

New Miles & Stockbridge Leaders

Also this week, Miles & Stockbridge announced that its partnership voted in Nancy Greene as its first-ever woman chair and Joseph Hovermill as CEO at its annual meeting on Tuesday, as part of a move to broaden the 86-year-old firm's governance.

The 250-lawyer, mid-Atlantic firm has offices in Maryland, Washington and Tysons Corner, Virginia. It ranked No. 182 by revenue in the most recent Am Law 200 rankings.

Greene and Hovermill succeed John Frisch, who'd been chairman and CEO for 15 years. Frisch had informed the board a year ago that he'd be stepping down this month. Both are members of Miles & Stockbridge's board of directors and leaders in their respective practice areas.

Greene has a real estate practice, and Hovermill is a products liability and tort litigator. He's also been the firm's president and chief operating officer for the last three years.

Miles & Stockbridge's board has also appointed Greene, Hovermill and Christopher Johnson, who's been a co-leader of the corporate and securities practice, to a newly created executive committee. The shared leadership role will allow them both to keep practicing law, according to the firm.

Nelson Mullins Expansion

Hodge, who is heading the new Baltimore office for Nelson Mullins, said in a statement Thursday that the timing of the 11 partners' departure “should not be connected in any way to the Miles & Stockbridge announcement of new leadership [Wednesday].”

“Miles & Stockbridge is a fine group of lawyers and an outstanding firm, and I'm sure we will work with them in the future on matters,” Hodge said. “All of us are committed to ensuring that clients receive the highest levels of representation throughout this transition.“

Hodge added that the Nelson Mullins move “expands our ability to assist clients across a broader geographic area.”

Brown, a fellow in the American College of Trial Lawyers, said in a statement that at his former firm he had tried cases over the years with Nelson Mullins partners.

“Over the last decade, their litigation practice has grown into a top-tier department working on bet-the-company matters for clients, and I am quite pleased to join such a strong firm with a national litigation infrastructure,” Brown said.

Besides Hodge, Kline and Brown, the other eight partners from Miles & Stockbridge joining Nelson Mullins are: Deborah St. Lawrence-Thompson, Michael Blumenfeld, Matthew Sturtz, Michael J. Halaiko, Leianne McEvoy, Timothy Hurley, Katherine Lawler and Matthew Schroll.