Margaret Jacobsen Scheele (from left), Daniel E. Farrington and Sarah K. Biran (Courtesy photos)

Fisher & Phillips has significantly expanded its Washington, D.C., presence by acquiring an established employment law boutique, The Farrington Law Firm.

The Atlanta-based national labor and employment firm gained six lawyers from the deal, effective Jan. 1, including partners Dan Farrington, Margaret Jacobsen Scheele and Sarah Biran.

That follows Fisher Phillips' recruitment in June of Washington-based partner Theresa Connolly, an employment litigator with a focus on trade secret misappropriation cases, from Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete.

Connolly and Farrington are co-managing partners for Fisher Phillips' D.C. operation, which now has 14 lawyers licensed in the Washington metro area. Connolly has been practicing out of the firm's Arlington outpost, while Farrington's firm is located in Bethesda, Maryland.

“[Our] personalities align very nicely, and we are really looking forward to building out the D.C. office for Fisher Phillips,” Farrington said.

Fisher Phillips chairman Roger Quillen said in a statement that Washington is an important location for the firm, since decisions made there “frequently impact and change the labor and employment landscape.”

Farrington, an employment litigator who handles both trial and appellate matters, founded his firm almost 16 years ago after working for O'Melveny & Myers in Washington and serving as in-house employment counsel to the U.S. Senate. His partners also have in-house experience, including Scheele at MCI Communications Corp. and Biran at Yale University.

Farrington said he decided to merge his boutique with a national labor and employment firm because the boutique has developed national clients for work around the country. Joining Fisher Phillips “allows us to have a national footprint that matches those of our larger clients,” Farrington said.

While Farrington declined to name clients, his firm has represented American Airlines in numerous cases, according to court filings.

The other hires from Farrington's firm include Sherron Thomas McClain as of counsel and two associates, Lauren Goetzl and Maxim Doroshenko.

The Washington office growth comes after Fisher Phillips added a lobbying arm last year, FP Advocacy. Ben Ebbink in Sacramento and Rick Grimaldi in Philadelphia, both members of the firm's 14-lawyer government relations practice, are heading the shop. FP Advocacy's initial focus is state legislation in California and federal regulation in Washington, D.C.