Len Gray. Courtesy photo

Wiggin and Dana has picked up a group of lawyers from the New York boutique Gray PLLC, the firm announced Wednesday, adding five attorneys to the firm's Manhattan-based corporate and transactional practice.

This group includes two partners: Gray founder Len Gray, who will co-chair the emerging companies and venture capital practice at Wiggin, and Andrew Ritter, who will co-chair finance and restructuring.

Working in the New York startup community, Len Gray has advised on a range of corporate and financial transactions. Earlier in his career, he was an associate at Latham & Watkins and went on to start his own practice, among other roles.

Ritter is also a Latham alum who served as an infantryman in the U.S. Army, deploying to Afghanistan with the 82nd Airborne Division.

With the group's arrival, Wiggin said it has begun work on a new startup-focused initiative that will launch as a subbrand of the firm later this year. The initiative, the firm said, will combine the talents of the Wiggin and Gray teams "to bring creative solutions to emerging growth companies and venture capital clients."

Reached by phone Wednesday, Len Gray said he and Ritter were joining Wiggin along with attorneys Giuseppe Scaravilli, Kate Carney, Joshua Kuttitherry and Todd Marcus. Gray acknowledged that his erstwhile boutique's website had yet to be updated, and still featured his name and a number of others among the departed. He said members of the small firm were "going their own ways" and he was leaving behind parts of his practice for his former colleagues to carry on "in a limited capacity."

Of the move to Wiggin, Gray said: "This is a great move for us. We're really excited about it. Now that we've gotten into it, it's been everything that we've been expecting." Gray added that it was "a big decision" for him and for other members of Gray, which he called "a firm made up of entrepreneurs." Gray also said an opportunity in the New York startup market exists for a company-oriented practice "nimble enough to provide its clients varied, but cost-efficient, solutions."

"Our ambition to deliver this type of service often exceeded our capacity to do so as a boutique law firm. This is what makes the opportunity at Wiggin and Dana so exciting for our clients and us," Gray added.

William Perrone, chairman of the corporate department at Wiggin and Dana, said adding the group of lawyers will "benefit our existing M&A and restructuring practices and allow us to better serve the dynamic and ever-expanding startup and technology market."