Porzio, Bromberg & Newman has expanded its New Jersey footprint, opening an office in Ocean City to serve clients in the southern part of the state.

The firm has recently grown its client base in that region, managing principal Vito Gagliardi said, particularly when it hired partner William Hughes Jr. from Cooper Levenson in April. Hughes has already spent a lot of time in the Ocean City office, Gagliardi said, and will increasingly work out of that location.

Hughes' practice focuses on white-collar defense and investigations. Other partners who will likely spend time in Ocean City are bankruptcy partner Warren Martin, who has clients in Atlantic City, and John Patrick Oroho, whose practice focuses on life sciences compliance and regulatory counseling. The firm also recently added a real estate and land use attorney who has matters as far south as Cherry Hill, Gagliardi said. Taking cases in that region without a nearby office forces the firm to rent out space for trial preparation, he said.