Three out-of-town law firms—Porter Wright Morris & Arthur, Spilman Thomas & Battle and Cozen O'Connor—entered or expanded in the Pittsburgh market as the summer came to a close, keeping up the city's momentum as a hub for lateral hiring and law firm growth.

Porter Wright, a 190-lawyer Am Law 200 firm based in Ohio, opened a Steel City office, bringing on former K&L Gates partner Ellen Freeman to lead it. Freeman has an employment-based immigration practice. She launched the Porter Wright outpost with an associate and a few staffers, with plans to build out a full-service office.

Before joining K&L Gates in 2010, Freeman had a counsel position at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney, and she was earlier an associate at Cohen & Grigsby. While she has a long history at Pittsburgh-based firms, she said she does not expect to feel much different working at a firm headquartered elsewhere.