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Homegrown Pennsylvania law firms have kept busy on the lateral hiring front over the last year, especially in markets beyond their headquarters. Area recruiters said that's a continuation of past years, but recently firms have become more strategic about growing their footprint.

“They're getting smarter about where they're going, and why,” said Pittsburgh recruiter Valerie Esposito of McAnney, Esposito & Kraybill Associates.

In the last year, that growth has come in the form of major mergers for some firms, such as Ballard Spahr and Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr, and a string of smaller acquisitions and group lateral hires for others, including Duane Morris, Cozen O'Connor, Fox Rothschild, Blank Rome and Drinker Biddle & Reath.

“It's frankly a little bit easier to recruit a group or a small firm in a different market than in Philadelphia, where they already have a lot of lawyers,” said Bob Nourian, of Coleman Nourian Legal Search in Philadelphia.

And if the first month of 2018 is any indicator, these strategic moves are likely to continue, as Pennsylvania firms seek greater revenue and national reach.

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Far and Wide

Geographic expansion has long been in the sights of Pennsylvania law firms, Philadelphia legal recruiter Liz Shapiro said.

“Unless a firm is doing national work out of here, they need a presence elsewhere,” she said.

It's unclear whether area firms were attempting more geographic expansion in 2017 than in prior years, Shapiro said, but interest appears high “based on what came to fruition.” That includes lateral hires as well as mergers.

Early in the year, Drinker Biddle established a foothold in Dallas by hiring 23 lawyers from San Francisco-based Sedgwick. Sedgwick has since shuttered its operations.

Ballard Spahr made its way into Minneapolis when it announced a merger with Lindquist & Vennum, which also had a Sioux Falls, North Dakota, location. The firm also added three lawyers in Boulder, Colorado, earlier in the year, allowing it to have a second office in that state.

Duane Morris opened in Austin in October after hiring an intellectual property partner from Norton Rose Fulbright and a renewable energy partner from King & Spalding. The new office was part of the firm's plan to grow its presence in Texas, which it has continued to do.

Fox Rothschild made an entry into the Pacific Northwest with its acquisition of 39-lawyer Riddell Williams. Saul Ewing's merger with Arnstein & Lehr gave the firm a presence in the Chicago area and Florida.

As for in-state expansion, Cozen O'Connor planted a seed in Pittsburgh by bringing over a group of lawyers from Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney. Then it kept on hiring until 29 Buchanan lawyers had made the jump as of early this year, including some in Philadelphia.

“I don't know if I can remember a case where one firm was steadily acquiring from another firm” as much as Cozen O'Connor has from Buchanan Ingersoll, Nourian said.

The firm also added to its southern California presence with the acquisition of Gilchrist & Rutter, a 10-lawyer real estate boutique in Santa Monica, California.

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Strategic Growth

About 15 to 20 years ago, a lot of firms were growing their geographic footprint without much of a plan, Esposito said. Since then, they seem to have learned their lesson.

“You don't just land in a city and say, 'We're here,' and those people just flock to you,” she said. “The reasons for going to a market need to be clear … do we have an existing client base there? Are there potential clients, or could we build a practice around an existing practice area?”

Blank Rome has followed a successful model in the Pittsburgh area, Esposito said, and Pittsburgh-based Babst Calland has in Washington, D.C., by bulking up its energy and environmental practices there.

Still, Shapiro said, there are a few locations where any large firm wants to have a presence. New York is at the top of that list, followed by Chicago and the West Coast, she said.

Nourian said firms based in the Philadelphia area have been doing most of their growth elsewhere. And law firms from outside the state have slowed in their Philadelphia expansion.

“There was a time when firms from outside this area were developing offices here … a lot of those firms might have already come,” he said. “I don't think there's a big list of firms out there that are actively seeking to open Philadelphia offices.”

But, Nourian said, local lawyers are looking for those opportunities. Attorneys looking to move as a group in Philadelphia are typically more interested in firms that lack an office in the city, he said. By launching an outside firm's Philadelphia office rather than just switching firms, he said, the lawyers may be able to retain more of their identity.