Michael Pullano.

Segal McCambridge Singer & Mahoney has bulked up its complex litigation and professional liability practices in Philadelphia, taking a partner from a local midsize firm.

Michael Pullano, who had been a partner at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, made the move to the Philadelphia office of Chicago-based Segal McCambridge after 14 years at his former firm.

In an interview Friday, Pullano said he joined Segal McCambridge with an eye on expanding his products liability practice nationally. He said he met with multiple firms, and considered Segal McCambridge's national strategy and practice mix when making the move.

“I have two clients that have more of a national presence,” he said, not naming them, but identifying them as manufacturers of heavy trucks, like trash and dump trucks. “Segal is just a products-first type of firm.”

Pullano brings Segal McCambridge's lawyer head count to 11 in Philadelphia, according to its website. The firm previously had a larger group in the city, but lost a seven-lawyer toxic torts and environmental team in September, when they moved to Goldberg Segalla's Philadelphia office.

But the lawyers in Segal McCambridge's Philadelphia office “haven't lost a beat” since that group left, office managing partner Walter “Pete” Swayze said. And the office would have hired Pullano regardless of that change, he added.

“We are presented with a lot of opportunities, but only a few truly fit,” he said. “Michael brought with him the energy, expertise, talent and a dedicated client base, which was exactly what we were looking for.”

Pullano's practice focuses on complex catastrophic injury and products liability cases, as well as professional liability defense. His clients have included manufacturers and suppliers of construction equipment, as well as law firms and lawyers. He has also represented architects, engineers, prosecutors and police officers, and previously served on the Pennsylvania Disciplinary Board.

His law firm clients have included one of the firms that represented families affected by the “kids-for-cash” judicial scandal in Luzerne County, which faced potential Dragonetti claims. The claims against the law firms were ultimately dismissed, and the state Supreme Court rejected an appeal of the dismissal.

Segal McCambridge, which recently expanded its Texas presence as well, is not the first non-Pennsylvania-based law firm this week to beef up its Philadelphia complex litigation practice. Shook, Hardy & Bacon announced this week that it hired partner Thomas Sullivan from Morgan, Lewis & Bockius.

In a statement Friday, Weber Gallagher wished Pullano well.