The head of Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney's oil and gas litigation practice has made a move to McGuireWoods.

After more than 22 years at Buchanan, Pittsburgh lawyer Gregory Krock joined McGuireWoods as a partner, the firm announced Tuesday,

Krock said he has practiced with some of the lawyers at McGuireWoods over the past two decades, and he was attracted to the firm's larger platform—it has about 1,100 lawyers across its 22 offices, and 200 lawyers on its multidisciplinary energy team.

“The legal market has changed, particularly the legal market in Pittsburgh,” he said. “We have clients that do business here but aren't physically located here,” making his new firm's broader footprint of offices and professionals useful.

Krock said multiple clients are following him to McGuireWoods, though he declined to name any of them. He said he has some existing clients that are already clients of his new firm as well. In addition to energy work, he said he handles other complex commercial litigation.

“With the growth we've experienced in this office over the last three or four years, there was an empty puzzle piece and I think Greg fills that void,” Pittsburgh office managing partner David Hornyak said. “We have a robust energy practice here obviously. Knowing that Greg is a go-to litigator in those areas is going to bolster the bench in serving those clients.”

In announcing Krock's addition, McGuireWoods noted his 2013 Pennsylvania Supreme Court win in Butler v. Powers, a case that involved a question of whether reference to “minerals” in a deed includes Marcellus Shale gas.

Ryan Purpura, who leads McGuireWoods' energy industry team, said in a statement that Krock is “a go-to litigator on matters affecting the oil and gas industry.”

The firm has 62 lawyers in Pittsburgh, according to its website.

Joseph Dougherty, CEO of Buchanan, said in a statement: “We thank Greg for his contributions here at Buchanan and we wish him well in his future endeavors.”