Three local spinoff firms—Saxton & Stump, Bardsley Benedict + Cholden, and Horn Williamson—have brought on lateral partners this week from other firms of various sizes.

At Lancaster-based business law firm Saxton & Stump, the latest addition is shareholder Sarah Ivy, who will be launching the firm's employee benefits and executive compensation group.

Ivy comes from FisherBroyles, where she spent about two years. Before that, she practiced at other Pennsylvania-based firms over the years, including McNees Wallace & Nurick and Fox Rothschild. She started her legal career at Stevens & Lee, from which Saxton & Stump spun off in 2015.

She said she loved FisherBroyles and had no intention of leaving, but she was impressed by Saxton & Stump when the firm approached her, also noting, “I have known and respected Jim Saxton for 20 years.”

“The firm itself is fairly innovative and has a very fresh take on client service, so they are a little bit different from traditional law,” she added. “Rather than just responding to issues and concerns, we're proactive about preventing them in the first place.”

Ivy declined to identify her clients, but said they include privately held, public, nonprofit and for-profit companies all across the United States.

Asked for comment on Ivy's departure, a spokesman for FisherBroyles wrote in an email: “Sarah is a very talented lawyer, and the entire FisherBroyles partnership wishes her the very best in her new role. She will be missed.”

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Looking to 'Make a Mark'

Bardsley Benedict is taking a pair of litigators in Philadelphia from New Jersey-based midsize firm McGivney, Kluger & Cook. Marc Zingarini is joining Bardsley Benedict as a partner, and Alex Palamarchuk as of counsel.

Zingarini, a defense attorney, worked with founding partner Andrew Benedict at Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, where they both worked before Zingarini joined McGivney Kluger in 2015. Benedict left Weber Gallagher and teamed up with partners from two other midsize firms, Steven Bardsley and Steve Cholden, to launch Bardsley Benedict + Cholden last year.

Palamarchuk has a number of small business clients and will give the firm a presence in West Virginia, Benedict said. He handles both commercial litigation and transactional work.

With regard to his move, Zingarini said, “The main draw for me was that it was a very young, forward-thinking, innovative type of firm that I think is going to make a mark in this business.” In particular, he highlighted the young firm's use of technology in terms of billing and going paperless.

The rate structure at Bardsley Benedict is similar to that of his previous firm, he said, and he will have the needed support to continue his practice. “I would think that most of my longtime clients will follow me,” he said, though he declined to name them.

McGivney Kluger managing partner Charles McGivney did not respond to a request for comment on the pair's departure.

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Woman-Owned Firm Grows

In another move by a local spinoff, Philadelphia construction law boutique Horn Williamson brought on Francesca Iacovangelo as senior counsel. She had been an associate at personal injury firm McCann & Wall.

Iacovangelo has worked at several Pennsylvania law firms. She started her legal career as a public defender in Chester County.

“It is an honor to join a woman-owned law firm committed to representing commercial and residential clients in all manner of construction claims,” she said in a press release. “As construction attorneys with commercial backgrounds, the Horn Williamson team has unique insight into construction defects and building envelope matters, builders and the remediation process.”

Robert McCann, a founding member of McCann & Wall, did not respond to a request for comment on Iacovangelo's departure.

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