A collective sigh of relief was in order as we finally bid farewell to COVID-19. But with the challenges of the virus—mostly—behind us, firm leaders started pushing for their talent to get back into the office. Firm leaders stressed that in-office work was best when it came to training new associates, overall culture and cohesiveness, and mentorship opportunities. And with that, more and more opportunities for talent opened up in 2023 as well. A few significant mergers, one stalwart firm's closure and several big group jumps were seen throughout the year. Some other notable shifts included Nelson Mullins' 12-attorney grab that added to the firm's real estate in Pittsburgh, prominent attorney Ken Horoho's firm joining forces with Pietragallo, and Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath taking a team from Armstrong Teasdale that included its Philadelphia office founder. After an extensive search through our archives from the past year and hearing from reliable sources on lateral moves in Pennsylvania, the staff at The Legal talked over which moves made the biggest impact on the legal landscape. All in all, these moves made significant impressions on their new and old firms. Below is a list of moves that were either major additions to their new firm, a big loss to their former firm, or were instrumental in adding new locations and practice groups to their new firm. Schnader's Dissolution and Talent Moves In early August 2023, longtime firm Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis closed after nearly nine decades serving the Philadelphia region. Former Schnader attorneys began scattering soon after. Ten found a new professional home at Chicago-based litigation firm Segal McCambridge and others landed at Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, Pryor Cashman, Ballard Spahr and Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani. But Dilworth Paxson took the largest share of the onetime Philadelphia stalwart's lawyers. A total of 16 attorneys joined Dilworth Paxson, including former Schnader chairman David Smith, along with 10 support staff. The largest group among those joining Dilworth was Schnader Harrison's former litigation team. Other moves included former Philadelphia Bar Chancellor Albert Dandridge, who went to Ballard Spahr. Offit Kurman grabbed a group of five principals and two associates. Ogletree, Deakins and Blank Rome also brought on notable names from the now-defunct law firm, including former higher education chair Karen Baillie and former federal Judge Timothy Lewis. Conrad O'Brien Merges With Clark Hill Am Law 200 firm Clark Hill picked up 18 litigators through a combination with Philadelphia-based boutique Conrad O'Brien in late January 2023. The merger, which followed four attorneys joining Clark Hill from Conrad O'Brien in December 2022, gave the firm a total of 47 attorneys in Philadelphia. The merger, which took place on the heels of Clark Hill's combination with real estate boutique Larsson & Scheuritzel and the Conrad O'Brien additions in late 2022, saw the larger of the two merger partners solidifying its presence in Philadelphia, doubling the number of attorneys in the city from the outset of 2023. Goodwin Procter's Haul From Troutman Pepper A total of 10 Philadelphia partners made the move from Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders to Goodwin Procter in January, a move that helped bolster the firm's life sciences, private equity and white-collar practices. Then, in early February 2023, four more life sciences attorneys from Troutman Pepper joined Goodwin Procter in Pennsylvania and New York, which brought the total number of Troutman exits to Goodwin to 18. The Boston-founded firm had a plan to become long-term tenants in Philadelphia by 2024 after a year of quietly operating out of a temporary space in the Cira Center. Additions from Troutman Pepper included rainmakers and practice area leaders with whom they shared preexisting client relationships, Goodwin leaders said back in January 2023. Daugherty Lordan Group Jumps to Freeman Mathis & Gary The shadows of former founding partners John Barber and Jeffrey Ranen lingered over Daugherty Lordan, formerly known as Barber Ranen, which lost its Pittsburgh office's five-attorney labor and employment group to national firm Freeman Mathis & Gary on July 1, 2023. The move was partly the result of the scandal involving Barber and Ranen, who initially split from Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith to found their own firm before resigning as name partners in early June following the release of misogynistic and racist emails sent between the pair while at Lewis Brisbois. The move was led by partner and new Pittsburgh office chair Sunshine Fellows' team. But they were not the only lawyers to leave the firm in the aftermath of the scandal. The group joined Freeman Mathis' Pittsburgh resident partner Sean Riley, which helped to open the firm's Pittsburgh office. Buchanan Combines With IP Boutique RatnerPrestia Am Law 200 firm Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney announced a merger with mid-Atlantic IP boutique RatnerPrestia, which was effective at the start of January 2023. Twenty-two attorneys and two patent agents joined Buchanan's IP department in the move, spread across the firm's offices in Philadelphia, Wilmington, Delaware, and Washington, D.C. Faegre Drinker Nabs Team From Armstrong Teasdale Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath poached a four-attorney team of life sciences litigators from Armstrong Teasdale, led by Philadelphia office founder and former Montgomery McCracken Walker & Rhodes executive chairman Richard Scheff. The group, made up of Scheff and partners Carrie Sarhangi Love, Katharine Ladd and Jonathan Boughrum, started with Faegre Drinker on Aug. 31. Scheff and his group brought over their clients in the move, with Scheff bringing in "a pretty substantial practice in terms of its total value" over to Faegre Drinker. He said that wanted to integrate his clients into the practice in the hopes of offering them additional services. Epstein Becker Snags Eckert Seamans Employment Benefits Team Five long-time Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott employment benefits and executive compensation attorneys, including two former members of the firm's board of directors, left the firm to launch Epstein Becker Green's new Pittsburgh office back in October. Among those making the move to the Am Law 200 firm were former tax, estates and benefits group chair Kathryn English, former Pittsburgh office managing partner Sandra Mihok, members Heather Stone Fletcher and William Carter, and associate Samuel Nolan. English and Mihok were previously at Eckert Seamans for around 25 years, whereas the remaining group of attorneys had been with the firm for about a decade. Most of the group's clients came with them in the move, according to English, with a majority of them based in the Pittsburgh area. Pietragallo and Gentile Horoho Merge East Coast commercial litigation firm Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti merged with Pittsburgh family law firm Gentile, Horoho & Avalli on Aug. 1. All seven of the attorneys from Gentile Horoho, including four partners, one special counsel, and two associates, made the move over to Pietragallo, beefing up the firm's newly announced family law practice group as well as its preexisting estate administration and Orphans' Court administration group alongside current Pietragallo attorneys Peter St. Tienne Wolff, Michael Bethune and Rebeca Miller, and managing partner William Pietragallo. The Gentile Horoho attorneys, which included former Pennsylvania Bar Association President Ken Horoho, moved into Pietragallo's Pittsburgh office. Nelson Mullins Launches Pittsburgh Office With Porter Wright Group Columbus, Ohio-based Porter Wright Morris & Arthur lost nearly half of its Pittsburgh partners to a new Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough office in the same city. Twelve attorneys, 10 of whom were partners at Porter Wright, joined Nelson Mullins' corporate law and litigation departments. The Porter Wright partners that joined Nelson Mullins were Christine Bowers, Jonathan Fingeret, Timothy Gallagher, David Hirsch, James Killeen, Ronald Hicks, Thomas Jones, Carolyn McGee, Jeremy Mercer and Kevin Meacham. The new hires represented a broad range of interests and industries, ranging from corporate tax matters and real estate litigation to commercial litigation. With the addition of the new office in Pittsburgh, Nelson Mullins now has 32 offices across 16 states and Washington, D.C. The move also came less than one year after Columbia, South Carolina-based Nelson Mullins first moved into Pennsylvania, opening an office in the Philadelphia suburb of Berwyn in October 2022. Duane Morris Lands Longtime Corporate Leader Longtime Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young insurance attorney Steve Davis joined Duane Morris' corporate practice in Philadelphia as partner and one of the leads in its insurance group. Davis was the latest attorney to join Duane Morris' corporate practice, following former Fox Rothschild corporate department chairman Michael Harrington and of counsel Elizabeth Hodgson over to the firm. With almost 30 years of experience handling insurance and regulatory matters, including serving as chief counsel of the Pennsylvania Insurance Department, Davis felt that Duane Morris' vision in the insurance market aligned with his own.