DLA Piper Throws Wrench in Reed Smith’s Calif. Expansion with 5-Partner Raid
Five Silicon Valley, Calif.-based partners departed Reed Smith this week to join DLA Piper’s 100-plus lawyer office in the area.
The group’s move, which decreased the firm’s count to as few as four partners in Silicon Valley, “throws a serious wrench in Reed Smith’s expansion efforts in Northern California,” the Daily Journal (sub. req.) reports.
Lawyers at both firms either declined to comment further on the move or didn’t return phone calls.
The five corporate and intellectual property partners that made the jump are: Richard Scudellari, chair of Reed Smith’s emerging growth and venture capital team; corporate transactions specialists Matt Oshinsky and Armando Castro; Craig Opperman, intellectual property specialist and founding partner of Reed Smith’s Silicon Valley office; and securities litigator David Lisi.
In a separate move this week, about 25 lawyers, including five partners, left Baker & McKenzie’s Amsterdam office to launch a new firm, Legal Week reports. Led by private equity partner Marc van Campen, the new firm will open its doors on Feb. 1 and focus on private equity, tax and M&A. The departure is reported to be the result of conflicts relating to referral work, according to Legal Week.
