Pennsylvania Firms Poach Whole Practice Groups and Small Firms in 2011
Forget cherry-picking one-off partners and laterals. In 2011, several Pennsylvania law firms launched new practice groups and opened offices by poaching entire practice groups and acquiring small firms. The growth trend also capitalized on hot e-discovery and energy law opportunities, reports the Legal Intelligencer, which tracked expansion at nearly a dozen Pennsylvania-based firms this year. A number of firms, like Blank Rome, Reed Smith, Babst Calland, Cozen O’Connor and Morgan Lewis & Bockius nabbed groups and boutiques in double-digit size.
Another possible sign of prosperity among the firms reported includes increases in first-year salaries at some of the state’s largest firms, such as Schnader Harrison, Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young, Blank Rome, Buchanan Ingersoll and Reed Smith—although the Intelligencer notes the boosts weren’t accompanied by fanfare. A few did come with spring bonuses, however, a fairly recent New York trend.
