by
Paul
Marotta/Getty
Images)
With
regional
business
continuing
to
boom,
the
nation’s
largest
firms
are
launching
new
offices
left
and
right
in
the
hope
of
snatching
up
some
valued
market
share. To
that
end,
yet
another
Biglaw
firm
recently
decided
that
if
you
want
to
be
taken
seriously
in
2026,
you
need
a
Boston
zip
code
—
and
you
need
it
yesterday.
According
to
the
American
Lawyer,
Reed
Smith
is
opening
a
new
office
in
Boston
that’s
going
to
be
staffed
with
a
group
of
laterals
pulled
from
seven
(yes,
seven!)
different
Am
Law
50
firms.
Because
if
you’re
going
to
plant
a
flag
in
one
of
the
most
competitive
legal
markets
in
the
country,
you
might
as
well
do
it
with
a
full-on
talent
raid
instead
of
a
slow
build.
The
incoming
team
spans
multiple
practice
areas
—
think
finance
and
transactional
work
—
giving
the
firm
an
instant,
full-service
presence
rather
than
a
tentative
toe-dip
into
the
market.
It’s
a
familiar
playbook:
grab
a
prebuilt
team
with
portable
business
and
let
them
hit
the
ground
billing.
Here
are
some
additional
details
on
the
attorneys
who
will
be
working
there:Regulatory
partner
Grant
Butler
joins
from
K&L
Gates,
fund
formation
and
PE
partners
Claudette
Druehl
and
Omar
Hemady
joins
from
White
&
Case,
M&A
partner
Matthew
Hacker
joins
from
Goodwin,
finance
partner
Ian
Hohmeister
joins
from
Morrison
&
Foerster
and
employment
litigator
and
transaction
attorney
James
Nicholas
joins
from
McDermott.Additionally,
Kevin
Sullivan,
former
co-chair
of
Weil’s
private
equity
practice,
is
joining
Reed
Smith
as
a
senior
strategic
adviser
to
its
PE
practice.The
group
of
attorneys
also
included
K&L
Gates
associate
Anastassia
Korin,
Kirkland
&
Ellis
senior
associate
Austin
McCarthy,
White
&
Case
associate
Aric
Jain,
White
&
Case
foreign
legal
consultant
Maud
Fillon
and
Morrison
Foerster
associate
Matt
Baker.
“Boston
is
a
hub
for
the
key
practices
where
we
are
looking
to
grow,
private
equity,
finance,
fund
formation,
and
it
makes
sense
for
us
to
be
in
a
market
where
there’s
so
much
talent
servicing
clients
in
those
areas,”
said
Julie
Hardin,
Reed
Smith
Americas
managing
partner.
“We
expect
to
have
more
good
news
in
the
coming
weeks
and
months.”
If
this
all
feels
a
little
déjà
vu,
that’s
because
it
is.
Boston
has
been
on
a
Biglaw
hot
streak,
with
firms
tripping
over
themselves
to
launch
there,
lured
by
elite
talent,
a
strong
life
sciences
sector,
and
plenty
of
high-end
work
to
go
around.
In
other
words,
yet
another
major
firm
has
decided
that
Boston
isn’t
just
“nice
to
have”
—
it’s
table
stakes.
Reed
Smith
isn’t
exactly
new
to
the
expansion
game,
either.
The
firm
has
more
than
1,500
lawyers
globally
and
has
been
aggressively
growing
through
lateral
hiring
and
new
office
launches
in
recent
years,
with
Boston
being
its
fourth
new
office
announcement
in
a
little
more
than
a
year.
The
bottom
line
is
that
Boston
continues
to
be
Biglaw’s
favorite
new
hub,
and
Reed
Smith
just
showed
up
with
a
seven-firm
shopping
spree.
Reed
Smith
Taps
Lawyers
from
7
Am
Law
50
Firms
for
New
Boston
Launch
[American
Lawyer]
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
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worked
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2011.
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