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Sources: Duane Morris Set To Start Office in Pittsburgh

By Jeff Blumenthal
The Legal Intelligencer

Duane Morris is poised to open a Pittsburgh office by plucking two partners from Pepper Hamilton while aggressively pursuing partners from Steel City firms, according to several sources familiar with the situation.

Sheldon Bonovitz, Duane Morris' chairman, declined comment when asked about the story. But several sources, including Pepper Hamilton management, confirmed the departure from the Pittsburgh office of partners George Medved and James Hollihan, and of counsel David Scotti. Medved, one of the founding partners of Pepper's Pittsburgh office, is a commercial litigator. Hollihan is an employment litigator, and Scotti focuses on construction litigation. Several sources said another Pepper Hamilton partner might also make the move.

The names of any other possible defectors were not known, though several sources said Duane Morris has hired a legal recruiter and has focused on trying to lure attorneys from firms such as Buchanan Ingersoll, Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart and Reed Smith. The Pittsburgh office could be opened as early as next month, sources said.

Reed Smith officials said that none of its lawyers would be leaving for Duane Morris while Buchanan Ingersoll management added that no one had resigned from its firm. Sources say the Duane Morris office will open some time next month in the U.S. Steel Tower, one of Pittsburgh's most prominent office buildings that houses law firms such as Eckert Seamans and DKW Law Group.
Medved confirmed that he is "transitioning out of Pepper Hamilton" but said that the situation is in a state of flux so he could not comment any further at this juncture.

The Pittsburgh addition, which would become Duane Morris' 21st office, follows the firm's growth pattern of the past five years: Opening offices in large cities by adding lateral groups and not through large mergers. The only difference here is that rather than using lawyers from one firm as the core and building out with more lateral additions, Duane Morris might start its Pittsburgh office with lawyers from more than one firm.
"I think people out here are wondering how you are going to get two or three sets of partners from different firms to co-exist under one roof," one Pittsburgh-based legal recruiter said. "The normal course is to start with one group and then find people that fit with that group."

Pepper Hamilton executive partner Robert Heideck confirmed the departures but said that the 33-attorney Pittsburgh office was just as strong as ever. The office still has 10 partners, including three in the corporate department, two each in real estate and tax, and one each in commercial litigation, labor and employment, and intellectual property. Among the partners is Chuck Greenberg, a corporate partner who also practices sports law. Greenberg represented Mario Lemieux in his purchase of the Pittsburgh Penguins hockey team and recently started a sports management ancillary business for Pepper Hamilton along with former executive partner Jim Murray.

Medved was one of the original partners to open the Pittsburgh office in June 1995, coming from DKW. He was the office's managing partner until recently. The new managing partner is labor and employment lawyer Richard Thomas.
"We have critical mass already, and we are seeking to grow that office," Heideck said. "We're committed to the Pittsburgh market, and there are a lot of good opportunities for expansion."
A 1978 graduate of University of Pittsburgh School of Law, Medved handles a wide range of commercial litigation, including antitrust, securities, intellectual property, derivative action, creditors' rights, construction, class action, product liability, employment and contract and Uniform Commercial Code cases.
Hollihan is a 1980 Duquesne University School of Law graduate. He advises and defends corporations in employment litigation claims on the grounds of sex, age, race, gender and disability discrimination as well as on sexual harassment, wrongful discharge and breach of express and implied employment contracts. He also counsels clients on traditional labor issues.

Duane Morris' Pittsburgh office comes on the heels of it opening a new office in San Diego last month by taking six lawyers from California-based Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps. The firm also added five Luce Forward lawyers to its already existing New York office. Last week, Duane Morris announced that it added three bankruptcy partners and two associates from Luce Forward to its San Diego office. Bonovitz said the firm will be looking to expand San Diego even further by adding lawyers in the areas of corporate, energy and intellectual property. He added that he believes the firm can service all of Southern California from San Diego.

Duane Morris becomes the latest in a long line of Philadelphia law firms to enter the Pittsburgh market. Pepper Hamilton and Morgan Lewis are among the 25 largest Pittsburgh law offices while Schnader Harrison Segal & Lewis is close to that level, according to PaLaw 2002: Annual Report on the Legal Profession. Fox Rothschild opened a Pittsburgh office in the past year and several litigation boutiques now have satellites there.
Duane Morris also has 17 lawyers in its Harrisburg office and six in Allentown.

Date Received: July 22, 2003