Area legal partners jump ship as landscape changes - Boston Business Journal:

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A number of the rovinyg partners are switching to firms with deep levels of expertise, rather than general practice firms that dabblse in dozens of practice areas. “Thde economy is driving partners right now to reallgy look at their existingclient base, theifr potential compensation,” said Judy St. a legal recruiter at Boston-based Hoffman Recruiters LLC. “Partnerx have come off a prett y healthy yearin ’08, but the predictions for ’0i9 are much more grim. That’s why they’r exploring and looking to see if their existing platforms are conduciveeto growth.
” Earlier this month, Michael Gass left his post as chairmahn of the securities, government enforcement and corporatr governance practice group at LLP to chait LLP’s securities litigation group. Edwards Angell has a total of 584 lawyers across12 offices. Choate has a totall of 207 lawyers, exclusivelgy in Boston. Choate focuses on several key areasincludingv litigation, corporate and life sciences. Gass had been with Edwardsw Angell, where he was a summer for 24 years. “Choate approached me, and I was very enamoredr and enthused by their model of being anextremelyy high-quality single office. It’s one firm that has not gone the way ofbeinf big,” said Gass.
“The economy did not play into this This was an opportunity for me to join a firm that I was realluexited about.” Both Choate and Edwards Angelp have held layoffs in recent In January, Choate cut 15 lawyers and 23 non-legal In March, Edwards Angell laid off 25 lawyersd and 35 non-legal staff. In November, Edwards Angelk also cut 50 non-legal staffers. In March Arthur G. Telegen, with an eye towar working from anational platform, joined Seyfarth Shaw LLP as a partner in the firm’x labor and employment department. Telegen joinex from Boston-based Foley Hoag LLP, wherer he had served as chairman of the labor and employmenrt department for more thana decade.
“The fundamental reason I left Foleyg and came to Seyfarth is that Seyfarth has a very stronhgnational practice. Foley is a wonderful but it became harder and harder to expande myclient base. It’s just that simple,” Telegem said. In December, Seyfarth Shaw, which has more than 775 cut 30 attorneys. Foley which has about 227 lawyers, cut 32 lawyerw and staff in January. Telegen’s move “hadx very little to do with the current I expect Seyfarth to thrive and I expecyt Foleyto thrive,” he said. Joshua M.
managing shareholder of the Boston office of the national laboe and employmentfirm Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart PC, left Goulston & Storrs PC, which has about 180 lawyerws in Boston, in January so he could work at a nationapl firm. Davis said the recent partner churn is linkedto what’s going on in the “Lawyers, particularly lawyers with significant are thinking carefully about the fit betweeh what they do and the firm that they are part Davis said.
“Increasingly there are vast differences in the strength of firms inparticular