What’s the best way to open a new office in a market where there’s a great amount of demand? If you’re a high-powered Biglaw firm, you may find the answer in the latest lateral trend of big group moves. That’s what just happened at Holland & Knight, and the firm now has 17 new lawyers and a second Los Angeles office to show for it.
Holland & Knight — currently ranked at No. 33 on the Am Law 100, having brought home $1,402,502,000 gross revenue in 2021 — just absorbed lawyers from Pircher, Nichols & Meeks, a California real estate firm. The move is not being characterized as a merger, but rather, a big group hire.
Another Biglaw firm, White & Case, tried to make merger moves with Pircher in the past, but the firm turned the possibility down, opting instead to “remain a competitive boutique firm.” Why the change of heart? H&K is apparently a “much better fit.” Reuters has additional details:
Paying for Law School in 2025: A Straight-Talk Playbook
Juno has consistently secured the best private loan deals for students at the Top MBA programs since 2018—now they’re bringing that same offer to law students, at no cost. Students can check their personalized offers at juno.us/atl This article is for general information only and is not personal financial advice.
Tampa-founded Holland & Knight, which combined last summer with Dallas-based Thompson & Knight, will take over Pircher’s lease in Century City, a business district in Los Angeles. Holland & Knight also has an office in downtown Los Angeles, and two others in California. …
Holland & Knight says its real estate section has about 300 lawyers nationally. [Joseph] Guay, the [real estate] department leader, said the practice had its “best year ever” in 2021. With uncertainty ahead in the market with rising interest rates and inflation, the new team coming in can help as real estate clients may have to “pivot,” he said.
Is your Biglaw firm considering any massive lateral hires? That seems to be the way of the future when it comes to bringing in new talent.
17-Lawyer Group Joins Holland & Knight in SoCal, as Real Estate Practices See High Demand [American Lawyer]
Holland & Knight gets new LA office by absorbing real estate law firm [Reuters]
Reasoning, Tool Calling, And Agentic Systems In Legal LLMs
Domain-specific AI provides accuracy and reliable legal reasoning.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.