Polsinelli has continued its rapid expansion with a raid on Holland & Knight taking 20 partners for the launch of its Philadelphia office in a major ‘partner poaching’ move.
This marks Polsinelli’s third office launch since June, following recent expansions in Fort Worth, Texas and Park City, Utah.
Polsinelli didn’t name the incoming Holland & Knight lawyers, it mentioned that the new hires would strengthen its executive compensation and employee stock ownership plan practices, among others.
Holland & Knight affirmed its commitment to Philadelphia and expressed intentions to expand its presence there. The firm currently has 73 lawyers in its Philadelphia office, according to its website, and employs 2,200 lawyers in total.
Polsinelli’s chairman and CEO, Chase Simmons, (pictured) said, “Philadelphia was a crucial addition to our platform as one of the largest full-service U.S.-only firms.” Polsinelli now boasts just over 1,000 lawyers, according to a spokesperson.
This move is part of a broader trend of mass hires – ‘partner poaching’ – in the legal industry this year that LawFuel has continued to report.
Recently nearly 50 lawyers leaving Moye White for Fennemore Craig in April, and Munger, Tolles & Olson losing about 10 percent of its partnership when Baker McKenzie hired 17 of its Los Angeles-based transactional lawyers.
We recently reported on Kirkland & Ellis and other firms strengthening their partner retention moves to avoid the ongoing efforts by rival firms to take partners.
The U.S. legal sector has also seen an uptick in law firm mergers. Data from consultancy Fairfax Associates shows 29 law firm mergers completed in the first half of 2024, up from 28 in the same period of 2023, and 25 in both 2021 and 2022.
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