Two law firms focused on litigation are moving to Chicago and could have as many as 50 lawyers in the future, according to Crain’s Chicago Business.
Akerman LLP is based in Miami and has 600 lawyers. The firm hired seven attorneys from Ulmer & Berne LLP
The CEO of Akerman, Andrew Smulian, said that the lawyers in Chicago add medical-device company Covidien to the firm’s pharma and life sciences practice. Sears Holdings Corp. and Ford Motor Co. are also represented by the firm in Chicago.
The lawyers who joined Goldberg Segalla focus their practice area on product liability and the defense of insurers. The administrative partner at Goldberg Segalla’s office in Chicago is David O’Connell. O’Connell said that he would bring insurance clients with him, but would not provide the names of those clients.
The managing partner at the Chicago office of Akerman is Scott Meyers. He focuses on commercial litigation in financial services and securities. He has an emphasis on hedge funds. Michael Switzer will be the co-chair of the intellectual property practice group at Akerman.