Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani, a San Francisco-founded law firm, has announced that it hires a team of 30 professionals, including 19 lawyers and 11 staff members, from a midsize law firm in the Northeast. The new group from Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien, Doherty & Kelly includes John Hopwood, the managing partner of its New York office, and Melissa Brown, who led the firm’s professional liability practice in New Jersey.
Gordon Rees stated that six additional partners, nine associates, and two counsels would also be joining the firm from the same firm, with these professionals being spread among its offices in New York City, Westchester, and New Jersey.
According to Ron Giller, the managing partner of Gordon Rees’ New Jersey office, the new group of professionals would bolster the firm’s East Coast presence and accelerate a strong year. However, the name partners at Marks, O’Neill did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the departures. Its website currently lists 60 attorneys.
According to data collected by Leopard Solutions, a legal industry analytics firm, Gordon Rees has aggressively attracted lawyers from other firms. Between Jan. 1, 2022, and Tuesday, the firm added 304 lawyers, coming in fourth place. The firm lost 234 lawyers during the same period, putting it in 12th place, according to Leopard Solutions.
Gordon Rees describes itself as the first law firm with an office in all 50 US states. It has diverse practice areas, including corporate law, employment law, insurance law, intellectual property law, and more.
This move by Gordon Rees is part of a growing trend in the legal industry, where firms are increasingly seeking to expand their reach by hiring top lawyers from other firms. This can be seen in the growing number of lateral moves, where lawyers move from one firm to another rather than following the traditional path of starting as associates and working their way up to partners within the same firm.
There are several reasons why firms engage in lateral hiring. For one, it can be a quick way to build a practice in a new geographic region or practice area. It can also be a way to acquire new clients, as lawyers often bring their existing clients with them when they move firms. Additionally, lateral hiring can help firms retain their top talent, as lawyers who feel that they have reached a plateau at their current firm may be more likely to consider a move to another firm.
However, lateral hiring can also be expensive and risky, as firms may have to pay significant signing bonuses and other incentives to attract top talent. Moreover, the process of integrating lateral hires into a firm’s culture and workflow can be challenging, and not all lateral hires end up being successful.
Overall, Gordon Rees’ move to hire a team of top lawyers from Marks, O’Neill, O’Brien, Doherty & Kelly is a significant development in the legal industry and underscores the growing trend of lateral hiring. It remains to be seen how successful the move will be for Gordon Rees, but it is clear that the firm is continuing to expand its reach and capabilities aggressively.