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Eckert Seamans Gains 4 Attorneys From Troutman Sanders, Opens Va. Office
The Legal Intelligencer
November 02, 2009
Timothy Ryan
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott has opened a Richmond, Va., office and expanded its Washington, D.C., office with the addition of four attorneys from Atlanta-based Troutman Sanders.
Matthew B. Kirsner, a former partner in Troutman Sanders' Richmond office, will head up Eckert Seamans' new office in that city as a member of the firm.
His first day was Oct. 26.
On the same day, Charles A. Zdebski, a former partner in Troutman Sanders' Washington office, joined Eckert Seamans' Washington office as a member.
Former Troutman Sanders of counsel Raymond A. Kowalski and senior associate Eric J. Schwalb will also join Eckert Seamans' Washington office as members Nov. 2.
All four attorneys concentrate their practices on electric utility, telecommunications and other regulated industry work.
Eckert Seamans was introduced to the four attorneys by Constantinos G. Panagopoulos, who joined the firm's Washington office from Ballard Spahr as a member this past spring.
According to both Kirsner and Eckert Seamans CEO Timothy P. Ryan, an instant match was made.
Ryan said the firm had recently been looking to switch its focus from expanding its Philadelphia office to growing its Washington presence, particularly with regard to regulatory work.
"Eckert has substantially grown its Philadelphia presence over the last couple of years and we have a strong philosophy of measured strategic growth," Ryan said, explaining that the firm wanted to be sure it was "appropriately integrating and digesting" the attorneys it has added in Philadelphia.
Additionally, Ryan said, there's "a lot of action" in regulatory practices right now.
"Just looking at what's going on in the legal scene right now, energy and telecom are two of the hottest areas," he said. "They're not only recession-proof, but they've been growing throughout and we believe will only grow stronger when the economy turns."
Kirsner said the new presidential administration and a huge growth in infrastructure have all but ensured a continued surge in regulatory work.
"We might as well position ourselves for that, because it's coming," he said.
Ryan said the new attorneys' practices were "incredibly synergistic" with the firm's existing regulatory practices in its Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa., offices.
But whereas the firm had already had its sights set on Washington for growth, the same could not be said for Richmond until Kirsner came into the picture, Ryan said.
"All we had to do was spend a couple hours with Matt and we knew we had a person we wanted to build an office around," he said.
"As it turns out, we have some shared clients and some really good opportunities in a city like Richmond for us to establish a beachhead," Ryan continued, adding that there are plans to eventually add more lawyers to the Richmond office.
Kirsner said he foresees "slow and measured growth with a purpose" and no specific target number in the Richmond office.
GROWTH IN STUNTED TIMES
Kirsner said he had not been looking to leave Troutman Sanders but saw an opportunity to do "something new."
"To be able to pick a team in this practice and grow it from scratch is a unique opportunity, particularly in this economy," he said.
Ryan said there are a number of reasons why his firm has been able to add 45 lawyers in the past 10 months and is still able to take on the overhead that comes with opening new locations.
"We have grown slowly without a lot of breakage -- we haven't had a lot of lawyers flaking off," he said. "We've also maintained very stable, methodical, strategic, almost plodding growth over the last two years, which, while not sexy, has left us in an incredibly strong financial position."
Ryan said the firm is "essentially debt-free and has managed to keep overhead under control such that we're able to maintain a decent rate structure that clients have found very attractive."
Ryan said that his firm has also been the beneficiary of much of the business lost by firms whose international platforms have resulted in increased rate pressure.
"We have not adopted that sort of intergalactic approach, which many of our clients don't need," he said. "They don't need to be paying for an office in Dubai."
Kirsner said Eckert Seamans has afforded him more flexibility with his rates.
"I certainly hope to offer more creativity than I was previously able to," he said.
Kirsner also said client response to his move has been "excellent."
"To a T, every single client or matter that I was working that I needed and hoped would come is here," he said. "That's the most I could hope for."
Ryan said the four new attorneys have brought over a "substantial quantity of their own business," but added that the firm is equally excited about the additional capabilities the new hires will bring to its existing client base.
"We believe we're going to be able to introduce our new partners to our existing clients very seamlessly," he said.
As for the future of Eckert Seamans' growth, Ryan said the firm will remain opportunistic with regard to expanding all of its offices, but plans to specifically focus on building up its presence in Washington, Richmond and Boston.
Troutman Sanders could not be reached for comment.
