On the other hand, Crisafulli's firm, which he said could grow by another 50 lawyers all together under its current business model, has an economic advantage over larger firms with national or international offices. Their clients don't have to pay for the kind of overhead that the larger firms have, he said.
POLITICALLY CONNECTED
Levy & Droney has been known as a politically connected fixture in the greater Hartford legal community. Among its practice areas, the firm has represented clients in business matters ranging from commercial real estate transactions to bankruptcies.
In addition to name partners Levy, who runs the business and finance practice group, and Droney, who leads the litigation team, others who will make the move include attorneys C. Robert Zelinger and Dane Kostin, partners in banking and finance practice groups.
Levy & Droney came in at No. 22 in the Connecticut Law Tribune's latest "Trib 25" rankings of top Connecticut firms. It reported $9 million in revenues in 2011, up from $8.6 million the previous year.
While the 2008 hires from Tyler Cooper created new strengths for Hinckley Allen in the areas of financial services and bankruptcy, the Levy & Droney hires will build on the firm's other major practice areas, which include corporate, construction, health care and real estate law.
Dan Kleinman, the managing partner at Levy & Droney, has said there is no formal announcement of the hiring agreement and declined further comment.
John Droney has held many positions of political prominence in Connecticut. He's former chairman of the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee and was a senior adviser to U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd. His brother, Christopher, is a U.S. District judge in Connecticut.
Levy is on the board of directors of the Hartford County Bar Association and is a former owner of the New Britain Rock Cats minor league baseball team. Neither returned phone calls and email messages seeking comment.
William S. Fish Jr., who practices business law for Hinckley Allen in Hartford, was the managing partner at Tyler Cooper when the similar hiring move took place. Unlike Levy & Droney, however, that firm had been losing revenue for a few years before most of its partners were hired away.
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