With Miami serving as an increasingly appealing destination for Am Law 100 firms, Venable broke from the pack earlier this week, using a combination with 36-attorney Genovese Joblove & Battista to create a fresh footprint in South Florida.

Recent major firms have typically gone the route of poaching local lawyers for their moves into the booming region. When they moved into Miami, Winston & Strawn and Sidley Austin both looked to build their outposts with local partners from other firms. Kirkland & Ellis, in Miami and elsewhere, has taken a slightly different approach by placing some of their own partners in the new office first, then staffing it up with lawyers from other firms.