LOS ANGELES — At least eight law firms have opened offices in the Los Angeles area since the start of the current economic downturn about eight months ago — more than any other major metropolitan region in the nation.

To do so, many firms, such as Snell & Wilmer, Atlanta’s Alston & Bird, Philadelphia’s Blank Rome and Lathrop & Gage of Kansas City, Mo., took the opportunity to snag lawyers who recently became available, largely due to dissolutions and economic conditions.