It’s been a year since Ballard Spahr completed its merger with Lindquist & Vennum, a midsize firm based in Minneapolis. And now that the acquired group has settled into the larger, Philadelphia-based firm, it has become more integrated in practice leadership as well.

Peter Michaud is the new chair of Ballard Spahr’s business and finance department, as of Jan. 1. Michaud had been a partner at Lindquist & Vennum, and last year served as managing partner of Ballard Spahr’s post-merger Minneapolis office—now the firm’s second-largest after Philadelphia.