Three New York City-based Reed Smith partners, along with one of the firm’s economists, have departed for Duane Morris as the firm continues to grow its second-largest office by adding to existing practice areas like corporate law and commercial litigation.
The group includes corporate lawyer David Hryck, commercial litigators Christopher Healy and C. Neil Gray, and economist Theodor van Stephoudt, whose first day at the New York office of Philadelphia-based Duane Morris was March 12. .[..] They said their clients have joined them at Duane Morris.
Duane Morris’ 170-lawyer New York office, which expanded significantly when the firm combined with Satterlee Stephens in early 2020, includes private equity, fintech and mergers and acquisitions practices.
Asked about the group’s reason for its move, Healy said, “For me, it’s all about the industry practice groups and geographic locations of the firm, having offices in places where my clients are or will be litigating cases. I think my clients fit well in that practice group setup.”
The partners said they share a significant amount of overlap in their legal practices, with commercial litigators Healy and Gray representing many of Hryck’s corporate clients, while van Stephoudt helps Hryck on valuation and transfer pricing work for multinational clients. Partners said they made the move in order to obtain the necessary resources to maintain and grow their practice areas.
Hryck works with represents celebrities, entertainers, designers, global companies, individuals and international families on the tax and business issues surrounding their investments. He said there’s a lot of work he hasn’t been able to do at Reed Smith, involving multinational and middle-market transactional work, because the firm didn’t have as many lawyers specializing in that work. Through conversations with other attorneys at the firm, he said, he has learned his new colleagues are excited to work with his base of multinational clients.
“I know there will be more assistance for what I need but no change in what I do,” said Hryck. “Duane Morris has a large bench for the private client side, and that’s something I’m really in need of, both to maintain my practice and to grow it, and I’m looking to grow it.” [...]
The recent additions to the firm’s New York office mark the latest in a string of eight laterals added to Duane Morris in 2021 alone, according to CEO and chairman Matthew Taylor. Taylor said the additions advance a strategy of building up existing strengths at the firm, namely its corporate and trial practice groups.
“It’s really matching strength with strength,” Taylor said.
Reprinted with permission from New York Law Journal, © ALM Media Properties LLC. All rights reserved.
