Further Growth for DLA Piper

06/16/06

Further growth for DLA Piper

DLA Piper hasn't paused to catch its breath after its recent merger activity. The firm continues to move into new markets, such as Atlanta, and build its presence in target cities, including Washington and New York.

Four new partners have joined the Atlanta office of DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. Transitioning from Smith, Gambrell & Russell, they plan to expand the firm's franchise, corporate, and securities practices in the Southeast.

The firm opened their Atlanta office in May of this year to compete with Holland & Knight. The firm has added 16 lawyers in Atlanta since then and plans to add more by the end of the year.

Rikers in London
New Jersey-based Riker, Danzig, Scherer, Hyland & Perretti is making its mark on the international legal market. The firm has opened an office in the heart of London's financial district and plans to practice insurance, reinsurance, commercial litigation, and banking law. For now, a skeleton staff of two lawyers will work in the leased space, which is adequate for a half-dozen lawyers.

The move is based on assurances from longtime client Castlewoods EU Ltd., which together with its subsidiaries makes up 80% of Riker Danzig's London insurance business. Castlewoods reported having 300 open cases for insurance clients in Britain, with total policies valued at more than $100 million.

The London office will be managed by both English solicitors and U.S. attorneys, and it is fully integrated with the firm's New Jersey and New York offices. Castlewoods' former general counsel, Eleni Iacovides, a solicitor of the Supreme Court of England and Wales has been named resident partner.

Xerox looks to carve a piece of the e-discovery services market
Amici LLC, a leading provider of e-discovery services for litigation and regulatory compliance, has been taken over by Xerox, in an effort to expand the corporation's document management services business. The $174 million deal is expected to close by the end of the month. Upon completion of the acquisition, the vast majority of Amici employees are expected to join the Xerox Corporation, including Amici's current president and CEO. Amici's staff of 125 is mostly in Albany but also in New York City, Denver, and Washington, DC.

Xerox is new to the e-discovery game, which involves the identification, filtering, production, and storage of relevant data from paper or electronic documents. Their business is projected to grow at an annual compounded rate of nearly 40%.

Arizona tech industry boosted by Steptoe
Phoenix-based law firm Steptoe & Johnson LLP has committed to support the Arizona Technology Council as a Platinum Sponsor with a $20,000 donation. The firm has become the first to make financial and leadership contributions to Arizona's tech industry in an attempt to boost Arizona's profile as a hi-tech sector.

The Arizona Technology Council, the largest member-driven technology association in Arizona, represents more than 30,000 employees at 400+ companies in the state. Steptoe is an international firm with a successful track record in litigation, arbitration, and business transactions with 400 attorneys worldwide