Trendspotting: Biglaw Firms Opening Up Shop In Regional Hotspots

Regional business is booming right now, with top Biglaw firms launching new offices in some of the hottest spots around the country in the hope of snatching up some valued market share.

In today’s news alone, we’ve got three Biglaw firms opening up shop in new cities: Freshfields is throwing open its doors in Boston; Reed Smith is starting fresh in Denver; and McDermott is expanding its practice to Nashville.

First, while Freshfields has yet to officially lease a space in Boston, U.S. managing partner and global capital markets co-head Sarah Solum said opportunities abound in Beantown. “Our entire reason for being in Boston is because we know that’s what our clients want and need from us,” Solum told the American Lawyer. “The same way the firm had already been working for Silicon Valley clients for a long time (before launching there in 2020), that’s also true with Boston-based clients. We’re new in Boston in terms of having an office, but we’re not new in terms of the companies and firms we work with.”

Next up, Reed Smith is going all out with its Denver office, its second new office of the new year. With lawyers lateraling in from five firms in the area — Brownstein Hyatt, Greenberg Traurig, Akerman, Foley Hoag, and Dentons — Reed Smith is equipped to handle client demand in the Mile High City. “We know Denver is a very vibrant and fast-growing community,” Julie Hardin, the firm’s managing partner of the Americas, told the American Lawyer. “What we also see is the private equity and technology dollars flowing into the market, which is in line with our strategic priorities.”

Last but not least, McDermott Will & Emery is heralding its health and life sciences practice group with its new office in Nashville. Thanks to a four-partner group from K&L Gates, the firm is confident that the new team represents “a transformative addition” to the firm. Kristian Werling, global head of McDermott’s health and life sciences practice group, told the American Lawyer that the Nashville launch will “further bolster our market-leading hospitals and health systems and health care private equity teams in the epicenter of the health industry.”

Who will be next? If you’ve got any information on which firms will be the next in the rush to open up shop in regional hotspots, please let us know.

Freshfields Launches in Boston With Latham Office Corporate Chair [American Lawyer]

McDermott Enters Nashville, Adding 4-Partner Team From K&L Gates [American Lawyer]

Reed Smith Launches in Denver With Five-Firm Lateral Group [American Lawyer]

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Bluesky, X/Twitter, and Threads, or connect with her on LinkedIn.

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