by Max Marbut
Staff Writer
It has been quite a December for Foley & Lardner in terms of the firm’s expansion strategy. The Ministry of Justice of the People’s Republic of China approved the firm’s application and granted a license to open a representative firm in Shanghai this month and Foley also opened an office in Miami last week. Both will offer a complete range of services with special emphasis on further development of practice in intellectual property (IP).
“Establishing a Miami presence has been a priority for the firm for the past several years because it will provide a strategic platform for our international, corporate and high-end litigation practices and will be a base from which to grow these practices,” said Foley CEO Ralf Boer in a news release. “We waited for the right opportunity to align our firm with a group of laterals who will give us a solid foundation to expand our national niching strategy in this growing financial market.”
The new office, the firm’s fifth in Florida, will initially include nine attorneys from the Miami office of Buchanan, Ingersoll & Rooney, led by William E. Davis. In the past 32 years, the Stetson Law School graduate has represented corporations and other business entities in close to 150 jury and bench trials and evidentiary hearings.
Davis said the attorneys at the new Foley office have extensive backgrounds in domestic and international tax law as well as immigration and labor and employment practice.
“The kinds of things we do are the things Foley does on a national and international basis. We’re all established practitioners and it really is a good fit,” said Davis, adding he believes his expertise in the areas of chemistry-based and pharmaceutical patent litigation will help Foley advance its leadership role in new technology and intellectual property law.
“We won’t have to refer litigation in South Florida any more. They are all very highly regarded attorneys and the Miami litigators are bringing a great deal to the table. We expect great things from the (Miami) office,” said Chuck Hedrick, managing partner of Foley’s Jacksonville office. “We’re the largest law firm in Florida that’s not headquartered in the state and not being in south Florida was a glaring omission.”
Hedrick also said the firm holds meetings several times a year at its offices. He agreed having an office in Miami could make the decision about location an easy one when the northern offices are feeling the grip of winter considering South Florida’s tropical climate and the area’s varied recreational opportunities.
“I understand they have some golf courses down there,” he quipped.
Davis agreed and pointed out having an office in South Florida has already offered Foley staffers opportunities that go beyond the legal talent and proximity to other markets.
“We’ve had no problem getting their Information Technology and Human Resources people to come down here to set things up considering the ice storms they’ve been having in Chicago,” he said.