Hunton & Williams lands in Beantown
Michael Schwartz March 23, 2018 0
Hunton & Williams' office in Riverfront Plaza. (Kieran McQuilkin)
On the road to a major Texas merger, one of Richmond's larger law firms is making a quick pickup in New England.
Hunton & Williams announced this week it is opening its first office in Boston after luring over a team of 14 attorneys from litigation firm Manion Gaynor & Manning.
The group includes namesakes Harry Manion and Martin Gaynor, along with former Massachusetts Attorney General Thomas Reilly, two other partners, three senior counsel and six associates.
Hunton & Williams Chairman George Howell said Manion's and Gaynor's move was prompted by the Boston firm splitting up the two sides of its differing practices.
"Their firm has two components: one is Harry and Martin's general trial piece. The other is Manning's insurance defense work," Howell said. "They were running into a lot of conflict issues where one side couldn't take on cases because of work the other side had.
"As they were thinking about splitting the firm, we've known Harry and Martin for many years and we just started a conversation with them and said, 'Wouldn't it be great if you guys had a much larger platform?'" Howell said.
The group will join Hunton effective April 2, the same day the firm's merger with Texas-based Andrews Kurth Kenyon is expected to close.
That deal, which will change the firm name to Hunton Andrews Kurth, will give the combined operation 1,000 attorneys spread over 15 offices in the U.S. and five outposts abroad, and $750 million in annual revenue.
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About the Author: Michael Schwartz
Michael Schwartz is the editor of Richmond BizSense, and covers banking, lawsuits, finance, M&A and golf. He can be reached at [email protected] or 804-855-1037.