Global law firm Reed Smith announced Feb. 24 the opening of a new office in Denver, its 33rd office globally and 20th in the U.S. The Denver office will open with 20 lawyers, including 11 partners, three counsel and six associates. This marks the second office the firm has launched in the past month, following the successful opening of its Atlanta office in January, which added 37 lawyers.
“Our clients are enthusiastic about our presence in Denver. Like Atlanta, Denver is a vibrant, fast-growing market. This expansion is aligned with our growth strategy and builds on the strength and experience of our private equity, finance and technology teams,” Casey Ryan, Reed Smith’s Global Managing Partner, said in a press release.
Finance lawyer Jay Spader joins Reed Smith from Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, where he formerly chaired Brownstein’s corporate and business department. Spader will serve as managing partner of Reed Smith’s new Denver office.
“We’re excited to join the firm and leverage its strong reputation in private equity and finance. We see a unique opportunity with a firm like Reed Smith, which represents 23 of the top 25 banks and has more than 100 clients doing business in the Denver area. The firm’s commitment to service excellence and community engagement, along with its wealth of experience across its leading industry groups, all deeply resonated with us. This move is a perfect fit for us and our clients,” Spader said in a press release.
Spader will be joined by fellow Brownstein corporate partners Brendan Leanos, Jason Larkin and Chris Hand; emerging technologies partner Tyler Thompson from Greenberg Traurig; litigation partners Adam Massaro and Joyce Williams from Akerman; insurance recovery partners Chris Mosley and Brooke Yates from Foley Hoag; and real estate partner Camille Bacon-Schulte from Dentons.
Four current Reed Smith lawyers are also joining the Denver office, including partner James Martin and counsels Garrett Parks, Lizbeth Rodriguez-Johnson and Michael Sandusky. The partners add appellate, investigations and labor and employment law practices.
“We like to win, and the opening of our Denver office with these talented lawyers is a major win for both our clients and the firm. This opening reflects Reed Smith’s continued focus on smart growth around our strategic priorities. We see where the market is going and we intend to get there first,” Julie Hardin, Reed Smith’s managing partner for the Americas, said in a press release.
“Like Atlanta, Denver is a talent-rich market. In addition to expanding our corporate team, we are adding skilled trial lawyers, insurance recovery lawyers, and real estate practitioners. We will continue to build in Denver by recruiting top-of-the-market lawyers who are eager to grow their practices and leverage our industry focus and global capabilities. This is just the beginning,” Hardin added.
“We’ve assembled a phenomenal team in Denver, and their decades of experience in middle-market sponsor finance and sophisticated lending transactions will significantly strengthen our corporate practice, which now includes over 350 lawyers,” Matt Mohn, co-chair of Reed Smith’s global corporate group and chair of its U.S. corporate group, said in a press release.
In its announcement of the new office, the firm said the Denver office also will expand its ability to advise on critical compliance, artificial intelligence, data governance and data privacy issues.