Three big law firms have hired or are soon going to hire attorneys and partners to open new offices in 3 major cities in the US and Canada.  Thompson & Knight is opening one in Detroit, Latham & Watkins may also be about to open a new office in Boston, and Torys, a Toronto based firm, has just opened a new office in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Thompson & Knight is determined to bounce back after it’s gross revenues went down by 11.2 percent last year, and it announced late on Thursday that it was going to open a new office in Detroit, lead by new litigation hire, Philip Kessler.  Kessler was formerly the chairman of Detroit firm Butzel Long, but stepped down last August.  Since that time, he had set up a solo practice in Franklin, Michigan.  He will now direct operations for Thompson & Knight in both their New York office and Detroit office, which is planned to open in spring.

Latham & Watkins is planning to open an office in Boston soon, according to the Boston Business Journal.  No further comment is available from them officially, but according to the Boston Business Journal, they have been looking at Boston since late 2007.

  

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Torys opened a new office in Calgary on March 3^rd, 2011.  Torys already has existing offices in New York and Toronto, and this will strengthen their position as one of the leading international law firms.  Les Viner, Managing Partner, says “The pace of economic growth in Calgary and its strength in the energy sector have earned the city a reputation as an internationally recognized financial and business hub”.

With so many firms closing or laying off attorneys, it’s good to see several firms doing the opposite and opening new offices and expanding their workforce.