January 21, 2011
THE DAILY TRANSCRIPT
By Doug Sherwin
SAN DIEGO – The law firm McDermott Will & Emery recently announced it will be closing its San Diego office March 31.
The majority of the attorneys and staff in San Diego will be moving to McDermott’s Orange County office in Irvine.
“After a strategic review, we have decided to consolidate our office structure in Southern California,” a firm spokesman released in a statement Friday. “Of course, decisions like this can be disruptive, and we are working hard to minimize the impact of this move on our individual lawyers and staff in San Diego, as well as on our clients.”
McDermott has eight attorneys and 31 staff members in San Diego.
A spokesman said the move won’t affect the firm’s presence in California. It has 150 lawyers in the state and offices in Los Angeles County, Orange County and Silicon Valley.
“McDermott will continue to be a force in the San Diego market, providing outstanding legal services to our clients in both San Diego and North County, in the years ahead,” the statement continued.
Larry Watanabe, a legal consultant with Watanabe Nason, said it became too expensive for the firm to run an office in San Diego.
“The reality of it is this: They were not able to grow their office in San Diego,” Watanabe said. “They were able to grow everywhere else in California.
“And the economy is still not picking up steam. Law firms are being fiscally conservative because they don’t know what’s going to happen.”
In November, McDermott lost a pair of IP partners and three patent agents, who moved to Jones Day.
McDermott opened its San Diego office in 2003.
“If the economy doesn’t pick up, then I think there will be further consolidation (among law firms),” Watanabe said.