April 4, 2013

THE DAILY JOURNAL

By Ameera Butt

SAN FRANCISCO – Chicago-based general practice firm Vedder Price PC made its first foray into California, having opened an office in San Francisco, a firm spokesman confirmed on Wednesday.

Three attorneys have already joined the San Francisco office, including Heather M. Sager, Bradley C. Crawford and Brendan G. Dolan, according to spokesman Michael S. Rand. The trio of lawyers joined Vedder Price from Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, Bingham McCutchen LLP and Kasowitz Benson Torres & Friedman LLP, respectively.

“We are excited to have Heather, Brad and Brendan already in place, and we’ll soon complete our initial office build-out,” Douglas M. Hambleton, operating shareholder in the firm’s Chicago office, said in an emailed statement.

‘I think the firms coming out here have to be prepared to be in it for the long haul.’ – Robert C. O’Brien

Sager, a labor and employment attorney, serves as administrative shareholder in Vedder Price’s San Francisco office. Crawford is a shareholder and a member of the finance and transactions group, and Dolan focuses on labor relations, according to the Vedder Price website.

Legal recruiter Larry Watanabe and Watanabe Nason LLC facilitated the office opening and partners’ recruitment. Watanabe, in an email, predicted that out-of-state firms entering California “is on the rise.”

Last month, Texas-based Thompson & Knight LLP opened its second California office with the addition of one partner and six other attorneys from the San Francisco-based Ongaro Law Firm. Arent Fox LLP will open its San Francisco office on June 1, according to Robert C. O’Brien, the firm’s California managing partner.

O’Brien said it is “extremely” competitive to find top lawyers to staff offices in California, whether it’s Los Angeles or San Francisco.

“I think for firms that want to be national firms, California is a place you have to be. What that’s created is tremendous competition for both clients and legal talent,” he said.

Firms looking to come to California have to be prepared to make a “significant investment of their times and resources,” he added.

“I think the firms coming out here have to prepared to be in it for the long haul.”