Pierson Ferdinand Added 104 FisherBroyles Attys In January (Law360)
Article by: Aebra Coe
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As of the end of January, a total of 104 partners had departed FisherBroyles LLP to join breakaway law firm Pierson Ferdinand LLP, according to an announcement by the new firm, which opened its doors at the beginning of the year.
The partners represent more than 80 practice areas in the firm's corporate, litigation and intellectual property departments, the Wednesday announcement says.
Pierson Ferdinand is led by two former managing partners of FisherBroyles, co-chairmen Michael Pierson and Joel M. Ferdinand. The new firm previously said it had received commitments from more than 130 FisherBroyles lawyers who planned to join the breakaway firm during the first part of 2024. The 104 who joined in January are a portion of that total number, a firm spokesperson said.
The new firm is referred to in short by its co-founders as PierFerd.
"We welcome the over 100 new partners to PierFerd who will provide seamless service to our clients by leveraging our technology-driven, distributed firm model," Pierson said in a statement this week. "Our people and culture are the linchpins to our mission to enable lawyers to practice their craft at the highest level and deliver strong results to clients."
A spokesperson for FisherBroyles did not immediately respond Thursday to a request for comment on the departures.
"Our newest partners reflect the investments we've made to PierFerd," Ferdinand said in a statement alongside Pierson's. "Each partner demonstrates our core values of innovation, diversity, respect, inclusion and collaboration as we continue to grow and serve our roster of clients."
Among the partners that joined the new firm in January are Pierson and Ferdinand themselves; Edmund Brown, the former chair of FisherBroyles' diversity, equity and inclusion committee, who now is Pierson Ferdinand's chair of DEI; and litigation partner Aurora Cassirer, who joined FisherBroyles in 2022 after spending nearly 17 years as a partner and executive committee member with Troutman Sanders LLP, now known as Troutman Pepper.
Other additions include Stephen Di Cioccio, the former chair of FisherBroyles' banking and financial services practice, who will fill the same role at the new firm; Adam Ettinger, who joined FisherBroyles in 2018 and previously was co-chair of its fintech and blockchain practice group; and Tyler Ewell Giles, formerly the chair of FisherBroyles' mergers and acquisitions practice group, now chair of Pierson Ferdinand's corporate department.
In addition to Pierson and Ferdinand, the new firm's leadership includes managing partner and co-general counsel Landon Speights, Chief Financial Officer Meredith Mendes and Matthew Bradley, chief operating officer for business operations, the firm said. Ferdinand will also be co-general counsel.
The new firm will embrace the same distributed model that FisherBroyles uses, which is primarily defined by a virtual workplace.
The rise of Pierson Ferdinand deals a blow to what had been continued growth for FisherBroyles, which was founded in 2002. The firm first entered the Am Law 200 in 2021, reflecting its 2020 financial results, making it the first distributed law firm to earn that ranking.
