Gordon & Rees Continues National Expansion With New Philadelphia Office

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Feb. 1, 2013, Gordon & Rees LLP will open a Philadelphia office with the addition of eight new lateral partners who joined the firm from Cozen O’Connor. William P. Shelley, who previously served on Cozen’s board of directors and Management Committee as well as chairman of the firm’s Global Insurance Group, will serve as the Philadelphia office Managing Partner for Gordon & Rees.

“We were very patient in waiting for exactly the right combination to materialize in Philadelphia”

Joining Mr. Shelley in the new office are former Cozen O'Connor partners Joseph A. Arnold, Jacob C. Cohn, Ann Thornton Field, C. Tyler Havey, James E. Robinson, Catherine Slavin, and Joshua Wall.

"We were very patient in waiting for exactly the right combination to materialize in Philadelphia," noted firmwide managing partner Dion N. Cominos. “But these outstanding lawyers represent the perfect complement to Gordon & Rees' expanding national commercial litigation, insurance coverage, and aviation practices. The group also helps bolster our growing east coast presence and accelerates what has been a very strong start for us in Pennsylvania with the opening of our Pittsburgh office last year.”

Shelley says, "Gordon & Rees is a great fit for our practices and clients. The firm has been expanding across the country in areas such as complex commercial litigation and insurance coverage, both of which are areas of increased importance to our clients. The firm’s well-deserved reputation for excellence and its client-centric focus made the decision to join that much easier. We value the same types of things and share the same vision for how best to build and manage long-term client relationships."

Gordon & Rees assistant managing partner Miles Scully says the firm's strategy is to grow its national, regional, and local practices so its lawyers are where their clients need them. "And to do that, we hire great attorneys like this new group. The model has enabled us to expand into a national full-service firm in a little over a decade, all without absorbing any long-term debt, compromising our cost structure, or diluting our high standards for client service and work product."

Since 2000, Gordon & Rees has nearly tripled in size, added more than 20 offices outside California, and has a major office in eight of the 10 largest cities in the United States. In 2012 alone, Gordon & Rees opened seven new offices: Baltimore; Carlsbad, Calif.; Rapid City, S.D.; Pittsburgh; St. Louis, Mo.; Tysons Corner, Va.; and Washington, D.C.

Founded in San Francisco in 1974, Gordon & Rees is a national litigation and business transactions firm with more than 500 lawyers and 28 offices in 18 states. The firm has been ranked as a “BTI Client Service All-Star” for the past two years and as a “Litigation King” by Corporate Counsel magazine on its 2012 list of who represents Fortune 100 companies. Gordon & Rees also is ranked at No. 111 on The National Law Journal’s 2012 list of the largest U.S. firms, and at No. 25 on the Minority Law Journal’s 2012 Diversity Scorecard.