The recent addition of Chicago litigation partners John Touhy and George Tzanetopoulos and the firm's continued expansion were the focus of a July 29, 2010, Chicago Daily Law Bulletin article, "Law Firm Moves into Chicago with Plans to Grow Office to 100 Lawyers."
According to the article, no matter what the state of the national or local economy may be, many out-of-town law firms still see Chicago as a golden destination. Baker's Chicago office opened in November with four attorneys and, with the addition of Touhy and Tzanetopoulos, now have eight in residence, with plans to grow to 100.
"Our plan here in Chicago is to go to 100 lawyers-plus, be full service in Chicago as quickly and deliberately as the market lets us," said Ron Okada, partner in charge of the Chicago office. Okada said there was "no firm schedule" to reach 100-plus lawyers in Chicago. But he pointed to what the firm did elsewhere. "We started in New York with three lawyers in 2001. We have almost 130 today," Okada said. "New York is now our second-largest office by head count, and largest office by revenue."
Within the past year, almost 50 new lawyers have joined Baker Hostetler nationwide, so that the firm has nearly 650 lawyers, according to Steven Kestner, Baker Hostetler's national Executive Partner.
Okada added, "In a very challenging economy, we find ourselves in a very strong position fiscally. We have no debt, 13 straight years of increasing revenue. 2009 was the best year in history for revenues and profits. We've had no layoffs. We have not deferred any start dates. We have not eliminated or altered our bonus program."
Commenting on his decision to join Baker, after having spent his entire career with his previous firm, Touhy said, "When I was approached by Baker Hostetler and they told me they were looking for help to build both a litigation practice here and an office itself, I recognized this opportunity doesn't come along very often." He said he was impressed by Baker Hostetler's aggressive plans in Chicago "in this economy."
"This is not a situation where we're going to try it for three years," Okada said of the new Chicago office. "Baker Hostetler has never closed an office."