The addition of partners John Touhy and George Tzanetopoulos to the firm's Chicago office, and the overall expansion of the firm, was the subject of a July 30, 2010, Law360 article, "Baker Hostetler Pulls In Mayer Brown Litigators." Click here to read the firm's press release announcing their arrival.
Commenting on his decision to join Baker Hostetler, Touhy said the opportunity to build an office and be part of a national litigation powerhouse was "simply too good to pass up." He said he would continue to develop his own practice as well as help the office recruit lawyers for the litigation team. "We are going to take our time to find the right lawyers as we want to add only lawyers who practice at the highest level of quality and skill, but who will also understand, value and be committed to the collaborative team approach here," Touhy said.
Tzanetopoulos, who has handled administrative, trial and appellate matters across the country, said, "I plan on continuing with a busy litigation practice, as well as assisting in every aspect of building Baker Hostetler's Chicago office."
According to Steven Kestner, national executive partner of the firm, with 650 lawyers, Baker Hostetler continues to grow and has brought in nearly 50 new attorneys within the past year. "This is particularly significant considering the challenging economic environment in the legal profession and the economy as a whole," he said.
According to the article, the Chicago office is using the growth strategy that has been successful for the firm in New York City, where it started with three lawyers in 2001 and now has almost 130 attorneys, according to Ron Okada, Partner-in-Charge of the office. "The approach we are taking — adding the highest quality attorneys, most recently John, George and Tara [Kamradt] —is one that we believe works best for us, for our lawyers, and most important, for our clients," he said.