[ News Article ]
Duane Morris Moving to A Bigger Space in New York
By Gina Passarella
June 1, 2006
The Legal Intelligencer
Duane Morris is going forward with its plan to become a 1,000-attorney firm through the acquisition of new space in New York City.
The firm is moving its New York office to the 82,000-square-foot expanded space on three adjoining floors at 1540 Broadway in Times Square.
The firm will officially move into the space during either March or April of next year, according to firm chairman Sheldon Bonovitz.
He said that he would like to add at least 20 new attorneys for the office before that time. The firm is currently talking to several groups, and Bonovitz said that the majority of the 20 attorneys would come from groups, while some would be through lateral hires.
Four partners have joined Duane Morris' New York office in a variety of practice areas since the beginning of 2006.
The new space could house just fewer than 120 attorneys, and the firm currently has more than 70 lawyers in its New York office.
Bonovitz said the New York office and future additions to it would most likely focus on corporate and finance work, as well as commercial litigation.
With the new office comes a change for Bonovitz, who plans on splitting his time between the Philadelphia and New York offices. He said he has been spending about one day a week in New York and anticipates that that will increase.
"It's probably the single most important market for us, and given that importance, I felt it was equally important for me to be there," Bonovitz said of the New York office.
Bonovitz and his wife maintain a residence in New York already.
He said the new office space allows all of the attorneys to be on connecting floors instead of the several, separate floors they use in the current space.
The new 44-story building is owned by the Paramount Group Inc. and is home to global companies including Sony BMG Music Entertainment, Viacom International Inc. and the North American headquarters of Bertelsmann AG.
This article originally appeared in The Legal Intelligencer and is republished here with permission from law.com.