Paul Hastings, Simpson Thacher Plot Boston Growth Strategies (1)

Paul Hastings is leasing new space in Boston to accommodate its growth as Simpson Thacher aims to triple its lawyer headcount there within three years, showing Big Law is deepening its commitment to the city.

Paul Hastings will occupy the 49th floor at 200 Clarendon, known as the John Hancock Tower in early December, leaders at the firm said in an interview this week, without disclosing the length of the lease.

Paul Hastings entered the Boston area this spring with the hires of Sidley Austin private equity partners Alexander Temel and William Schwab. The firm’s Boston outpost has since added M&A partners Andrew Goodman and Ian Engstrand from Goodwin Procter. Two first-year associates came aboard this week, Schwab said, for a current total of 11 lawyers.

An artist’s rendering of Paul Hastings’ new Boston digs.

Bargmann Hendrie + Archetype, Inc.

The firm is targeting partners with similar “marquee” clients to their own, said Temel, who is global co-chair of the firm’s private equity practice. He and Schwab, who is the Boston office chair, primarily represent investor and lender-side clients in private equity deals but they expect the office’s practice mix to expand to white collar litigation and intellectual property.

“Each partner who joins us will come with an existing client base with marquee clients and market share,” Temel said. “The critical part isn’t about the number of bodies but the talent and the market share that comes with the senior lawyers who come over.”

Temel and Schwab introduced private equity firm Great Hill Partners, financial services giant Goldman Sachs, and manufacturer Locus Robotics to the firm’s mix of clients, they said.

New York as Blueprint

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, after years of counseling Boston-based clients like Fidelity Investments on registered funds matters, established a presence in the city in May by recruiting registered funds partner Kenneth Burdon from Skadden.

The firm currently has eight lawyers in a shared workspace at 855 Boylston Street it has occupied since September. The firm expects a total of 12 lawyers by the end of the year, said David Blass, who co-manages the Boston office with Joshua Ford Bonnie.

A source familiar with Simpson Thacher said the firm has recruited Boston-based Kirkland & Ellis partner Matthew Fisher to start by the end of this year. The firm declined to confirm any specific additions. Fisher did not reply to a request for comment. Kirkland’s Boston operations are also located at 200 Clarendon.

Bonnie said the flexibility provided by the firm’s non-equity partner tier allows the firm greater ease in lateral partner hiring.

Blass said firm leaders intend to “outgrow” their current Boston office, which can accommodate about 50 lawyers, over the next two to three years.

“It’s only temporary in the sense that we have ambitions to grow beyond the space that is available,” Blass said.

Boston has a heavy presence of registered funds clients and attorneys in the city, Blass said. And while registered funds is the first practice area for the newly created office, he said the firm has plans to branch into other practice areas.

“The strategy of the office is to replicate the practice areas that we have in New York, which attracts clients and talented attorneys alike,” he said.

Filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission show Burdon represented asset manager Skybridge Capital and private equity firm New Mountain Capital in deals this year.

Getting the Edge

Paul Hastings and Simpson Thacher are the latest in the Am Law 50 to have opened offices in Boston in recent years, following entrances by Covington & Burling, Arnold & Porter and Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld. Covington currently has the most boots on the ground with a team of 18 lawyers.

A combination of corporate work in life sciences and hiring opportunities out of local law schools has piqued the interest of Big Law firms, said Jennifer Moss, a Boston-based recruiter with Major Lindsey & Africa. Large firms moving into the city have “existing clients in the Boston market they’ve worked for and now they want to be on the ground here to expand those relationships,” Moss said.

“They see it as a way to build their client base in the Boston area,” Moss said. “These firms are also interested in the industries that are here in Boston, like financial services, private equity, and asset management. There’s a lot of great talent here coming out of the law schools here.”

Simpson Thacher’s Bonnie echoed Moss’ rationale for entering Boston, pointing to the talent recruiting opportunities and the ability to build closer ties with firm clients.

“There is talent in Boston and we have to provide a place for them to work,” said Bonnie, who splits his time between the firm’s Boston and DC offices. “There is something from clients’ perspective to working with lawyers who live in the same community. It gives you an edge from the client services perspective if you are situated with clients in the same area.”