Raleigh law firm loses nearly all its attorneys to local competitor Poyner Spruill - Triangle Business Journal - Triangle Business Journal
A 30-year-old law practice in Raleigh is about to lose virtually all of its attorneys to one of the region’s biggest firms.
A nine-person team is leaving Raleigh’s Schwartz & Shaw PLLC to join Poyner Spruill, which is the fourth biggest law firm in the Triangle, according to TBJ research.
The departing team includes Brian Shaw, who became partner at Schwartz & Shaw in 1997. He said he “really didn’t want to get into the reasons” behind the departure when asked about it on Friday.
“The great majority of the attorneys felt that it was better to find a different environment,” Shaw said.
Schwartz did not return a request to comment on the move which, according to Shaw, leaves Schwartz as the only attorney at his firm.
Shaw said the team had looked at “several different opportunities,” but was particularly impressed with Poyner.
The team – which includes Shaw, Katie Cornetto, Rachel Hitch, Brandon McPherson, Laura Crumpler, Amy Clay, Rachel Nicholas, Grace Sykes and Rebecca Williams – will become Poyner’s new Education Law Practice Group, bringing with them clients such as Wilson County Schools and Franklin County Schools. And they’ll all be at Poyner by the first of November.
The Education Law Practice Group will be based in Raleigh, though attorneys will also spend time at Poyner’s Charlotte and Rocky Mount offices.
Dan Cahill, managing partner at Poyner, said his firm had worked with Cornetto on a case for the North Carolina Board of Education, and it was that relationship that led to conversations about hiring the team.
EnlargeDan Cahill, managing partner of Poyner Spruill
c/o Poyner Spruill
The move grows Poyner’s Raleigh office to more than 90 attorneys.
“This was a pretty bold move for us, adding about 10 percent of our attorneys,” Cahill said, adding it’s rare to acquire an entire practice group, but that his firm is always on the lookout for opportunities.
“We’re always looking for great talent who want to come and enjoy the supportive, welcoming culture we put together at Poyner Spruill,” Cahill said.
Poyner Spruill was formed by the 1986 merger of two of North Carolina’s oldest firms: Poyner, Geraghty, Hartsfield & Townsend of Raleigh and Spruill & Spruill of Rocky Mount and Raleigh.
Schwartz & Shaw, established in 1991, says on its website to have “performed services for more than ninety school systems in North Carolina and other states.”
Triangle Law Firms
Ranked by List ranking
| Rank | Firm name | No. of attorneys in the Triangle |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Smith Anderson Blount Dorsett Mitchell & Jernigan LLP | 139 |
| 2 | Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton LLP | 97 |
| 3 | Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP | 91 |
| View This List | ||
source: https://www.bizjournals.com/triangle/news/2021/10/25/attorneys-leave-schwartz-shaw-for-poyner-spruill.html
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