The law firm shuffle

The rainy fall has ushered in an unseasonably high amount of firm-hopping.

Cantor Arkema will be dropping its business practice, sticking with just personal injury. The firm has been renamed Cantor Stoneburner Ford Grana Buckner. Two of the former lawyers are leaving for a firm up the street, and four others are heading to a larger business law firm. The new firm has a place-holder website up here.

Four other attorneys have left and joined LeClair Ryan. They are:

- Grant Grayson
- Dwight Hopewell
- Kevin Pomfret
-John Selbach

Two of the firms leaders, Bruce Arkema and Kevin Funk, have joined DurretteBradshaw.

BizSense was unable to reach either Arkema or Funk by press time.

Wyatt Durrette, a managing partner at the DurretteBradshaw, said Arkema and Funk would help the firm expand. Bruce Arkema will be a shareholder. Both handle business litigation and some bankruptcy work, Durrette said.

There is some concern among bankruptcy practices that the big bankruptcy cases are winding down, such as LandAmerica, S&K and Circuit City. However, small businesses are declaring bankruptcy at a much higher pace than in previous months, which would mean more work for bankruptcy practices.

DurretteBradshaw won’t be adding “Funk” or “Arkema” to its shingle.

“We decided years ago when we became DurretteBradshaw [that] we needed to establish an identity in the marketplace,” Durrette said.

“In order to do that, we needed to stay with the name. A lot of firms haven’t done that.”

The firm may also take the office of Cantor Arkema at 1111 E. Main Street and leave their current digs at 600 E. Main Street, Durrette said.

Also on the legal beat: Hirschler Fleisher has laid off two lawyers in the past four weeks, the company said.

A source who spoke on condition of anonymity said one was a litigation associate and the other was in real estate. The source also said the firm let go four or five support staff.

A company spokesperson said Hirschler Fleischer would be hiring three attorneys to start in January.

Aaron Kremer is the BizSense editor. Please send news tips to Editor@richmondbizsense.com.