Large Atlanta law firm nabs rival’s team to open new office

Atlanta law firm Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest firms of its kind globally, is opening its 61st office with a nine-lawyer team it poached from competitor Littler Mendelson in Monterrey, Mexico.

The team, led by partner David Leal González, spent more than a decade at Littler before making the move with clients to Ogletree at the start of this month. Both firms are among the largest multinational labor and employment law firms focused on representing management.

Ogletree’s new office in Monterrey is its second in Mexico and first to open this year.

The firm’s expansion comes as more law firms are entering the local legal market and teams of Atlanta attorneys are jumping ship or setting up on their own.

“When we met David’s group, it was just very easy to say that this is where we need to be, for sure,” Ogletree’s managing shareholder, Liz Washko, told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “There’s a lot of good reasons to be in Monterrey, but having David’s group just made that the easy call.”

Leal González said Monterrey, the capital and largest city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León, is an industrial and economic hub that has become “an integral part of the North America business ecosystem.” The Monterrey metropolitan area has more than 5 million residents and is home to many large Mexican and international companies.

Leal González told the AJC he has tremendous respect for his former colleagues at Littler but couldn’t pass up the chance to help Ogletree grow.

“This was not a decision made lightly,” he said. “But the opportunity to join Ogletree, build a Monterrey office and help expand the platform in Mexico, it was simply too compelling. It was impossible to say no to this possibility.”

A Littler spokesperson told the AJC the San Francisco-headquartered firm, which has three offices in Mexico, remains well positioned to serve employers there.

“We wish our former colleagues the best in their future endeavors,” the spokesperson said in a statement. ”Drawing on a robust local team that is supported by Littler’s broader global platform, including offices in 12 markets across Latin America, we are excited about the continued growth and success of our Monterrey, Mexico City and Saltillo offices.”

Ogletree, which has around 1,100 lawyers, first opened an office in Mexico almost 11 years ago, in Mexico City, Washko said. She said she expects the Monterrey office to grow as the firm sees increasing demand for its services.

“We’re trying to make sure that we are where our clients need us to be,” she said. “Mexico has its own unique set of employment laws and challenges for employers, and so there’s certainly a lot of opportunity there for us to be able to serve our clients.”

Alongside Leal González, Ogletree has added partners Rogelio ‘Roger’ Alanis Robles and Luis Cortés Salazar in Monterrey, as well as five associates and a law clerk.

The team handles “complex cross-border workforce issues,” among other things, for clients such as multinational employers operating across North America, Leal González said. He said Ogletree’s global reach, strength throughout the United States and its client-focused culture were part of the attraction.