Ogletree Deakins Rings in the New Year with New Offices in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh

ATLANTA – January 2, 2007 – Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. (Ogletree Deakins), the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, is proud to announce the firm has opened offices in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh – further expanding the firm’s ability to represent clients on a national scale. With the addition of these offices, Ogletree Deakins now has 28 locations across the United States strategically positioned to help employers with their legal needs.

Founding shareholders Dan Pace, Bruce G. Hearey, and Wade M. Fricke opened the firm’s Cleveland office on January 1. Collectively they bring nearly 75 years of legal experience to Ogletree Deakins and represent many of Cleveland’s top employers on employment matters including labor negotiations, arbitrations of disputes, wage and hour issues, union representation elections, supervisor training, equal employment and other litigation.

The firm’s offices in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh were also established on January 1, through two separate mergers with individual stand-alone labor and employment law firms. Philadelphia firm Simon Moran, P.C. and Pittsburgh firm Polito & Smock, P.C. both merged into Ogletree Deakins, creating a strong presence for the firm in Pennsylvania.

In Philadelphia, attorneys Barry Simon and Christopher J. Moran opened the new office as shareholders of the firm and together have over 45 years of labor and employment law experience. They are joined by former Simon Moran colleagues Dara Penn Newman and Susan O’Neill. Newman holds an associate position with the firm and O’Neill joined as of counsel. Their collective experience includes defending wrongful discharge and employment discrimination claims, handling labor arbitrations and injunction proceedings, as well as advising employers on the proper procedures for hiring, counseling and terminating employees.

Founding shareholders Thomas A. Smock, Michael D. Glass, John C. Artz, and Jack Owen, III opened the firm’s Pittsburgh office, along with former Polito & Smock colleagues Jean M. Simmonds and John H. Riordan, Jr. Simmonds holds an associate position with the firm and Riordan joined as of counsel. With over 100 years of experience, the group’s expertise includes: assisting employers facing union representation campaigns, labor negotiations or unfair labor practice charges; handling employment discrimination litigation; defending wrongful discharge, wage and hour, workplace safety and health lawsuits; and negotiating employee benefit and ERISA issues.

“This is an exciting time for Ogletree Deakins as we’ve experienced tremendous growth over the last five years. In that period of time we’ve doubled the number of our offices from 14 to 28 and have grown from 165 attorneys to 350,” said Gray Geddie, managing shareholder of Ogletree Deakins. “Adding offices in Cleveland, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh was a natural progression for us and has enabled the firm to better serve our clients with operations in these locations. Our mission has always been to provide premier client service – not to become the biggest law firm. By focusing on our clients, we’ve been able to grow our legal work into new areas of the country in order to meet their expanding needs.”

About Ogletree Deakins

Ogletree Deakins is the nation’s third largest labor and employment law firm, representing management in all types of employment-related legal matters. The firm has 350 lawyers located in 28 offices from Miami to Los Angeles. In addition to handling labor and employment law matters, the firm has thriving practices focused on business immigration, employee benefits, and workplace safety and health law. Ogletree Deakins represents a diverse range of clients, including more than half of the Fortune 50 corporations in the U.S.

For more information, please contact Karen Gonzales at 210-277-3606 or Joe Beachboard at 310-217-1454.