In a year that proved turbulent for other Arizona firms, Ballard Spahr’s downtown Phoenix office added 13 lawyers, swelling to a total of 33 as the firm beefed up not only its bankruptcy practice, but also corporate, litigation, and intellectual property, according to firm Chairman Mark Stewart.
Among those hired was Joseph Kanefield, the former general counsel for Gov. Jan Brewer, who is establishing a government relations and lobbying group for Ballard in Arizona. Mr. Stewart said Ballard now has 13 offices and is considering expanding to other Western cities, including Denver, Las Vegas, San Diego, and Los Angeles.
One focus of the Phoenix office is a commercial real estate recovery group. Partner Jeffrey S. Pitcher told the Phoenix Business Journal that “we’ve been doing the distressed real estate side, but now we’re seeing investment. People are coming in and buying debt, and some are buying blocks of debt…. It’s a very active real estate market when the price is right.”