Seattle. Photo: Albert Pego/Shutterstock.comSeyfarth Shaw on Tuesday announced its formal launch into Seattle with a team of 13 lawyers, finally adding what one partner described as a “missing toe” to the firm’s geographic footprint.
The firm has been building up its presence in Seattle for months, starting with the recruitment of a real estate team from Summit Law Group led by Denice Tokunaga, now one of the co-office managing partners in Seattle. Leading the office with Tokunaga is Thomas Wybenga, a longtime Seyfarth lawyer who migrated from Los Angeles to Seattle 16 years ago.
Thomas Wybenga, with Seyfarth Shaw.“We have seen the Pacific Northwest as sort of a missing toe, if you will,” Wybenga said. “We have been fortunate to have excellent client relationships in this entire region for decades. So really, selecting Seattle was a natural progression for our domestic expansion, and is in line with our desire to be near our clients, to be able to have a presence in key regions. We view Seattle as the natural next step for Seyfarth domestically.”
Seyfarth’s decision to launch in Seattle comes as it and other law firms have been struggling with the economic effects of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. As a result of the pandemic, Seyfarth has reduced equity partner draws by 20%, cut salaries between 5-10% and furloughed 10% of its U.S. workforce for 90 days.
The effects of the pandemic can be felt on the ground in Seattle, where Seyfarth is having a new office for its employees built atop 999 Third Ave., a building that’s now named the DocuSign Tower but is still referred to as the Wells Fargo Center by Tokunaga and Wybenga. The stay-at-home orders implemented by Gov. Jay Inslee have affected the construction of the new office, Tokunaga said.
If all goes according to plan, Seyfarth’s new office will be finished by September, Wybenga said. Right now the firm is renting out space on another floor at 999 Third Ave. Tokunaga said the pandemic did not drive the timing of the firm’s formal launch. Instead, she pointed to the team the firm has built in Seattle, which includes seven partners, counting Tokunaga and Wybenga.
Denice Tokunaga, with Seyfarth Shaw.“Factors came into play. Things are falling into place and we’re learning to navigate these challenges with the pandemic, and it felt like the right time,” Tokunaga said. The last partner Seyfarth added to its ranks in Seattle was Robert Over from Keller Rohrback in March.
Seyfarth managing partner Peter Miller told The American Lawyer in March that the firm would formally launch its office in Seattle this year. The firm is also eyeing an expansion into Dallas. Last year, the firm opened an office in Charlotte, North Carolina, with two veteran partners who already live there.
The pandemic has not affected the firm’s strategy for the Emerald City. Wybenga said the office is key to cementing the firm’s current relationships in the Pacific Northwest as well as attracting new clients. Although the international outbreak of the novel coronavirus means Seyfarth cannot hold a big party celebrating its new office opening, there are plenty of companies in Seattle that know Seyfarth and are clients of it, Wybenga said.
“Actually being here, in a brick-and-mortar presence … it will really benefit the firm to have a formal announcement and a marketing strategy and the ability to really get into the market, and for people to see the kind of talent we’re assembling, all of whom have a Seattle-area network of their own,” Wybenga said.
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