Summary: Burleson LLP cuts five attorneys from its Southpointe office.
According to the Pittsburgh Business Times, Burleson LLP,
One of the five attorneys cut is Kevin Colosimo, who has been the office’s managing partner for five years.
Richard Burleson, the firmwide managing partner, says, “It’s no secret that the oil and gas industry is going through a very difficult time and because this is our specialty, it’s most of our lawyers.”
He continues, “we’re not immune to the downtown people are experiencing. We’ve had to size our business accordingly and not just in Pittsburgh. Firmwide, we had to make adjustments to our staff.”
Last year, the firm opened a New York office.
Keith Zabela, who was one of the original four attorneys hired when the firm opened the Southpointe office in 2009, will take over as managing partner of that location. He headed Burleson’s Oil and Gas Title and Rapid Response Due Diligence practice groups in the Appalachian region for six years.
Burleson comments, “Keith is the obvious person. He’s been the manager of most of the people in the office for a long time. He’s been instrumental in establishing the client relationships, servicing those clients and managing the work for them in a very hands-on way.”
Colosimo was named managing partner in 2010.
According to PR Newswire, Burleson has also stated, “Keith . . . has a broad understanding not only of energy law, but also of the issues and concerns facing the energy industry companies.”
The firm recently increased to 39 attorneys and came in at number 18 in the Business Times’ list of largest regional law firms with the most local attorneys. Prior to opening the office, Burleson traveled to Pittsburgh frequently for about a year to advise clients.
In January, Blank Rome announced that it plans to open a Pittsburgh office.
The Southpointe office now has 31 attorneys, according to the Burleson LLP website.
Source: Pittsburgh Business Times
Photo credit: ipaa.org, Houston Business Journal (Burleson), PR Newswire (Zabela), Pittsburgh Business Times (Colosimo)