Sherwin R. Rubinstein
James V. Inendino
Roetzel & Andress LPA has picked up 11 attorneys from Kamensky, Rubinstein, Hochman & Delott LLP as it bulks up its health-care law practice.
The group of lawyers who joined Roetzel on Friday comprised 11 of KRHD’s 16 attorneys, including all four of its name partners. KRHD is currently going through liquidation.
“It represents a significant expansion in Chicago and represents a larger overall plan to grow the office,” said James V. Inendino, the Roetzel partner in charge of its Chicago office.
Founded in 1876, Roetzel handles litigation and transactional matters for corporate and commercial clients.
The firm has nearly 200 attorneys in 13 offices — several in Ohio and Florida plus Chicago, New York City and Washington, D.C.
Roetzel opened its Chicago office in 2011 after it acquired Lewis, Overbeck & Furman LLP. With the addition of the 11 new attorneys, the local office now has 18 lawyers.
KRHD had practices in healthcare law, business law, taxation, litigation, medical-malpractice defense, estate planning, pension and employee benefits and real estate. It opened in Chicago in 1971 and, for the past 31 years, had an office in Lincolnwood.
Sherwin R. Rubinstein, former KRHD co-managing partner, said the majority of the clients going to Roetzel are physicians and physician groups in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana.
The team of 11 attorneys joining Roetzel all practice health-care law, including compliance and regulatory matters. Some of the attorneys also practice corporate, business, taxation, estate planning, employment law and commercial litigation.
When the former firm’s attorneys started to look to affiliate with a new firm, Rubinstein said, they were attracted to Roetzel because of its work with institutional clients such as hospitals.
The former KRHD group brings small health-care provider clients and a regulatory practice that previously didn’t exist at Roetzel, Inendino said.
The firm can now offer health-care clients with more legal services regarding taxation, contracts and regulations involved in mergers and acquisitions between physician groups and hospitals.
“They really bring a general practice to us that has a medical specialty running through it,” Inendino said.
Along with Rubinstein, joining partners include Ericka L. Adler, Michael B. Brohman, Avery Delott, David J. Hochman, Marvin Kamensky and Ben M. Roth.
Lee J. Levin, James K. Shaw and John B. Waters are joining as counsel and Christina M. Kuta is joining as an associate.
Although there is no target number for Chicago attorneys, Inendino said Roetzel is looking to expand locally.
He said he anticipates further growth in commercial litigation, mergers and acquisitions, labor and corporate transactional work.
“The firm has not said to me, ‘You have to stop with Sherwin and his group,’” he said. “My goal is to have more lawyers than offices, which is always a good thing.”