Bond, Schoeneck & King and Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson to Combine

March 10, 2021

Bond, Schoeneck & King

(New York, NY): As the New York City region looks forward to business renewal and post-COVID recovery, two century-old New York state firms will join forces to enhance the legal services they provide to their clients. Bond is pleased to announce that the lawyers of Putney, Twombly, Hall & Hirson will become part of our firm on April 1, 2021.

Kevin Bernstein, chair of Bond’s management committee, described the move as a logical continuation of the firm’s original business plan for downstate New York: “Eighteen years ago, Bond opened its offices in Garden City and New York City with an emphasis on labor and employment law focused on health care and higher education sectors. Over the years, we have been able to significantly grow those practice areas, representing some of the largest health care and educational institutions. The addition of Putney, with its own 155-year New York City history of providing labor and employment services (as well as services in other areas) and tremendous strength in healthcare and higher education, make this a natural next step for our downstate footprint.”

But this fit extends beyond just downstate, as labor and employment, healthcare and higher education represent three of the largest practice areas across all of Bond, which has offices in New York State (8), as well as in Boston, Kansas City and Naples, Florida and 250 lawyers. 

According to Putney managing partner, Daniel Murphy, Putney had been approached by potential combination partners for years. “But when Bond came knocking, we had to seriously consider Bond because of its cultural match and the fact that, together, we offer greater strength to each other’s clients in our strongest practices and industry concentrations.”

Dan added, “In addition, our trust and estate, corporate and litigation attorneys will allow Bond to extend their existing practice areas to New York City and Long Island. Putney clients will now also gain access to the numerous practice areas offered by Bond, such as employee benefits, immigration, OSHA, cybersecurity, intellectual property, creditor’s rights and NCAA work. 

Interestingly, Dan and Lou DiLorenzo, founder of Bond’s New York City and Garden City offices, have been friends, colleagues and competitors for decades. They believe their previous combination talks over the years confirmed the cultural fit and planted the seeds for the April 1, 2021 combination. Although Lou is excited about the labor and employment-related opportunities, he also sees much more for all concerned: “Putney will greatly enhance Bond’s downstate strengths and extend several practice areas to our downstate offices. We look forward to embracing them as colleagues and watching the clients of both firms reap the benefits of this combination. Personally, I will enjoy no longer competing against them – they are very good lawyers, and the markets in New York City and Long Island have known that for a long time.”

Bond’s existing New York City and Garden City offices will accommodate the 15 Putney attorneys. Monica Barrett (former general counsel to Rutgers University), Lou DiLorenzo and Dan Murphy will co-manage the New York City office where most of the Putney attorneys will reside. Putney also has a New Jersey office giving Bond a foothold in a new state.