Saratoga Business Journal
By Rod Bacon
Saratoga Springs is experiencing a significant increase in the number of law firms expanding their presence in the city.
Bond, Schoeneck & King PLLC is in the process of quadrupling their office space by moving from 258 Broadway, where they’ve been since 2017, into Congress Park Centre.
“It just made sense,” said Member Michael D. Billok, the resident attorney in that office, explaining why the firm opened its original Saratoga Springs location. “We had a lot of clients in and around the Saratoga area and north to Glens Falls, and its good to have an office where they can come and get personal counsel.”
He went on to say that during the past few years more attorneys from the Albany office were meeting with clients from the Saratoga area. He also noted that when they talk to attorneys interested in joining the firm many want to work in Saratoga Springs.
Tom Savino and Eric Simonds, associate brokers at CBRE Upstate NY, represented Congress Park Centre owner Manhattan-based Brause Realty Inc and JoAnn Potrzuski Cassidy, a licensed associate real estate broker at Julie & Co. Realty LLC represented the law firm.
The 11,000-square-foot space is being renovated by NLH Property Management Services, of Saratoga Springs. Occupancy is scheduled for late spring of this year.
Troy-based Madesign Architecture is designing the space.
Billok said the decision to move to a larger office is the direct result of the firm’s plans to recruit top legal talent. Some of the practice areas for which they are seeking attorneys include trusts and estates, environmental/land use, real estate litigation, and business tax policies.
“We’re open to speaking with anyone who is interested in joining our firm,” he said. “It’s one of those things that when we see good talent we’d like to grab them”
Bond, Schoeneck & King is a full-service law firm with more than 300 attorneys in 14 offices, 10 of which are in New York State. The others are in Florida, Kansas, Massachusetts, and New Jersey.
Another firm that has expanded into the Capital District is LippesMathias LLP. Headquartered in Buffalo, N.Y., it has 224 attorneys in 16 offices in the United States and one in Canada.
It established a presence in Albany in 2015 via a merger with Sheehan Greene Golderman and Jacques LLP. Started with 10 attorneys, that office has grown to 18 attorneys and 8 professional staff members.
“We have grown in the practice areas of trusts & estates, litigation, and financial restructuring & insolvency, among others,” said Managing Partner and Chairman Kevin J. Cross. “The firm has tripled its client base since opening this office.”
In 2023 they opened an office in Saratoga Springs when they partnered with Karl Sleight, who held several senior roles in state government before returning to private practice.
He said the office has grown from two to five attorneys since 2023, with two staff members.
On January 1, 2025, Harris Beach PLLC combined with Murtha Cullina LLP to form Harris Beach Murtha in the Capital District, creating a firm with more than 250 attorneys practicing from 17 offices across four states. That year more than 40 attorneys were added in offices across the firm. Harris Beach had an established office in Saratoga Springs that relocated to a larger space in 2021.
“Our firm continues to experience explosive growth and we are positioned for continued growth across the firm,” said Mathew P. Barry, managing partner of the Capital District offices. “We are actively looking to grow in Saratoga County.”
Other law firms that have established a significant presence recently in Saratoga Springs include:
* Herzog Law Firm, which relocated to a larger office space at 60 Railroad Place in 2024.
* The Colwell Law Group, which opened an office at 18 Division Street in 2022.