US national law firm BakerHostetler has continued its West Coast expansion plans with the launch of a new office in San Francisco, with the firm hiring investigations and litigation partner Robb Adkins to run it. 

Adkins joins from Winston & Strawn, where he was managing partner of its San Francisco office and co-chair of its white collar practice. 

The San Francisco office is BakerHostetler’s 15th nationwide and fourth on the West Coast alongside locations in Los Angeles, Costa Mesa and Seattle.

Paul Schmidt, BakerHostetler’s chairman, said: “We’ve been strategically expanding our presence on the West Coast over the past year with marquee leaders in the law such as Robb. His addition is an important step in our continued commitment to strengthen our West Coast presence. He is a nationally recognised leader in complex white collar matters and we are delighted to have him serve as the head of our San Francisco office.”

The firm has added 17 lawyers to its California roster over the past 12 months, including partner William Oxley, who joined from Dechert in January as head of litigation for the firm’s Los Angeles office.

Eric Sagerman, managing partner of the firm’s Los Angeles office — who also joined from Winston & Strawn back in January 2019 — said: “We are thrilled to have a seasoned lawyer such as Robb join us. Robb and Bill are excellent additions to our firm-wide litigation group and enhance our abilities on the West Coast.”

Prior to his career at Winston & Strawn, Adkins served under President Obama as executive director of the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force and, before that, as an assistant US attorney in Orange County, California.

Adkins said: "It is a rare opportunity to get in on the ground floor and open an office for a national law firm. I look forward to working with outstanding lawyers I have known for most of my legal career, in either the government or private practice, to build a destination trial practice on the West Coast.”

Last month, UK law firm Ashurst opened its first West Coast practice in Los Angeles to focus on projects and project finance in the transport and social infrastructure sectors.

Texas also witnessed two office launches by major US firms, with Shearman & Sterling opening for business in Dallas and Perkins Coie adding Austin to its roster of offices.