Bring on those lawyers!

Adding to L.A.'s unquenchable thirst for attorneys are several out-of-town firms that have opened downtown and Century City outposts over the past year - and they're doing pretty well, according to The Recorder's Kellie Schmitt. Boston-based Goodwin Procter started with five partners and has now grown to 23 attorneys. That includes seven from Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, along with hires from Latham & Watkins and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman. Other firms moving in are Washington, D.C.-based Steptoe & Johnson and Washington, D.C.-based Venable. Legal recruiter L. William Nason describes the new arrivals as "Eastern firms that are very stable, have very good attorneys, and they're the new kid on the block, with no taint of being around here, swinging and missing."