Edwin M. Baum and Alan B. Howard joined Perkins Coie as partners in the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice in New York. They will join the Securities Litigation and Business Litigation subgroups, respectively.

“Ed and Alan are tremendously important hires for the New York office and key to our continued market expansion,” said Keith Miller, Perkins Coie’s New York office managing partner. “Their impressive backgrounds and reputations are consistent with the firm’s emphasis on professional excellence, and they will help us continue to display strong value to our clients regionally and beyond.”

Baum will concentrate his practice on mergers and acquisitions and securities/financial services litigation, working with companies in the pharmaceutical, information technology, financial services, automotive, transportation and industrial products sectors.

Baum joins the firm from Crowell & Moring, where he led the litigation practice as managing partner of the firm’s New York office and member of the firm-wide management board.

Howard has more than 25 years of litigation and arbitration experience in complex commercial contract disputes, cross-border litigation and international mediations. He has successfully tried high-stakes contract claims, securities claims and business torts in a range of industries.

Howard also joins Perkins Coie from Crowell & Moring, where he was a partner. He is the former chair of the board of directors of the Southern Poverty Law Center and was named Trial Lawyer of the Year in 2016 by Public Justice.

These additions follow on Perkins Coie’s recent announcement that the firm will move to a new workspace in New York next year to accommodate its recent significant growth.