The Shockoe Slip law firm of Butler Williams & Skilling disbanded and closed its doors Wednesday.
This morning, those doors reopened to house two new firms: Butler Royals PLC and Williams & Skilling PC. (BizSense first reported in May that the firm was disbanding.)
The six-lawyer firm, which had been together for almost 20 years, had two sides to its business. Partners Harris Butler and Rebecca Royals concentrated on employment law. Chuck Williams and Jim Skilling practiced commercial litigation.
Butler, who is president and partner of Butler Royals, said the split was amicable.
“It just got to a point of making sense that we’d go different directions,” Butler said.
They won’t have to go far to run into their old colleagues: The two firms will continue to share an office at 100 Shockoe Slip.
“Unlike most of these breakup deals, there’s really no animosity here,” Butler said. “There are no fights over clients. We’re all going to continue what we were doing. It’s just going to be under different banners.”
Chuck Williams did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Butler said the two firms will share an office until at least January and then will likely find separate digs. He said Williams & Skilling might look west of downtown. Butler Royals will look for space in the Slip, the Bottom or possibly across the river in Manchester.
Butler Royals will be the larger of the two, for now. In addition to its namesakes, Zev Antell and Paul Falabella came over from the predecessor firm as associates, along with two other employees.
And the firm will look to grow, Butler said.
“We’re not looking to be huge,” Butler said. “But we want to have enough presence and enough depth because we do take on large multinational corporations. I never want to feel like we’re outgunned.
On the business side of things, Butler, 55, said the firm got off the ground with the help of financing from a local bank.
It brought with it a track record from the previous firm that helped it secure the cash to launch.
“Because we’ve had distinct practice areas, we have a performance history when we go talk to banks, and it is right there on paper,” Butler said.
The firm keeps an operating line and a contingent line to fund cases that can go on for a while.
He wouldn’t give any exact numbers on how much revenue the new firm expects to generate in its first year, but it’s not exactly starting from scratch.
“It’s a startup in the sense that it’s a new entity, but we have a ton of cases in the works,” Butler said.
Butler Royals concentrates on representing plaintiff employees in employment law cases on issues such as unpaid overtime, executive severance, unlawful discharges and larger class action suits.
The larger class cases often bring in seven- and eight-figure settlements.
Now Butler Royals will work on getting that new name out there.
“We’ve never felt the freedom to be as vocal about what we do representing employees,” Butler said. “So that will be refreshing.”
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
The Shockoe Slip law firm of Butler Williams & Skilling disbanded and closed its doors Wednesday.
This morning, those doors reopened to house two new firms: Butler Royals PLC and Williams & Skilling PC. (BizSense first reported in May that the firm was disbanding.)
The six-lawyer firm, which had been together for almost 20 years, had two sides to its business. Partners Harris Butler and Rebecca Royals concentrated on employment law. Chuck Williams and Jim Skilling practiced commercial litigation.
Butler, who is president and partner of Butler Royals, said the split was amicable.
“It just got to a point of making sense that we’d go different directions,” Butler said.
They won’t have to go far to run into their old colleagues: The two firms will continue to share an office at 100 Shockoe Slip.
“Unlike most of these breakup deals, there’s really no animosity here,” Butler said. “There are no fights over clients. We’re all going to continue what we were doing. It’s just going to be under different banners.”
Chuck Williams did not respond to a request for comment by press time.
Butler said the two firms will share an office until at least January and then will likely find separate digs. He said Williams & Skilling might look west of downtown. Butler Royals will look for space in the Slip, the Bottom or possibly across the river in Manchester.
Butler Royals will be the larger of the two, for now. In addition to its namesakes, Zev Antell and Paul Falabella came over from the predecessor firm as associates, along with two other employees.
And the firm will look to grow, Butler said.
“We’re not looking to be huge,” Butler said. “But we want to have enough presence and enough depth because we do take on large multinational corporations. I never want to feel like we’re outgunned.
On the business side of things, Butler, 55, said the firm got off the ground with the help of financing from a local bank.
It brought with it a track record from the previous firm that helped it secure the cash to launch.
“Because we’ve had distinct practice areas, we have a performance history when we go talk to banks, and it is right there on paper,” Butler said.
The firm keeps an operating line and a contingent line to fund cases that can go on for a while.
He wouldn’t give any exact numbers on how much revenue the new firm expects to generate in its first year, but it’s not exactly starting from scratch.
“It’s a startup in the sense that it’s a new entity, but we have a ton of cases in the works,” Butler said.
Butler Royals concentrates on representing plaintiff employees in employment law cases on issues such as unpaid overtime, executive severance, unlawful discharges and larger class action suits.
The larger class cases often bring in seven- and eight-figure settlements.
Now Butler Royals will work on getting that new name out there.
“We’ve never felt the freedom to be as vocal about what we do representing employees,” Butler said. “So that will be refreshing.”
Michael Schwartz is a BizSense reporter. Please send news tips to [email protected].
I had the pleasure of working with Butler Williams & Skilling and think very highly of them all – professional, approachable, respectful, and smart. I have no doubt they will all do very well!