Law360 Spotlights Crisham & Holman LLC

2 Attys Join Forces to Launch Denver Litigation Boutique

By Justin Wise

Law360 (February 18, 2021, 12:15 PM EST) -- A pair of attorneys from Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP and Greenberg Traurig LLP have launched a litigation boutique in the Denver metro area, becoming the latest group of litigators to spin off their practices and create their own shop in 2021.

John Crisham and David Holman launched Crisham & Holman LLC on Feb. 10 with plans for its "bread and butter" to be business-related disputes, Holman, a former Davis Graham partner, told Law360 Pulse on Wednesday.

Holman will bring to the firm an extensive natural resources and energy practice. Both he and Crisham, an ex-Greenberg Traurig shareholder, also have experience in handling class action defenses.

The two said in a joint interview that they worked together several years ago at Kirkland & Ellis. They also clerked for Tenth Circuit Judge Paul J. Kelly Jr. at separate times. Crisham said they began thinking about joining forces and starting their own boutique about a year ago.

"2020 and the pandemic had a kickstart effect," Crisham said, pointing to the way COVID-19 changed how many large firms operate and how lawyers can communicate with their clients.

"We saw the opportunity to provide a different model," he added.

Holman said he envisions the boutique will offer a "much leaner cost structure" for clients than BigLaw and will also be more flexible when it comes to alternative fee arrangements.

"We saw a chance to target clients who are looking for thorough litigators but don't really feel like they need the bells and whistles that go with large firms," he said.

In addition to natural resources litigation, Holman has represented clients in white collar and securities matters, and general business disputes, according to his firm bio. He spent the last seven years at Davis & Graham's Denver office, including three years as a partner in its trial department.

Crisham spent the last five years in the Denver office of Greenberg Traurig. His experience includes representations in environmental matters and employment law, among other things.

Crisham has appeared before 10 different U.S. Appeals Courts and the Supreme Court, his firm bio said. As a Kirkland attorney in 2013, he represented a drug manufacturer in a case where the high court held a user of a generic drug could not bring a state law design defect claim against the company.

Several attorneys have broken away from their firms to launch small boutiques this month. In early February, former Texas solicitor general and Baker Botts partner Scott Keller teamed up with a former top lawyer at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to start a Washington, D.C.-based litigation boutique. Seven Kasowitz Benson Torres LLP partners left the firm to launch litigation-focused Glenn Agre Bergman & Fuentes LLP.

Eight partners from Shearman & Sterling also formed a boutique focused exclusively on international arbitration and international law.

Advancements in technology, as well as an increase in alternative legal service providers, are making it easier for attorneys to launch smaller firms and continue to take on complex cases, legal consultants previously told Law360.

Holman agreed, citing, for example, how document management systems and document review platforms used to be in-house.

"None of that is true anymore," he said, noting it should allow Crisham & Holman to offer a "leaner model" to clients.

--Additional reporting by Xiumei Dong, Edward Moreno and Greg Ryan. Editing by Marygrace Murphy.

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