Some companies are too small to be potential clients for the mid-Atlantic's largest law firms,
but big enough that they need more help than a tiny legal shop can provide.

Howard County-based law firm Offit Kurman is gunning to fill that gap.

Offit Kurman, with about 32 lawyers in Baltimore and Howard counties, has made several recent growth moves in an effort to build itself into a go-to law firm for local midsize companies. Last month, the four partners of Baltimore's Scaldara & Potler joined Offit Kurman. The firm also opened a small office in Philadelphia in November, and is eyeing the Northern Virginia market for expansion.

"We're trying to regionalize our presence," said partner Theodore Offit.

Offit Kurman isn't alone. In recent years, legal mergers have created national and international megafirms. DLA Piper, the second-largest law firm in Baltimore, was created from a three-way merger in which one of the parties was a British firm.

Against that backdrop, some smaller law firms nationwide are looking to bulk up to grab a share of
the desirable client base that's not quite big enough for the megafirms.

Smaller firms "are looking to expand their practices, expand geographically and continue to grow with their clients," said Lisa Smith, vice president in the Washington, D.C., office of Hildebrandt International, a consultant to professional service firms.

Offit Kurman has been adding small groups of lawyers since 2001, most recently the partners from Scaldara & Potler. Offit Kurman did not buy Scaldara & Potler's assets, but rather brought the firm's partners into Offit Kurman's partnership system, Offit said.

The addition of Scaldara & Potler will give Offit Kurman government contracting expertise, Offit said. That's a key asset in landing clients in the mid-Atlantic, where proximity to the federal government in Washington, D.C., means fertile ground for contractors.

And joining with Offit Kurman gives the Scaldara & Potler group access to expertise in estate planning and real estate, two areas where the firm was not very active, said Buddy Potler, now a partner in Offit Kurman's litigation group.

"It looked like a great opportunity to join forces with a fast-growing regional law firm," he said.