Partners John Garrett, Marcello DeFrenza, Henry Stiepel, Donald Hickman and associate Daniel Cho officially opened for business on March 1st as Garrett DeFrenza Stiepel LLP. Their decision to form the new firm was sparked by the general escalation in billing rates by large, multinational firms. According to Garrett, larger firms are pricing themselves out of certain types of legal services. "By taking advantage of the lower overhead of a smaller firm, we can provide our clients with exceptional service at reasonable rates," DeFrenza adds.

The new firm specializes in real estate, tax, and corporate and related business matters. Areas of expertise include landlord and tenant representation, real estate developments, and construction issues, joint ventures, tax advice and planning. Clients include regional, national and multinational developers, institutions, property management companies and other individuals in development, purchase and sale, financing and leasing matters.