Law firm opens finance advisory firm in Charlotte

Schiff Hardin LLP, one of the oldest law firms in the U.S., has chosen Charlotte as headquarters of its new business advisory arm, the firm announced this week.

The nonlegal advisory affiliate, Schiff Hardin Strategic Advisers, is leasing space in the Carillon building uptown and will begin hiring senior professionals from the banking industry to support current clients and future growth plans. The company also has a Chicago branch office.

Longtime Charlotte resident Robert Piontek, a former executive at Bank of America Corp., Wachovia Corp. and KPMG consulting, will lead the company as chief executive and vice chairman. Stephen Antal, who held executive legal and leadership roles in the finance industry in Chicago, New Jersey and Charlotte, is president of Strategic Advisers.

Antal will also lead Schiff Hardin's new Charlotte law office.

Firm leaders said the move to Charlotte allows the company to expand its corporate finance, securities, financial services and mergers and acquisitions expertise. The advisory business will "bring a laser focus to the challenges facing our mid-sized and community banks," Piontek said in a news release

Strategic Advisers is building a core staff of experienced industry leaders but also plans to forge partnerships with leading accounting, investment banking, loan valuation, regulatory and joint venture firms, the company said.