Polsinelli has announced it is opening a new office in Utah’s “Silicon Slopes”, in Park City. 

The firm claims it is the first among the Am Law 100 to open in the mountain resort town, which together with nearby Salt Lake City and Provo make up Utah’s growing centre for technology and innovation businesses. In recent years Park City has become a second home for many wealthy executives and industry leaders. 

The new office will be led by real estate finance lawyer Marla Bell, who also heads the Salt Lake City office Polsinelli opened about three years ago. The firm said Bell would serve as managing partner of both offices going forward. 

“Park City has evolved so much over the past decade and is a coveted destination for many of our national clients in real estate, private equity, venture capital and finance,” said Bell. “We are excited to engage with our clients here soon and expand our service offerings in the near future.”

Together the two offices will cover practice areas including real estate finance, real estate and private equity as well as venture capital, tech and data privacy, IP, litigation and labour and employment. 

Along with Bell, Rick Jordan, co-chair of Polsinelli’s venture capital and emerging growth companies practice, and Jeffrey Bell, chair of the immigration and global mobility practice, will make Park City their primary office location.

For her part Bell has been with Polsinelli for more than 25 years. She focuses on private debt and commerical real estate finance, including first mortgage loans, component notes and mezzanine financing and assets that include retail, hotel, office and industrial, among others. She also assists lenders with financings pursuant to repurchase facilities and secondary market sales and contributing loans to CLOs and CMBS securitisations. 

“Marla is nationally recognised for her practice and knows what it means to grow a business at Polsinelli. She will be an excellent leader for our efforts in Utah,” said Polsinelli chairman and CEO, Chase Simmons. 

“Park City offers us opportunities to complement our presence in the greater Salt Lake City area and connect with clients and talent in a growing market that is a draw for decision makers nationwide. We see a lot of potential for the firm in Utah and are excited to grow our presence there,” he added.

Polsinelli currently has around 14 lawyers across Salt Lake City and Park City but aims to increase that over the next few years to between 25 and 50, according to law.com. 

The office will be the national firm’s 23rd across the US and will be located in the centre of Park City, at 136 Heber Avenue. 

A number of Big Law firms have debuted in Salt Lake City in the past few years, as the city’s emerging tech and life sciences market combined with local talent and favourable taxes proved an enticing draw. Kirkland & Ellis, Greenberg Traurig, Wilson Sonsini and Mayer Brown have all opened offices there, as has Foley & Lardner.