Foley Chairman Daljit Doogal Talks Strategic Growth, Expansion into Three New Markets on Podcast
天美传媒; Lardner LLP Chairman and CEO Daljit Doogal joined an episode of the podcast with Bloomberg Law to tell the story of Foley鈥檚 successful strategic expansion into three emerging legal markets within the last four years.
Doogal discussed the firm鈥檚 entry into Salt Lake City, Raleigh, and Nashville 鈥 markets exceptionally aligned with the firm鈥檚 Energy & Infrastructure, Health Care & Life Sciences, Innovative Technology, and Manufacturing Sectors.
鈥淲e’re not looking at growth for growth’s sake,鈥 said Doogal. 鈥淲e’re looking to be in markets that really align with [the firm’s] sectors of focus [that are] very important areas of our firm and areas we have significant strengths.鈥
Describing the motivations for the 2021 launch of Foley鈥檚 Salt Lake City office, Doogal shared how the firm was attracted to city鈥檚 burgeoning technology industry and impressive talent pool. 鈥淟ooking at the clients and where the clients were moving, we thought it was important for us to be there to service them,鈥 he explained. 鈥淎lso, it’s a market that has an incredibly robust amount of talent. It was a natural fit for us to be thinking about that market because it aligned with our strategy,鈥 he added.
That vision of thoughtful growth also guided Foley鈥檚 entry into Raleigh in 2024 and the recent 2025 opening of the firm鈥檚 Nashville office, given these cities鈥 vibrant health care and life sciences environments, as well as strong ties to the technology and manufacturing industries.
Doogal noted that Raleigh 鈥渨as a market that made a lot of sense, given our focus on middle-market [and] upper-middle market companies鈥 and 鈥淣ashville is a health care hotbed鈥 so 鈥済iven the strength of our health care practice, it was just a matter of time before we moved into that market.鈥
Regarding the firm鈥檚 overall recent growth, he said, 鈥渨hen we go into a market, we want to deeply root ourselves in that market, service clients in that market, and bring on people in that market,鈥 underscoring that 鈥渨e鈥檙e all about people and this is what our business is as a law firm.鈥 He went on to say it鈥檚 important to 鈥渂e where our clients are鈥 and 鈥渉ire local people who are committed to local clients in that market and ingrained in the community.鈥
As these newer offices continue to expand, Doogal noted, 鈥渨e view ourselves as a national law firm that’s fully integrated,鈥 emphasizing that 鈥渢he culture is the most important. Our business is around our people.鈥
Reflecting on the firm鈥檚 performance at the midyear mark, Doogal is optimistic. 鈥淪o far so good this year, we’re doing well. We have a strong corporate practice, strong litigation, [and] strong intellectual property group鈥hat balance each other out.鈥
Listen to the full interview for more on Foley鈥檚 innovative approach to growth and culture across all major podcast platforms, including , , and .