Law firm continues as Lanahan Steever & Anderson LLP

Lanahan & Reilley, once Sonoma County's largest law firm, has announced changes in both its name and its leadership.

Founders Daniel J. Lanahan and Martin L. Reilley are leaving the Santa Rosa firm.

Lanahan announced he will enter "full retirement" from the firm after working on a semi-retired basis for the past four years. And Reilley is leaving the firm "to pursue other interests," according to a press release.

Both men will continue to hold a financial interest in the firm, said Bob Anderson, a partner.

Neither Lanahan nor Reilley could be reached for comment Wednesday or Thursday.

The firm will continue under the name Lanahan Steever & Anderson LLP. The managing partner is Scott Steever, Anderson said.

The firm has 12 attorneys, half of them partners, Anderson said. It concentrates on corporate, business and environmental law, along with estate planning and litigation. Among its business specialty areas are real estate, wine and agriculture.

Founded in 1996, Lanahan & Reilley quickly rose to become the county's largest law firm. In 2000 it had 45 attorneys, according to the North Bay Business Journal.

In those years, Lanahan & Reilley had offices in Santa Rosa, San Francisco, San Jose and Sacramento. Prominent attorneys who at one time worked there include state Assemblywoman Noreen Evans, Sonoma County Superior Court Presiding Judge Gary Nadler and former Congressman Doug Bosco.

The firm eventually pulled back by closing "unprofitable offices, particularly in anticipation of the downturn in the economy," Anderson said.

In recent years, the firm has gotten more work in litigation and environmental law, he said. But less work has come to the firm involving real estate transactions, start-up ventures, mergers and acquisitions, and securities and corporate finance.

Lanahan Steever & Anderson will continue to operate a small satellite office in San Francisco, Anderson said. The partners have no plans to move from their headquarters at 600 Bicentennial Ave., across the street from the Kaiser Permanente Medical Center.