SYRACUSE — The law firm Bond Schoeneck & King, PLLC of Syracuse is forming a new practice group focusing on long-term care after the addition of six new attorneys from a firm specializing in that field.

All six lawyers from the Albany–based firm of Ruffo Tabora Mainello & McKay, P.C. (RTMM) joined Bond effective Jan. 1.

“We saw an opportunity to bring in a new skill set, lots of new skill sets with some very, very good lawyers,” says Richard Hole, chairman of Bond’s management committee.

Two of the new attorneys, David Ruffo and Raul Tabora, will co-chair the new practice group. The others joining Bond are Mark Mainello, John McKay, John Darling, and Damien Bielli.

The group serves long-term care providers like nursing homes and assisted-living facilities in areas including regulatory compliance, licensing, business restructuring, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, employee benefits and executive compensation, labor and employment law, and government relations, according to Bond.

Bond already had a large health-care team in place, Hole notes, and worked with clients in long-term care on issues often involving labor law and employee benefits. Bond and RTMM worked together with some clients in the past.

The attorneys from RTMM bring a level of expertise and concentration on issues specific to long-term care that will help Bond grow its health care work, Hole says.

“Within our plans, clearly, one of the things we are focused on is growing our health care practice. It’s gotten a lot of attention here,” he says. “There’s so much activity in this area. And it’s not going to abate.”

RTMM was not necessarily looking to join up with a larger firm, Tabora says. The law firm began in 2003 and has developed a solid statewide reputation for its long-term care work, he says.

Tabora adds he’s had discussions with other larger firms like Bond in the past, but the fit was never right. He and an attorney in Bond’s Albany office got to know each other through the New York State Bar Association’s Health Law Section.

That led to the discussions about joining together, Tabora says. Health care clients, he notes, are demanding more efficiency from their legal teams as the industry faces growing cost pressures and other changes.

Investments like technology upgrades are tough for a small firm like RTMM, Tabora says. And because of its small size, the firm was never able to grow beyond its core client base.

Joining up with Bond will help that, he says. Nursing homes, assisted-living facilities, and home health agencies are all facing new challenges as a result of health-care reform.

“The health-care industry right now is going through monumental change,” Tabora says.

The RTMM attorneys, who were located at offices in Albany, Pittsford, and Lake Success, will join Bond’s offices in Albany, Rochester, and Garden City. Bond, with more than 200 attorneys, has additional offices in Buffalo, Ithaca, New York City, Oswego, Utica, Overland Park, Kan., and Naples, Fla.

Bond Schoeneck & King has more than 400 total employees, including attorneys and support staff. The firm is headquartered in 89,000 square feet at One Lincoln Center in downtown Syracuse.

Contact Tampone at ktampone@cnybj.com