A global employment law firm based in California has opened a practice in Portland by wooing five local lawyers to join it.

The new Portland office of Littler Global is made up of five attorneys who previously worked for Fisher & Phillips, a national law firm that specializes in employment law, Littler Global said Monday in a news release.

Joining Littler are shareholder Jonathan Shapiro, who previously served as regional managing partner of Fisher & Phillips’ Portland office, shareholders Melinda J. Caterine and David Strock, and associates Shiloh D. Theberge and Peter F. Herzog.

Shapiro said the five lawyers decided to switch alliances in December not because they were unhappy at Fisher & Phillips but because they saw opportunities in the resources and global reach Littler offered.

The new office at One Monument Square also has four support staff members for a total of nine employees, he said.

“We are excited to expand our footprint in New England building off the success of our offices in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,” Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, said in a joint statement. “Following the recent addition of four prestigious shareholders in our Atlanta office, bringing on this talented team further supports our strategy of attracting lateral groups that strengthen our position as the dominant single source solution provider for the domestic and global employer community.”

“Littler’s strong presence in the Northeast, across the U.S. and globally, combined with the deep subject matter knowledge of its network of attorneys, has given the firm an impressive ability to serve the wide-ranging needs of employers,” Shapiro said in the release. “Our team was also drawn to Littler’s commitment to developing technologies and innovative products that provide clients with more cost-effective and efficient legal services.”

Littler maintains a network of 1,000 attorneys in 60 offices worldwide. It represents management in employment and labor law, including litigation, mediation and negotiation.