A six-attorney group has departed Hogan & Hartson on the eve of the Hogan Lovells merger to open a new Washington, D.C. , office for a smaller, Connecticut-based law firm.

Led by partner James Ruggeri, it will continue to provide legal services to The Hartford Financial Services Group at the new Shipman & Goodwin office in the nation's capital, reports the Hartford Courant. Ruggieri is the Hartford's longtime national counsel for insurance coverage.

"Our presence in D.C. will also be a further boost to other current firm practices with national reach, including health care, government investigations, petroleum marketing, export-import compliance and bankruptcy," says Scott Murphy of the new office. He is managing partner for the Shipman firm, which has about 140 lawyers in offices in Hartford, Greenwich, Lakeville and Stamford, Conn.