Powell Goldstein in Serious Merger Talks With Womble Carlyle
Powell Goldstein’s merger talks with Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice are getting serious, sources tell Legal Times.
The Atlanta-based Powell Goldstein has been plagued by departures in its Washington, D.C., office and has struggled to grow. A merger with Womble Carlyle, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., “would create an 800-lawyer regional powerhouse with combined revenues of nearly $400 million,” the legal publication says.
Powell Goldstein’s D.C. office suffered a blow when its 33-lawyer international trade group jumped to Sidley Austin in 2002, the story says. More defections have followed. Last week, four of the firm’s D.C. health care partners went to Ropes & Gray, including rainmaker Larry Gage. This week the head of the firm’s tax group, Michael Sanders, goes to Blank Rome, joined by three other lawyers.
