Taft's revenue ranking 'will move up substantially' after planned merger, law firm says
Taft Stettinius & Hollister plans to merge with Denver-based Sherman & Howard, creating a law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers. (Image from Shutterstock)
Taft Stettinius & Hollister plans to merge with Denver-based Sherman & Howard, creating a law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers.
Taft’s ranking in the Am Law 100 “will move up substantially following the merger,” according to a Sept. 23 press release. Combined 2024 revenues for Taft and Sherman & Howard are estimated to be $810 million, and projected revenues for 2025 are $875 million.
The projected revenue could lead to a 20-spot jump in the rankings, Law.com reports.
Taft’s revenues have increased to more than 400% of what they were at the beginning of 2017 as a result of “significant organic growth and strategic mergers in expansion markets,” according to the press release.
Taft, which was founded in Cincinnati, has completed six mergers in the last 16 years. Sherman & Howard, on the other hand, has completed four mergers in the last 17 years. It currently has 125 lawyers.
Taft will gain Sherman & Howard offices in Phoenix and Denver, where Taft currently has small offices.
“Denver and the related areas and Phoenix have been … high on Taft’s list for a long time,” Robert Hicks, chairman and managing partner at Taft, told Bloomberg Law.
“This is our opening to become a very relevant and dominant firm in the Mountain West,” Hicks said.
Hicks told Bloomberg Law and Law.com that Taft is considering other potential tie-ups. Florida and the Northeast are two potential sites, Hicks told Bloomberg Law. He cautioned in his Law.com interview, however, that “I normally talk to 20 or 30 firms before I find one that’s viable.”
Taft has a cohesive “One Taft” delivery model but gives “great deference and decision-making autonomy to local market leadership,” the press release said.
The combined firm will have offices in 10 states and Washington, D.C., after the merger, scheduled to take place Jan. 1.
