Mergers & Acquisitions

Orrick Merges with 55-Lawyer German Firm

Mergers with German law firms were all the rage in 2001, and then came several years of relative quiet. Now there is a new merger to report: The 55-lawyer German firm Hölters & Elsing will merge with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe. Orrick chairman and CEO Ralph Baxter told the Daily…

Sep 16, 2008 12:48 PM CDT

Lehman’s Impact Stretches from Corporate Lawyers to Litigators

It’s not just corporate lawyers who fear the ripple effect from the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy. Litigators and plaintiffs lawyers are also worried. New York law firms dominate the market because of their work for investment banks. They fear turmoil in the financial markets could lead to more bankruptcies and new…

Sep 16, 2008 11:39 AM CDT

Wachtell and Shearman Advised on Bank of America Deal

Updated: Once again, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz is playing a prominent role in the takeover of a failed institution. Wachtell represented Bank of America in marathon negotiations at the law firm this weekend that produced the deal to buy Merrill Lynch & Co. for $50 billion, the Wall Street…

Sep 15, 2008 11:44 AM CDT

Financial Issues May Be Holding Up WolfBlock-Akerman Merger

Financial issues are the real reason for a delay in the merger of the law firms WolfBlock and Akerman Senterfitt, according to anonymous sources who spoke to the National Law Journal. Previous stories had identified a conflict as the reason for the holdup. That’s the party line, said one source…

Aug 18, 2008 12:46 PM CDT

Morgan Lewis No. 1 in Survey of Litigation Firms Used by Fortune 100

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius came out on top in a Corporate Counsel survey of law firms most often used in Fortune 100 litigation last year. Helping propel Morgan Lewis into the top spot was employment and labor work, making up half of the matters the firm worked on and captured…

Aug 18, 2008 11:01 AM CDT

Client Conflict Snags Akerman-WolfBlock Merger

An undisclosed client conflict is delaying the proposed marriage of the mid-Atlantic’s WolfBlock to Florida’s Akerman Senterfitt. The firms, which combined would be 800 lawyers strong, released a joint statement this week confirming merger talks, but noting that a client conflict needs to be hammered out. “While it continues to…

Aug 8, 2008 10:44 AM CDT

WolfBlock & Akerman Senterfitt to Form 800-Lawyer Firm

It’s still not official. But Philadelphia-based WolfBlock and Miami’s Akerman Senterfitt are reportedly about to merge, creating an 800-plus attorney firm. “The executive committees of both firms have signed off on the deal, and votes by partners at WolfBlock and Akerman are expected shortly,” reports the Philadelphia Inquirer. The planned…

Jul 21, 2008 3:48 PM CDT

White & Case Partners Jump Ship in New York & Germany

A five-lawyer group of capital markets practitioners in Düsseldorf, Germany, is moving from White & Case’s office there to DLA Piper’s as of Aug. 1. It is headed by partners Andreas Meyer-Landrut and Kerstin Schnabel, and also includes associates Uta Carpier, Meike Dresler-Lenz and Cornelia Wendel, reports Legal Week. Meanwhile,…

Jul 9, 2008 7:09 PM CDT

6 Schwartz Cooper Refugees Pass Up Dykema, Choose Ungaretti

Not everyone at the soon-to-be shuttered Schwartz Cooper believes that bigger is better. Indeed, a group of six from the firm’s intellectual property law group have decided to shift to Chicago’s venerable Ungaretti & Harris rather than join their colleagues going to Detroit-based Dykema. “A merger was not what we…

Jul 8, 2008 4:52 PM CDT

Big Drop in Deals at UK Magic Circle Firms

There has been a massive decrease in deals being handled by London’s elite magic circle law firms this year compared to the first half of 2007, but at least some of the missing work is being made up in other areas. The total value of announced mergers and acquisitions being…

Jul 8, 2008 4:17 PM CDT

Altman Weil: Sharp Rise in Law Firm Mergers

Despite a troubled economy, many law firms are continuing to pursue a “growth strategy,” new M&A data reveals. The number of law firm mergers is up so far this quarter, with 26 new law firm mergers and acquisitions reported in the past three months. There were 18 such mergers and…

Jul 8, 2008 2:15 PM CDT

Are Heller Ehrman and Baker & McKenzie Discussing a Merger?

A spokesman for Heller Ehrman is sidestepping questions about whether the law firm has held merger talks with Baker & McKenzie. Director of communications Patrick Bustamante told the Recorder that 600-lawyer Heller Ehrman “is not considering” a merger with 3,300-lawyer Baker & McKenzie. When pressed later, he did not talk…

Jun 30, 2008 10:54 AM CDT

Kilpatrick Stockton Merges with 22-Lawyer D.C. Firm

Kilpatrick Stockton is merging with a 22-lawyer Washington, D.C., firm known for its work with financial institutions. Paul Aguggia, the chairman of the smaller firm, Muldoon Murphy & Aguggia, will head Kilpatrick’s financial institutions team in Washington, D.C., according to a press release (PDF). The combined firm would be ranked…

May 12, 2008 1:11 PM CDT

Skadden Helps Yahoo Buy Time With Legal Maneuver

Lawyers at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom advising Yahoo used an unusual legal maneuver to give the company’s board more time to consider its response to Microsoft’s takeover bid. Yahoo board members contended the company’s stock was worth $37 a share, but Microsoft was willing to offer only $33,…

May 6, 2008 10:49 AM CDT

Yahoo Director’s Honeymoon to Delay Deposition in Pension Fund Suit

Delaware Chancellor William Chandler III says he is “a bit mystified” why a Yahoo director can’t find time for a deposition before he begins a delayed honeymoon on May 4, but the judge has refused to order the official to appear for the proceeding. Director Arthur Kern says he’ll be…

Apr 30, 2008 12:45 PM CDT