Midsize Firms / Regional Firms

Law Firm Merger Mania: The Fate of Tyler Cooper

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As we previously reported, the fate of Tyler Cooper & Alcorn, one of Connecticut’s most venerable law firms, was up in the air for a while. There were rumors of dissolution, but managing partner William Fish told ATL that the firm was merely in merger talks.
It seems that those talks have borne fruit. Over the past week, we started receiving many emails from Connecticut tipsters about Tyler Cooper. (We had no idea we had such a fan base in Connecticut.)
Here’s one of them:

Tyler Cooper’s collapse (reported last month here) is now official. A number of partners and associates are leaving Tyler Cooper to join LeClairRyan, a growing national law firm. The change will come later this month. The partners just started notifying friends and clients….

They will take over the space of Tyler Cooper in New Haven. No word on whether Tyler Cooper will even still exist, but the fact that LeClair Ryan will have the same mailing address as the former Tyler Cooper can’t be a good sign.

We reached out to both firms yesterday. Tyler Cooper did not get back to us. LeClair Ryan partner David I. Greenberg responded: “It is our Firm’s policy not to confirm or deny rumors related to lateral hires.”
But another firm that’s scooping up Tyler Cooper attorneys was willing to comment. Read more after the jump.


Tipsters also told us that Tyler Cooper’s Hartford office was being swallowed up by the New England law firm of Hinckley, Allen & Snyder. Hinckley Allen didn’t get back to us (we contacted them yesterday), but today they issued this press release, summarized in the Connecticut Law Tribune:

Hinckley, Allen & Snyder announced this morning that it will open a Hartford office on Sept. 15 after adding 25 lawyers from New Haven-based Tyler Cooper.

The transitioning lawyers include all of Tyler Cooper’s financial services professionals and business services partners, as well as eight of its commercial litigation and employment law partners. The trusts and estates department also will join Hinckley Allen, which has other offices in Boston, Providence and Concord, N.H.

The new additions include Tyler Cooper’s former managing partner William S. Fish Jr., who practices business law.

Turmoil in the world of Biglaw is well-chronicled in these pages. But as the case of Tyler Cooper shows, even midsize and regional law firms are encountering challenges.
Firms like Tyler Cooper offer their lawyers a fairly sophisticated practice outside of mega-cities like New York and Boston. But whether such firms can continue to do so, or whether they will be folded into larger firms based out of larger markets, is an open question.
Hinckley, Allen & Snyder Adds 25 Connecticut Attorneys [Connecticut Law Tribune]
Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP Enters Connecticut Market [Hinckley, Allen & Snyder LLP]
Earlier: The Hot New Trend In Law Firm Rumors: Dissolution

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