Bryan Cave & Powell Goldstein ‘Officially’ Announce Merger
(Or Acquisition Or … Something)
The spin that Powell Goldstein chairman James McAlpin always wanted was finally released in today’s Fulton County Daily Report (subscription). The official announcement blurs the lines between a “merger” between Bryan Cave and PoGo and an acquisition of PoGo by Bryan Cave, but the report is largely positive:
“This is a transformational event for us,” said Powell Goldstein’s chairman, James J. McAlpin Jr. “It propels us into a different league.”PoGo gives up its name in the deal and cedes leadership to the St. Louis firm. (The firm will be Bryan Cave-Powell Goldstein for two years in Atlanta and simply Bryan Cave elsewhere.) In return, PoGo’s lawyers gain an international and national platform that expands the depth and breadth of their practice groups—increasing the firm’s resources in areas such as intellectual property and broadening its core areas of banking, finance, real estate and litigation.
Getting swallowed up by a much larger firm and losing a 100-year old name certainly has all the bells and whistles of an acquisition, but partners on both sides characterize the deal as a “combination.”
Some Bryan Cave partners, like their partners-to-be from PoGo, prefer to characterize the deal as a combination, not an acquisition—even though their firm will absorb the smaller one.“It’s a combination, not a slash-and-burn acquisition,” said Kenneth L. Henderson, the Bryan Cave partner who’s overseeing the integration. Henderson was a member of the 170-lawyer New York firm Robinson Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn & Berman that Bryan Cave acquired six years ago in its last major acquisition.
Whatever it’s called, PoGo associates really only care about their future job security. More on that after the jump.
Back in the day, yours truly was offered a 1L SA position at Robinson Silverman (I turned it down for the opportunity to work for now-NYS comptroller Tom DiNapoli). An acquaintance I made there still works for Bryan Cave. So, there’s at least one anecdotal data point suggesting that Bryan Cave will not take a flamethrower to PoGo.
On a Friday conference call we reported on, Chairman McAlpin made the point that the “first draft” of the deal included a provision protecting the jobs of PoGo associates. McAlpin reiterated the point Monday:
McAlpin said that PoGo will not have to shed any lawyers or staff to make the deal happen. “All of our employees will move over,” he said, adding that it was Bryan Cave that specified that condition in the first draft of the term sheet—another gesture that bolstered the PoGo partners’ confidence.PoGo’s chairman declined to say if all of his firm’s partners would become partners at Bryan Cave. “I’m not going to comment on the structure of the combined partnership just as I would not comment on that of Powell Goldstein,” said McAlpin.
Three of Powell Goldstein’s lawyers—McAlpin, Robin R. Green and Rick Miller—will join Bryan Cave’s executive committee. McNeill will continue as the Atlanta managing partner—but now for Bryan Cave—and will join the firm’s management committee. McAlpin and Miller also will be on Bryan Cave’s compensation committee. “We will have a seat at the table almost as much as anyone else, given our size,” McNeill said.
While those statements fall short of an associate job “guarantee,” clearly the expectation is that the biggest difference in PoGo’s Atlanta office will be the name on the door.
But regardless of the spin, this merger is a victory for a firm that some people feared wouldn’t make it through the economic crisis. PoGo had been struggling, even in their home market of Atlanta, for some time:
The loss of a major chunk of the health care practice, a core strength, was a big blow for PoGo. Some PoGo watchers wondered if it would be a mortal blow.Meanwhile there was a steady trickle of partners leaving for pastures they perceived as greener. By 2007, the trickle was becoming a steady stream, and the firm continued to shrink. Since January, PoGo’s head count has dropped from 256 lawyers to 220 lawyers, according to a headcount provided by the firm. Its Washington office has contracted by more than a third, from 66 lawyers to 36 lawyers at present. Before the loss of the trade group six years ago, that office had 110 lawyers.
PoGo’s revenue has almost doubled since 1993—from $69 million then to $133 million last year. But the Daily Report Dozen’s perennially top-ranked firm, King & Spalding, more than quintupled its revenue in the same time span—from $114.5 million in 1993 to a whopping $615 million in 2007.
By last year, PoGo had slipped another spot in the rankings, behind Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, which had been steadily adding to its own empire over the years to become the country’s third-largest labor and employment firm.
We’ve reported on more failed mergers than successful ones recently. Whatever the future holds with Bryan Cave, it is undoubtedly a better option for PoGo than continuing to go it alone.
Powell Goldstein merges with St. Louis’ Bryan Cave [Fulton County Daily Report] (subscription)
Earlier: Update: Powell Goldstein’s Internal Response to Bryan Cave Acquisition
(53) Comments
Comments
SkaddenDC
SkaddenDC
first motherfuckers...
these pretzels are making me post the fifth comment
Who's heard of either of these places?? Really, Elie, post about v10 firms that people care about.
i wished it wasnt true, but the fact that bc will not let go any of the attorneys and staff really does not mean anything. in an acquisition, it normally takes about 2 months to determine who to fire, then about another month before that is approved, then about 2 months to a year to do it slowly so no one will notice. by the time anyone realizes what has been happening, the world has moved on and no one will care.
Hey 5, some of us aren't prestige-whores like yourself, and are actually interested in the national legal market.
Is Knobbe LA going under?
That quote about winning the superbowl and world series at the same time? Holy cow Batman, that's good cool aid!
Whatever - it kept the inevitable at bay, and people have jobs if they want them. Hope it works out well in the ATL.
President-Elect Obama
Article in Atlanta Business Chronicle about merger is titled "Powell Goldstein to Sell to St. Louis Firm."
It clearly doesn't think it was a merger.
Congrats on the merger. The new firm will truly be one of the largest TTT firms in the world. Well done....
Posting after this crap is already on the Bryan Cave website -- seriously? Slow on the uptake.
Posting after this crap is already on the Bryan Cave website -- seriously? Slow on the uptake.
Why do people say Bryan Cave is TTT? Because it is headquarted in STL? They have some big clients and when places like DLA Piper are tightening their belts, BC is acquiring others. Sounds like a good firm to me.
So when will Bryan Goldstein announce their new name and mass layoffs?
i wish we could give st. louis back to canada
Bryan Goldstein. Call him now if you've been injured in an accident!
St. Louis is classy.
I blame GULC for the failure of America's economy.
Sincerely,
Captain WIdener
Hey, 7 -
Maybe you should have studied harder in high school. Then you could have gone to a better college and a better law school. At that point, you probably would have gotten a job at a firm that someone really cares about or has heard of. After finally getting there, you'd probably care about the v10 and not the "national legal market."
Best,
5
What are these things: Bryan Cave and PoGo?
Bran is Pegging Goldstien's Cave?
Damn, they went full homo on that merger.
#23 wins.
#23 - I think I get what you are saying but damn, did you have to go full Mystal on that comment? Still funny though.
15,
Bryan Cave is a good firm. All of the associates I know there are very smart and very good lawyers. That said, their niche is providing capable lawyers at competative rates, not working on the complicated, high-stakes matters that warrant the premium rates charged by the best firms. As a result, their profits per partner are a lot lower than a lot of the other firms in the AMLAW 100 and they don't get quite the same respect. I don't think the lower profits are a reflection on the quality of thier lawyers, so much as their practice areas and the rate sesitivity of their client base.
Bryan Cave is a nice place to work. And the attorney's as just as capable as the other mindless drones in any other firm. Just maybe a little less douchebag-ish.
21 - Whenever you find a moment, please relate the heartwarming tale of you, snotty prick, pulling yourself up by the bootstraps of your private preschool uniform, overcoming the obstacles of un-ordered mayonnaise and prolonged virginity, and finally succeeding in the legal profession only to watch your first marriage fall apart.
26, I don't know much about PoGo, but I'm wondering whether acquiring them fits in with the cost-containment culture. While Atlanta doesn't have New York overhead and salaries, it's arguably closer to New York cost-wise than it is to St. Louis.
The whole partnership model is outdated and classist. A truly visionary firm would incorporate and offer shares to even the newest associates. This whole staff attorney, associate, partner, of counsel ponzi scheme is a fraud on ourselves and a fraud in factum. In factum it has nearly wrecked the profession....rectum indeed.
Remember kids, "prestige" is only a word -- often whispered to one's self some time between 11 PM and 4 AM...when I am sleeping, out with clients, or having sex.
-- Happily Married TTT Partner
5 is a douche. Let's see most lawyers don't work at v10..I doubt you do. 5 is ttt.
It's because of attitudes displayed by likes of 5/21 that I dread annual mentor/mentee pairings. Also why I still have several hours of work before me. A-hole.
Fatty mentioned how he got offered a 1L SA position and we still haven't heard a peep out of Nervous T10 1L? He must still be in that OCS meeting...
TTT + TTT = giant crapnugget
You can work at Bryan Cave making 120k as a first year associate, live like a king in St. Louis, and still only bill 2000 hours.
It is you prestige whores in NYC who are the idiots.
5/21--what does caring about the national legal market have to do with which firm you work for? BTW I'm a gov't attorney.
5/21--what does caring about the national legal market have to do with which firm you work for? BTW I'm a gov't attorney.
--7
36, I'm at Wash U in St. Louis right now, and I wouldn't stay here for $300,000. St. Louis is the most insular, unwelcoming place I have ever lived. No amount of money can compensate for the incessant "where did you go to high school" question. Sorry.
Every person that brags about v10 = douche bag.
*clarification - douche bag that never, ever gets laid.
mark my words, this new firm will rival skaTTTen for prestige!
Years ago I worked with a private corporation and had dealings with Dan Schwartz and Anita Esslinger of Bryan Cave. One could not then nor now find more honest, dedicated and trusthworthy counsel than those two lawyers from Bryan Cave.
Lawyers make up the law firms and Bryan Cave seldom if ever has had a hint of scandal or negativity surrounding it.
Ahh, that could have been us!
Thelen Associate!
39,
I also went to Wash U and currently live in NYC. I'm not convinced that Manhattan is that much better than St. Louis. In either city your experience will mainly depend on the friends you make and the people you're surrounded by. I have great friends in NYC, but it's not like their cooler than the friends I had in law school. Sure there's more to do, but I never go to museums, the theater, clubs etc. I just have more choices in bars and restaurants. But the premium I'm paying for those bars and restaurants is sky high - I have a hellish job, a lot less free time and live in a substantially shittier apartment. If St. Louis was closer to my family, I'd probably move back.
45, I'm not going to New York, either (and I think if the decision had been between New York and St. Louis, St. Louis might have been less bad). There are aspects of St. Louis that I like a lot, but given all of the other opportunities out there, $120,000 just isn't enough to keep me here.
-39
36,
45 here. The difference is that when you're a 5th year in St. Louis billing 2000 a year you're making 135K a year with a 10K bonus, while a fifth year in NYC billing 2100 hours is making $210K a year with a 50K+ bonus (i.e. $125K more for working an additional 100 hours). New york is more expensive, but it's not 10K a month more expensive.
45/47,
There's no question the money is better in New York; it's the more subjective stuff that turns me off (e.g. I'm not a fan of long commutes).
48,
Fair enough. My points were (a) that St. Louis is as good a place to live as anywhere and (b) that the money is the main reason to live and work in a bigger city.
Just keep in mind that billing 2000 hours a year really sucks, whether you're in St. Louis, New York or Hawaii. It's enough that work will dominate your life. For me, I think there's a limited amount of time I can spend in the world of big firm law. I'm not going to like it no matter where I am, so I might as well go where I can save the most money during my limited shelf life. There are inconveniences about living in New York, but honestly, making double the money compensates for them.
49, I can't argue with any of that... as I said, it's just a difference of opinion.
-48
A minor point--St. Louis is the (current) largest office of BC, but has less than 20% of their lawyers. It looks like BC has 50+ in D.C., Chicago, Phoenix; LA; 100+ in NY. Plus, soon to be another 50 in D.C. and 200 or so in Atlanta. Like a lot of AMLAW 100 firms outside of NY, their home office is more of an adminstrative legacy than anything else. Think Hunton, Squire, Jones Day, DLA, etc.
Bryan Cave does it again!
What a TTT firm. It's saddens me that people working at places are BC call themselves "biglaw."
Third Tier + Fourth Tier = Seventh Tier Toilet