Earlier this month, we mentioned that Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells were in “early stages of merger talks.”

Today brings the news that the firms are in “advanced talks to merge,” according to Nathan Koppel of the Wall Street Journal. But it’s not a done deal yet:

One of the biggest challenges to a Hogan/Lovells deal, lawyers say, will be marrying the firm’s contrasting styles. Hogan is considered relatively hard charging, paying partners based on how much business they bring in. Lovells take a more genteel approach, compensating partners based largely on their seniority.

UPDATE: Bruce MacEwen, who thinks that “this deal makes superb sense,” has a detailed analysis over at Adam Smith, Esq. (gavel bang: commenter).

A memo from Hogan head Warren Gorrell, plus selected comments from our prior post — we read the comments, so you don’t have to! — after the jump.

Could transatlantic law firm mergers become the hot new trend? Last week brought news of merger talks between Hogan & Hartson and Lovells. And now we’re hearing rumors of a possible merger involving Allen & Overy, a top U.K. firm and a member of the prestigious Magic Circle.

This is not, of course, the first time we’ve heard such buzz. A year ago, the word on the street was that A&O was thinking about getting with Shearman & Sterling.

For the record, Allen & Overy denies the latest rumors. Here’s the firm’s official statement, responding to an inquiry from Above the Law:

As a global player who has been quite open about the importance of the US market, we are often subject to such rumours. We have openly stated for a number of years now that we have the desire to expand in the US market and as such we would consider any opportunities that may arise with a suitable US partner. That remains the case, but at the current time we are not in any merger talks whatsoever with a US partner. Your [reports seem] to refer to a global call our management held with all partners recently on our current view on strategy, though your questions below do not reflect the content of what was said whatsoever.

Find out what they were reacting to, after the jump.

Back at the beginning of the legal recession, when Heller and Thelen were collapsing, there was talk that a number of firms would either have to fold or engage in mega-mergers.

For the most part, that hasn’t happened. But today, Legal Week is reporting that Hogan & Hartson and London-based Lovells are at least talking about merging:

Lovells and Hogan & Hartson are in the early stages of merger talks, Legal Week can reveal, with the firms’ management teams currently assessing the case for a transformative union.

Lovells is to discuss the proposed tie-up with the top 25 US law firm at a meeting of its international executive on 28 October. A deal would create a top 10 global practice in revenue terms.

With firms of this size, one imagines that merger talks will be complicated. And there is a lot that will have to happen for these firms to go from talking to combining. But if all the pitfalls are avoided, how big of a firm could we be looking at?

Details after the jump.

Bingham McCutchen has found a way to expand during the recession. Just weeks after losing 11 lawyers (5 partners and 6 associates) to Morgan Lewis, Bingham McCutchen has acquired McKee Nelson. The American Lawyer reports:

After enduring a rough few years caused by the collapse of the structured finance market, the elite specialty firm of McKee Nelson has agreed to be acquired by the larger Bingham McCutchen.

Partners at both firms were informed Monday morning of the merger, which is scheduled to take effect August 1. The combined firm will be called Bingham McCutchen, and will include all of McKee Nelson’s lawyers.

No word on whether the McKee attorneys have the CHARACTER to become Bingham attorneys. But the merger looks good on paper:

McKee Nelson, which is known as one of the pre-eminent firms for tax planning and tax litigation, was viewed by Bingham as an attractive addition. “It’s really rare to find a firm that is this size that has three market-leading practices,” says Bingham chairman Jay Zimmerman, referring to McKee’s expertise in tax, financial institution litigation, and capital markets-structured finance. Structured finance might be moribund now, but Zimmerman sees it as an area worth investing in. “It will be part of our longterm strategy for serving the financial institution industry.”

How does this work on the McKee side of the ledger? We check in after the jump.

Jeez, it’s like “we love the Queen” day over here.

We’ve got some law firm expansion to report on. McGuire Woods is planning to acquire the London-based firm of Grundberg Mocatta Rakison. The move will add 36 attorneys to the McGuire roster. According to the firm press release:

Today’s announcement greatly enhances McGuireWoods’ international capabilities, and allows the firm to better serve clients with matters requiring an international presence, including corporate and financial transactional work, as well as litigation and wealth management matters. In addition, this combination will allow the firm to offer GMR’s existing international client base its capabilities to handle matters throughout the United States and in the other countries where McGuireWoods has offices. McGuireWoods’ clients will also have access to GMR’s international network.

A tipster reports:

Maybe they’re trying to get some of that $1,440 an hour advising work.

The ABA Journal reported this morning that U.K. regulatory lawyers bill out for as much as 1,000 pounds a day.

McGuire Woods Chairman Richard Cullen explains why the firm wanted to expand during the recession, after the jump.

Expanding during a recession? Hey the Empire State Building was constructed during the height of the Great Depression, and that worked out well.

Today, Texas readers demanded that we herald the merger of California IP boutique MacPherson, Kwok, Chen & Heid with Texas powerhouse Haynes & Boone.

We aim to please. According to the Haynes & Boone press release:

As part of its long-term growth strategy, Haynes and Boone, LLP is pleased to announce its addition of the 27 attorneys and professionals at MacPherson, Kwok, Chen & Heid, LLP, a leading intellectual property law firm with offices in San Jose and Orange County, Calif. With this addition, Haynes and Boone has almost 550 attorneys in 12 offices worldwide and becomes one of the few large Texas-based firms with offices in Silicon Valley and Orange County.

Perhaps the move into California will spell the end of Haynes & Boone’s war on office plants?

In any event, we’re happy to report some good news about a firm expanding and investing in its future, instead of trying to cope with the mistakes of the past.

Read the full press release after the jump.

Last week we brought you news of an impending partner defection from Morgan & Finnegan to Locke Lord. Today, Locke Lord made it official. A press release from Locke Lord heralds the bad news for Morgan & Finnegan:

Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell, a full-service national law firm of approximately 700 attorneys, announces that more than 30 lawyers previously with New York-based Morgan & Finnegan are joining Locke Lord. Morgan & Finnegan was one of the oldest and most well regarded Intellectual Property law firms in the country. The attorneys include 13 Partners and the previous members of Morgan & Finnegan’s Executive Committee.

This move more than doubles the size of Locke Lord’s New York office to about 50 attorneys and
leads to Locke Lord opening a San Francisco office - the Firm’s 13th office and its third in
California (Los Angeles, Sacramento and now San Francisco). Morgan & Finnegan was in
existence more than 115 years and was well-known for providing well-rounded IP services
including IP litigation, patent and trademark prosecution and IP counseling and advice.

Notice the interesting use of the word “was?” “Morgan & Finnegan was in existence more than 115 years …”

Does Locke Lord know something that has not yet been announced to the general public? Or are they just parroting the obvious along with everybody else?

Read the full press release after the jump.

Earlier: Nationwide Dissolution Watch: Morgan & Finnegan?

In early December, we reported that K&L Gates was engaged in merger talks with Bell Boyd. Today, the firms made it official. An email just went out to K&L Gates associates from Peter Kalis:

Colleagues: We wrote you in December to announce that our firm and the Chicago-based law firm Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP were in discussions with a view to combining the two firms. We are now pleased to report that the two firms’ partnerships have voted overwhelmingly in favor of the combination. I have appended below the news release that is being distributed to media outlets throughout the world. Please feel free to forward the release outside the firm to clients and other friends of the firm with your own message instead of mine. Thanks. Pete

You can read the official press release after the jump.

Good news on a Friday? Yay!

The law firm of Morgan & Finnegan, a leading intellectual property boutique, will be dissolving imminently, according to several sources at the firm. Some (but not all) of its lawyers, including prominent partners John Sweeney and James Gould, will join Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell.

Last month, we mentioned the possibility of a merger between the two firms. It now appears that it won’t be a complete merger, but a selective acquisition of certain lawyers (a la Sonnenschein’s absorption of Thacher Proffitt & Wood attorneys when TPW dissolved). As a result, Morgan & Finnegan lawyers who aren’t offered spots on the Locke Lord life raft will be out of jobs.

John Sweeney will become the deputy managing partner of Locke Lord’s New York office, while James Gould will assume the role of co-head of the intellectual property department. At least 11 other Morgan & Finnegan partners will also be making the move. Joining Locke Lord as equity partners are Matthew Blackburn, William Feiler, Peter Fill, Harry Marcus, and Steven Meyer. Coming aboard as income partners are Seth Atlas, Robert Goethals, James Hwa, John Osborne, Richard Straussman, and Andrea Wayda.

Rumors of dissolution have been swirling around Morgan & Finnegan for quite some time. Back in August, the firm engaged in staff and attorney layoffs.

As for how the word got out, something rather strange happened on Friday. An email from an anonymous address was sent to a large number of M&F associates, attaching the Locke Lord offer letters to Sweeney and Gould (posted below — but you may have seen them already, since they were in wide circulation over the weekend, sent to us by multiple correspondents). From one source:

Morgan & Finnegan is dissolving on Monday. They are sending termination letters to everyone. Then, a number of those people will receive offer letters from Locke Lord (so it is not really an acquisition).

Not everyone will get offers. A large number of staff and attorneys will be laid off on Monday. Rumor has it around 70 people. Most first years, and some other associates. Pretty much all staff. LLBL just wants the lease and some of the partners….

Interesting that [Sweeney and Gould] are making off with $1+ million apiece at the cost of most of the jobs of their employees. Needless to say, most people are disgusted. John Sweeney is the person who has kept saying that people should not worry and the firm is fine. Now he is cutting his losses and running.

More discussion — plus links to the James Gould and John Sweeney offer letters, which are an interesting read, especially if you don’t know what a lateral-partner offer letter looks like — after the jump.

Just because it’s after Christmas it doesn’t mean that law firms are done with their holiday shopping.

A tipster reports an intriguing possibility about Texas powerhouse Locke Lord Bissell & LIddell and IP shop Morgan & Finnegan:

Locke Liddell is acquiring Morgan & Finengan. Don’t think it’s final yet.

Tipsters from both firms have heard the news, but obviously nothing has been finalized. Firm spokespeople could not be reached for immediate comment over the holidays.

Both firms appear to have been prudent during the economic crisis. We reported that Morgan & Finnegan lost a number of partners over the summer, while Locke Lord no-offered more than half of their summer associates. But we haven’t received any reports of wide scale associate layoffs at either firm.

That could change if this merger goes through. A tipster reports:

Rumor has it that Lock Liddell will be laying off a number of Morgan & Finnegan lawyers as part of the merger.

Is this a gift that Locke Lord will cherish? Or is it one that Morgan & Finnegan will want to take back to the store? We’ll keep you posted.

Earlier: Nationwide Layoff Watch: Morgan & Finnegan
Nationwide No Offer Watch: Locke Lord’s Sub-50% Offer Ratio

It looks like Thacher Proffitt had a “plan B” in case the King & Spalding negotiations broke down.

We mentioned on Saturday that Sonnenschein was looking into acquiring some Thacher Proffitt lawyers. AmLaw Daily reported:

Within the past week, according to the partner, as King & Spalding neared a deal with Thacher for the structured finance group, it emerged that Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal was talking to Thacher lawyers.

Tonight we’ve got news that Sonnenschein is doing a little more than talking. A Sonnenschein spokesperson reports:

[On Monday morning] We will announce the tremendous addition of 100 lawyers from Thacher Proffitt & Wood.

Happy Holidays!

What a nice present for a bunch of TPW lawyers. On Friday it looked like they’d start 2009 updating resumes, now it looks like they will be making new friends.

Morale is pretty high at Sonnenschein as well. An internal email went around Sonnenschein this evening heralding the news:

With today’s move, we dramatically enhance our national and international corporate and finance capabilities, and double the size of our New York office — both of which have been strategic priorities for Sonnenschein.

These new colleagues accelerate our global growth strategy and reaffirm our continued commitment to client service. In particular, these lawyers bring highly regarded expertise in the fields of structured finance, banking, corporate, real estate and regulatory law. Also joining is a strong and complementary group of litigators, ERISA and employee benefits, and tax lawyers.

Read the full firm-wide email after the jump. We’ll update you as more specifics become available.

It’s the most wonderful time, of the year.

Update (12:00): The WSJ Law blog is now saying that what is left of TPW will dissolve, and the vote could be happening as early as today. TPW spokespeople could not be reached for immediate comment. Stay tuned …

Update (12:21): Multiple sources have confirmed that Thacher Proffitt is dissolving today. WARN notifications will be sent around by the end of the day. For continuing coverage, click here.

Over the last week, we’ve been covering whether Thacher Proffitt’s litigation department was going to survive into the New Year. The operating theory has been that Thacher Proffitt’s corporate department would be part of a merger between TPW and King & Spalding, with litigation left out in the cold.

But now it looks like King & Spalding could be out of the game entirely. AmLaw Daily reports:

King & Spalding no longer is in the running to acquire the substantial portion of Thacher Proffitt & Wood that it had pursued in recent weeks, according to a lawyer familiar with the negotiations.

We’ve reported the widely held belief that TPW needs the K&S merger to go through in order to avoid dissolution:

The New York consultant and another individual familiar with the discussions say that if the deal falls through, Thacher Proffitt will likely go under.

Then again, the Treasury Department seems to think that Thacher Proffitt is going to stick around. And when was the last time they were wrong?

After the jump, we see if there is another option for TPW.

Talks between Thacher Proffitt and King & Spalding, a story we broke here, remain ongoing. From the Legal Times:

Atlanta-based King & Spalding is in talks to acquire most, but not all of Thacher Proffitt & Wood’s lawyers, say two sources aware of the discussions. In order to avoid dissolution, New York-based Thacher hopes to find a partner to acquire it, these sources say.

One New York legal consultant says the discussions have been ongoing for the past three to four months, and that the firms hope to reach an agreement by year-end. The consultant says King & Spalding is considering taking on about 100 of Thacher’s 195 lawyers, but that it’s not yet clear which practices and offices the 100 lawyers would come from. “There’s a tremendous amount of uncertainty about who’s going to be invited to the party,” says the consultant, who asked not to be named.

Not sure we’d call it a “party.” But the alternative to a K&S acquisition isn’t appealing:

[Thacher’s] overall headcount is down more than 100 lawyers compared to last year — and so are its profits. Profits per partner fell more than 22 percent in 2007 to $1.02 million, according to the Am Law 200.

The firm has had a constant stream of high-profile departures, including its vice chairman Thomas Leslie, who decamped for Greenberg Traurig in October, and Washington managing partner Richard Schaberg, who left for Hogan & Hartson’s D.C. office last month. The New York consultant and another individual familiar with the discussions say that if the deal falls through, Thacher Proffitt will likely go under.

It’s worth noting that TPW has placed its New York headquarters up for sublease (as reported by Lindsay Fortado and David Levitt of Bloomberg). If TPW is seeking a subtenant for all five floors it leases at Two World Financial Center, then one has to wonder if the firm plans to continue operations (at least in its current form).

As for King & Spalding, it’s growing strategically, despite the downturn. The firm recently snagged three energy partners from Kirkland & Ellis. KS hopefully has room in the lifeboat for Thacherites seeking a new home.

To Avoid Dissolution, Thacher Proffitt Talks With King & Spalding [Legal Times via WSJ Law Blog]
Thacher Proffitt Puts Up New York Office Space for Sublease [Bloomberg]
King & Spalding Adds Three Energy Partners in Washington, D.C. [King & Spalding]

We’ve been caught up in bonus announcements and coverage of that-which-must-not-be-named, so we’ve neglected to mention that a bunch of firms have gotten hitched in the last month.

Since there are so many, we’re giving it to you LEWW-style:

1. Greenebaum Doll & McDonald (Louisville) and Ice Miller (Indianapolis)

2. Bradley Arant Rose & White (Birmingham) and Boult, Cummings, Conners & Berry (Nashville)

3. Frost Brown Todd (Louisville/Cincinnati) and Locke Reynolds (Indianapolis)

We have two Louisville-Indianapolis pairings. The result of the Green Ice pairing is a merged firm of 443 attorneys, while Frosty Locke will have about 450 attorneys. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings will be comprised of 350 attorneys, mainly in Bible Belt offices.

We reported last week on the latest feast in the K&L Gates merger feeding frenzy, joining forces with Chicago’s Bell Boyd & Lloyd, and taking its numbers up to 2,000 lawyers in 30 offices.

Lateral Link survey guru Justin Bernold provides some recession merger insight:

Ah, the recession merger. No matter the industry, here’s the method:

Step one: Discover that one rock doesn’t float.
Step two: Tie it to another rock.
Step three: Fire the employees if it doesn’t float.

Adding, “If Cravath merges with SullCrom, those rocks are gonna float. On big bags of money.”

Report says Greenebaum plans merger with Indianapolis firm [Business First]
Indianapolis-based law firm Ice Miller’s merger follows national trend [Indiana Economic Digest]
Bradley Arant and Boult, Cummings to merge [Charlotte Business Journal]
Locke Reynolds: new name, clout [Indianapolis Star]
K&L Gates, Bell Boyd Consider Merger [American Lawyer]

Earlier: Law Firm Merger Mania: K&L Gates In Talks To Acquire Bell Boyd

We have done extensive reporting on all the ways K&L Gates has cut back on associate perks. We also broke the news when Bell Boyd fired 10 associates at the end of October.

But perhaps those moves were preamble for today’s big announcement. We understand that K&L Gates and Bell Boyd have engaged in serious merger talks, an official announcement is expected later today.

As we have reported many times, the economic downturn is hitting the Chicago legal market very hard, perhaps even worse than New York City.

But what is particularly nice about this potential merger is that while both firms have been cutting back, neither firm was thought to be in serious danger of dissolution. You’ll recall that Powell Goldstein’s recent merger with Bryan Cave came at a time where PoGo was looking into a bleak future if the merger did not go through.

In this case, both firms seem to be relatively healthy. It does not look like a shotgun merger.

Update (11:48): Read the internal memo sent out by K&L Gates as well as the official press release after the jump.

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.

We reported earlier that Powell Goldstein is set to be acquired by Bryan Cave. We’ve been told to expect an official announcement from Bryan Cave on Monday.

PoGo has still not directly responded to ATL about the rumors that a number of associates, staff, and partners could be on their way out of the door. But we understand that they have sent around an internal email addressing some concerns in light of the merger information. A tipster tells us that the email offered the following clarifications:

1) Everyone has a job. This is a specific term of the deal.

2) BC wants to expand the Atlanta office. …

3) We have no problems at all with our finances. Credit is strong, bank relationships are strong, etc.

We have not gotten our hands on the merger agreement between PoGo and Bryan Cave. But the “promise” that every job is secured is encouraging. The email does not speak to our previous reporting that PoGo’s banks threatened to pull their credit line if a merger was not reached. But regardless of what could have happened, the firm’s contention that they are in a strong financial position is certainly worth noting.

The Chairman’s conference call after the jump.

Heller Ehrman and Thelen dissolved after big time mergers fell through. While our readers have been speculating on the next capitulation to the financial crisis, it seems that Powell Goldstein has narrowly avoided a full scale dissolution thanks to Bryan Cave. A tipster reports:

Powell Goldstein, which has been an prominent firm in Atlanta since 1909, will no longer exist next week. PoGo partners voted last week to approve an acquisition by Bryan Cave, and BC will announce the acquisition on Monday.

Bryan Cave did not return multiple calls requesting comment on the story. Meanwhile, a PoGo spokesperson said “I have nothing to report” when asked about the acquisition.

As we understand it, the union between Bryan Cave and PoGo is not a “merger” so much as it is a buy-out. Additional tipsters have reported that nobody from PoGo — not staff, not associates, not even partners — is safe. Equity partners could be let go early next week.

Putting together the rumors after the jump.

The Lawyer reports that Allen & Overy might be in merger talks with Shearman & Sterling:

A&O is occasionally tempted by the thought of a market-busting merger. It approached Freshfields back in 2006, as exclusively revealed in The Lawyer (see story).

Senior partner David Morley is moving to New York next week for three months (see story). This is being taken in New York as proof that a deal is in the offing.

A&O has nicked a whole load of Shearman’s Germans - though by rights this ought to rule out a deal with the rest of the firm.

Shearman needs help. (Actually, this is incontrovertible.)

After the jump, could this actually happen?

What’s going to happen to Thelen? That is the question many are asking in the wake of Heller Ehrman’s untimely demise.

As we have previously reported, Thelen has not yet been able to merge with another firm, while suffering through a slew of partner defections. They’ve even canceled their 2009 summer program.

Today brings more bad news for Thelen. Pillsbury announced that they have acquired Thelen’s China practice group:

[A] group of approximately 20 attorneys, including partners Tom Shoesmith, Meg Utterback, Joe Tiano and Lou Bevilacqua, to be based in Pillsbury’s Shanghai, Washington, DC and San Francisco offices.

This may not be as crippling as losing a rainmaking IP practice group like Heller did. But the losses are adding up for Thelen.

Thelen’s attempt to quell the rumors, after the jump.