Crowell & Moring and Herrick Feinstein?
Could it be? Is there a Biglaw holiday romance afoot? According to sources, D.C. government contracts powerhouse Crowell & Moring is involved in “late-stage negotiations” to merge with prominent New York real estate firm Herrick Feinstein. The news was first reported by The Real Deal, which claims that both firms are in the process of drafting a letter of intent.
Neither firm has commented on the alleged December romance, but if the firms were to combine, the merger would create an entity with about 570 lawyers and $478 million in gross revenue. Here’s some additional information from the Am Law Daily:
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Crowell, with about 440 lawyers, generated $363 million in revenue in 2015, while Herrick, an Am Law 200 firm with about 132 attorneys, grossed about $115.5 million, according to The American Lawyer’s latest financial and census figures.
The merger would signal further consolidation among Am Law 100 and 200 firms, which have been coping with flat demand and the rising costs of associate salaries. And it would represent another Washington, D.C.-founded firm acquiring a smaller but prominent New York firm. Just last month, Arnold & Porter in Washington said it would merge with New York-based Kaye Scholer.
Will they or won’t they? Two sources with ties to Herrick gave conflicting answers, with one saying the talks were “preliminary,” with a deal was unlikely to be announced before 2017, and another saying the firms had been in tie-up talks for months. Stay tuned, because unlike the failed talks between Crowell & Moring and Saterlee Stephens last year, this prospective law firm coupling could go the distance.
Herrick Feinstein in merger talks with DC-based Crowell & Moring: sources [Real Deal]
Crowell & Moring and Herrick, Feinstein in Tie-Up Talks [Am Law Daily]
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Staci Zaretsky is an editor at Above the Law. She’d love to hear from you, so feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.