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Holy Guacamole! Foley Considers Tex-Mex Flair

Another law firm looks to Texas.

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Foley & Lardner tried to get together with Britain’s Eversheds for some tea and crumpets. Unfortunately, that fell apart. Then they eyed Friedman Kaplan for a slice of New York’s litigation pie. But we’ve heard nothing else about that.

But perhaps Tex-Mex is more Foley’s speed. Because yesterday, we learned that Foley & Lardner is in merger talks with Texas firm Gardere Wynne Sewell. When you consider that Gardere just last month took on Bufete Hernández Romo, a Mexico City commercial arbitration and litigation boutique, it seems Foley might be very interested in moving into the hopping Texas and Mexico markets, both areas where the 19-office Foley has no presence today.

And Texas is a smoking hot legal market with Houston’s reliable energy business and the multiple corporate headquarters dotting the greater Dallas area. There aren’t a lot of places in the U.S. where law firms can find demand, but Texas is one of them. For now. And with the cost of living near rock bottom, Texas is drawing top-notch talent seeking to make the most of those $180K first-year salaries. Meanwhile, the legal market in Mexico sits at the crossroads. Full of talent and rife with opportunities thanks to the open market with the U.S., lawyers have every reason to feel good about the Mexican legal landscape… if it weren’t for the White House periodically calling to “renegotiate” NAFTA and build an onerous wall along the border to slow the flow of trade to a crawl. Consider the Mexico portion of this deal a high-risk, high-reward proposition.

Will this deal go through? Foley doesn’t have the greatest track record on that count with a pair of big ticket mergers dying on the vine over the last few years.

On the other hand, the American Lawyer notes someone has already registered www.foleygardere.com, which in merger terms is the equivalent of moving to the “It’s Complicated” status on Facebook. So there’s that.

Foley & Lardner, Gardere Mull Potential Merger [American Lawyer]

Earlier: Morning Docket: 11.01.17

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