Sounds like more Biglaw merger mania is in the air! The Legal Intelligencer is reporting that Philadelphia-based Fox Rothschild is in merger talks with the North Carolina firm of Smith Moore Leatherwood.
Fox Rothschild has been on a bit of a merger and lateral tear the last few years, but potentially picking up the 130-attorney firm of Smith Moore would be a large addition to the firm’s bottom line. If this acquisition goes through, it would be Fox Rothschild’s largest pickup to date (the 2016 merger with the Minnesota-based 82 lawyer firm of Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly currently holds the record).
But as you might expect, the firms are being appropriately discreet in discussing their plans. Fox Rothschild’s chairman is vague in his comments:
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“We’re pretty active in our growth strategy. We are always talking with lawyers and law firms, and until we have something conclusive we don’t comment on those discussions,” Fox Rothschild chairman Mark Silow said Wednesday.
Smith Moore managing partner Julianna Theall Earp neither confirmed nor denied the merger rumors.
This rumored merger continues the larger industry trend of merger mania sweeping the nation.
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Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).