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Crowell Chairman Stays Mum on Merger Buzz
ALM
October 22, 2009
Is Crowell & Moring in merger talks? The National Law Journal's sibling publication, The Recorder, said Wednesday morning that there are reports that the Washington-based firm is in talks with San Francisco's Folger Levin & Kahn. But in an interview with an NLJ reporter, Crowell & Moring Chairman Kent Gardiner said he wouldn't confirm or deny the reports. "I unfortunately can't comment on that," he said.
Michael Goecke, a senior associate at Lerch, Early & Brewer who left Crowell in May, said he had no knowledge of any merger discussions between Crowell and Folger, but they would not be out of step with the firm's growth strategy.
"When I was there, the message from management was that there would be no major merger with a larger or equal-sized firm," Goecke said. "But they were willing to acquire a smaller firm that bring complementary practices to the firm."
Goecke said Crowell was "always looking for opportunities that made sense," noting the firm's 2006 acquisition of King Pagano Harrison, a health care and labor and employment boutique. The KPH acquisition added 20 lawyers, including nine partners, to Crowell's offices in New York and Washington.
Crowell's been growing quickly: According to our sister publication The American Lawyer, the firm grossed $296 million in 2008, a 26 percent increase over the prior year. In 2007, the firm raided Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney to add an eight-lawyer financial institutions practice to its New York office, just months after opening that office. In 2008, Crowell opened a Los Angeles office with the acquisition of seven lawyers from Lightfoot Vandevelde Sadowsky Crouchley Rutherford & Levine.
One lawyer familiar with Folger, who believed that a merger with Crowell & Moring was a done deal, said word had first leaked out about a month ago. Now, that lawyer said, there appears to be turmoil inside Folger. Lawyers there are split between those who see the possibilities of joining a bigger firm with offices as far as Brussels and London and those who feel their best opportunities lie in striking out on their own.
Another lawyer on the outside said the mood seems to have shifted inside Folger. "I think people are sad." Some are looking for other opportunities, the lawyer said.
If the deal does go through, observers say it would signal a change of heart on the part of Folger Levin, which has remained independent as suitors looked for San Francisco merger partners.
San Francisco recruiter Avis Caravello told The Recorder's Legal Pad on Wednesday that if such a deal goes through, it would be a boon for Crowell. The firm would get not just a San Francisco office, but an instant litigation presence here. "It makes sense to me because it's very difficult for any law firm that's trying to establish a presence in Northern California to bulk up quickly," Caravello, who is not involved in the deal, said. "They are getting a top litigation practice."
She added that Folger could benefit from Crowell's good reputation in antitrust and litigation overall, and the government contracts practice has a bright forecast, given the regulations coming down the pike through the Obama administration. "It's good timing for Folger to align themselves with a firm that has a presence in an area that is really busy."
Folger's Web site lists 56 attorneys, and the firm has offices in both San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Web site has a long list of clients, including Citibank, Johnson & Johnson, and Hilton Hotels. The two firms have some overlapping practice areas, including complex litigation, antitrust, corporate matters and IP.
Information in this story originally appeared on The Recorder's Legal Pad blog and The National Law Journal's Blog of Legal Times. Jeff Jeffrey contributed to the BLT post.
