After 26 years of building a formidable name in white-collar criminal defense, San Francisco boutique Topel & Goodman is merging with New York’s Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman.

Topel’s two partners say that with 230 attorneys and a solid reputation in sophisticated civil litigation, Kasowitz Benson gives the seven-lawyer Topel & Goodman the backup it needs to take on larger criminal cases, as well as ancillary civil cases.