Minneapolis-based Faegre Baker Daniels finalized its merger with Philadelphia's Drinker Biddle & Reath on Feb. 1, creating a new, national mega firm just weeks before the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard in the United States.

Now—during a period experts say is critical for the success of any merger—the newly combined partnership is forgoing a sizable portion of its expected compensation, while lawyers and staff from the two halves of the firm remain physically isolated from their new colleagues.

Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath has deferred its equity partner distributions by one-third for the second quarter in an effort to be "prudent and conservative" during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the firm said.

It is also monitoring the expenses generated by its workforce of more than 1,300 lawyers, consultants and professionals located across 22 offices, said co-chairs Andrew Kassner and Tom Froehle.

"It's inevitable if it impacts our clients, it'll impact the law firms. Everything has to be on the table as we plan going forward over the second quarter and third quarter and beyond," Kassner said. He initially described it as being a cut in partner distributions, but then emphasized the firm was deferring those distributions: "It's just a deferral. It's all a matter of timing."

Faegre Drinker began feeling the effects of COVID-19 earlier than most other law firms. On March 10, the firm closed all of its offices for the day amid concerns that personnel in its Washington, D.C., office, were potentially exposed to the coronavirus. The firm temporarily reopened all of its offices—except its two D.C. offices—before closing them again less than a week later.

The initial March closure came less than 40 days after the legacy firms completed their combination. When the merger took effect, Faegre Drinker partners said they would spend the next 100 days selling the potential Am Law 50 firm's size and reach.

The first six months of a merged firm's tenure typically determines whether the union will work or not, said Altman Weil's Tom Clay. That's one reason two other firms planning a major merger early this year—Troutman Sanders and Pepper Hamilton—postponed their closing date by three months—from April 1 to July 1.

But Kassner and Froehle said the groundwork laid by the two legacy firms prior to February was instrumental in getting Faegre Drinker to this point. Froehle said the two firms' lawyers spent a lot of time in the months leading up to the merger meeting and getting to know each other.

Watching the legacy halves of Faegre Drinker work together during the pandemic has been a gratifying experience, Froehle added.

"It's harder to do remotely, because you're not seeing each other in person, but we're all working remotely. We're all having to collaborate and connect in different ways," Froehle said. "For me, it's validated some of the things we thought were real."

Like other firms, Faegre Drinker's first quarter was "solid." As various local and state governments began ordering all but essential employees to stay home, the firm's lawyers saw an increase in activity from clients who needed help dealing with the coronavirus and its effects, Froehle said. He added that, in March, the firm did not see a dip in billable hours.

And like other firms, practices centered around labor and employment, health care, government relations and other specialty areas are doing well at Faegre Drinker, Kassner said.

"What most firms are trying to assess is what are the effects of court closures on litigation practices, and what is the effect of the current state of the economy on mergers and acquisition practices," Kassner added. "We're all trying to assess how our clients are going to view, and what's going to be the effect on those practices in the coming weeks and months."

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