(Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)Duane Morris, Satterlee Stephens in Advanced Tie-Up Talks
Philadelphia-based Duane Morris isn't the first out-of-town firm to explore a potential merger with 65-lawyer Satterlee Stephens.
January 15, 2020 at 11:14 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on New York Law Journal
Duane Morris and New York midsize firm Satterlee Stephens are in advanced merger discussions, according to sources familiar with the talks.
It's not yet a done deal, according to the sources, who declined to be named because of the pending nature of the talks. The potential timing of the combination and specific terms have yet to be announced, but it's expected that, if the discussions lead to a deal, more details will be disclosed in the near future.
The firm's representatives declined to comment to Law.com.
Duane Morris, an Am Law 100 firm with close to 800 lawyers, currently has about 100 lawyers based in its Manhattan office. Satterlee Stephens, a 65-attorney firm in New York, has some key financial industry and corporate clients and has been previously targeted by larger law firms for combinations.
The New York firm was previously in discussions with Crowell & Moring, the New York Law Journal reported in 2016, but the talks fizzled. The firm has been approached for other deals.
Satterlee, founded in 1894, has practices in banking, corporate, litigation, bankruptcy, trusts and estates, immigration and IP. The firm's ties to the financial industry begin at its roots. Satterlee's founder, Herbert Satterlee, married Louisa Pierpont Morgan, the daughter of J.P. Morgan, in 1900, according to the firm's history.
The firm's partners have advised several banks, and notably rating agency Moody's, in complex commercial litigation. Satterlee clients have included Oppenheimer & Co, JPMorgan Chase, IBM, Exxon, Johnson & Johnson, Bank of Montreal, Investors Bank, Stifel Nicolaus and Company and Calvin Klein Inc. according to the firm's website and court records.
While Satterlee's size doesn't put the firm in the Am Law 200, its profits per partner compare favorably to firms in the Big Law rankings. For its part, Duane Morris' average profits per equity partner were about $1 million in 2018, according to The American Lawyer.
A deal with Satterlee would continue Philadelphia-based Duane Morris' drive to expand in the Northeast and, in particular, New York.
In the last two years, Duane Morris has added groups of lawyers from LeClairRyan and Vedder Price as well as individual laterals in New York. But a deal with Satterlee lawyers could be Duane Morris' largest domestic expansion in recent years. The firm in 2006 completed a merger with San Francisco-based Hancock Rothert & Bunshoft, adding 64 lawyers.
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