Fox RothschildFox Rothschild Takes on 130-Lawyer North Carolina Firm in Southeast Expansion
The deal with Smith Moore Leatherwood will give Fox Rothschild six new offices in the Southeast and boosts its size to more than 900 lawyers.
September 20, 2018 at 10:26 AM
3 minute read
The original version of this story was published on The Legal Intelligencer
In its biggest growth spurt yet, Fox Rothschild is acquiring North Carolina-based Smith Moore Leatherwood, a midsize firm of 130 lawyers.
The combination is set to take effect Nov. 1, adding six offices to the Philadelphia-based firm in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia. Fox Rothschild will now have more than 900 lawyers across its 27 U.S. offices.
The merger comes on top of expansion plans already disclosed by Fox Rothschild chairman Mark Silow.
He has no number in mind for the firm's expanded attorney headcount. But for the 14-attorney Miami office, “25 to 50 lawyers would seem to be a very good target to shoot for over time” in the next three to five years, Silow said last week. He also expects to expand the West Palm Beach office's real estate team.
The Legal Intelligencer reported in July about the Fox-Smith merger talks.
“Expanding our footprint in the Southeast through this merger is an important milestone for the firm,” Silow said in a statement. “We have explored opportunities in this region for many years and are delighted to have found in Smith Moore Leatherwood a firm with a superb roster of talented attorneys who share our values, our approach to client service and our entrepreneurial focus.”
Smith Moore Leatherwood has deep roots in the Southeast dating back to 1919.
“As part of a prominent Am Law 100 firm, we can offer a broader range of services while continuing to deliver the personal touch and dedication that are the hallmarks of our firm,” Smith Moore managing partner Julie Theall Earp said in a statement.
In addition to expanding its geographic footprint, Fox Rothschild noted that Smith Moore adds to its manufacturing, clean energy, transportation and logistics practices, as well as a sports law practice that the firm said will fit well with Fox Rothschild's existing entertainment practice.
Fox Rothschild has grown significantly through mergers with small and midsize firms in the past few years. Its largest one before this was in 2016 with Oppenheimer Wolff & Donnelly, an 82-lawyer firm that was based in Minneapolis.
Since then, the firm has made several other acquisitions. It merged with 39-lawyer Riddell Williams in Seattle in May 2017 and gained 23 lawyers in Chicago and Wilmington, Delaware when it acquired Shaw Fishman Glantz & Towbin at the end of May. The firm also completed a small merger last month when it brought on six lawyers in Denver from Rollin Braswell Fisher.
In 75th place on the Am Law 200 rankings, Fox Rothschild had more than 800 attorneys in 21 U.S. offices before the merger was announced.
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