Kirkpatrick in merger talks with Seattle firm
Legal Week reports
September 27, 2006 at 08:03 PM
2 minute read
Top 50 US firm Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham has entered merger talks with Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis in a tie-up that would create a 1,400-lawyer firm with 21 offices.
The two firms, which confirmed that talks were taking place in an official statement issued on Monday (25 September), first entered discussions in July and are hopeful of closing the deal over the autumn.
In 2005, 1,000-lawyer Kirkpatrick saw its turnover jump by 26% to $469m (£247m) while profits per equity partner (PEP) stood at $730,000 (£384,000).
Preston Gates' PEP stands at a reported $350,000 (£184,000), with revenue of $182m (£96m).
The firm has 11 offices including three in Asia in Beijing, Hong Kong and Taipei.
Kirkpatrick significantly increased its UK presence when it merged with 135-lawyer London firm Nicholson Graham & Jones in January 2005, one of a slew of UK/US mergers during the past few years.
The 420-lawyer Preston Gates has previously been involved in an unsuccessful merger bid in 2003 with San Diego practice Luce Forward Hamilton & Scripps.
The current talks are the second major US merger bid to go public following New York's Dewey Ballantine and San Francisco-based giant Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe confirmation earlier this month that they were discussing a tie-up.
First reported on legalweek.com (26 September)
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View AllSkadden to Close in Shanghai and Make Cuts to China Corporate Practice
DWF Group's Canadian Firm Set to Add Fourth Office With 16-Lawyer Montreal Team
UK Law Firms Face £75M Money Laundering Investigations Alongside Russia Scrutiny
3 minute readTrending Stories
- 1The Law Firm Disrupted: Playing the Talent Game to Win
- 2A&O Shearman Adopts 3-Level Lockstep Pay Model Amid Shift to All-Equity Partnership
- 3Preparing Your Law Firm for 2025: Smart Ways to Embrace AI & Other Technologies
- 4BD Settles Thousands of Bard Hernia Mesh Lawsuits
- 5A RICO Surge Is Underway: Here's How the Allstate Push Might Play Out
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250