The Albany law firms of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna and McNamee Lochner said Monday that they're in talks to combine, a move that would further bolster Whiteman's role as Albany's largest firm.

While the coronavirus outbreak has caused many firms to hit the brakes on merger talks, the firms said they are discussing having "most" of McNamee Lochner's 24 or so lawyers join Whiteman, a 75-attorney firm. Leaders at the firms said their economics and practice groups were similar and noted that McNamee's matrimonial practice could support Whiteman's offerings.

Robert Schofield, a co-managing partner of Whiteman, and Scott Barbour, a managing principal at McNamee, said the talks began when Vincent Valenza, who had led McNamee's corporate and tax practice, moved to Whiteman in early March. Discussions have continued since then, even as the pandemic and its impact on society and the economy have loomed large, they said.

"It was, from McNamee's perspective, an opportunity to join with the largest law firm based in the capital region," Barbour said. "Many of our practice areas supplement one another, and we have several in common. As discussions began, the enthusiasm increased and [it] has continued through this current crisis."

Barbour said the pandemic has had an impact on McNamee's business, like many other firms. "Our family law, our litigation, has [been] curtailed somewhat by the fact that the courts are closed, but otherwise we're serving our clients fully remotely," Barbour said.

Schofield said the economics and structures of the firms "line up pretty well." He declined to state what the combined firm revenue would be, noting it would depend on how many lawyers from McNamee joined Whiteman.

Economically, "there wouldn't be any major adjustments for either of us," he said. "To the extent we're doing business in other areas of the country, we take advantage of the rate structures in other areas of the country, [but in the Albany market,] we definitely view McNamee as a peer."

Whiteman's practices include land use, environmental and real estate law, energy and utility regulation, corporate work and commercial litigation, among others. McNamee, which was founded in 1863 and is one of the oldest firms in Albany, has some practice that overlap, such as environmental law, and some that don't, such as matrimonial law, Barbour said.

Other firms with a longtime presence in and around the state's capital include Hinman Straub and O'Connell & Aronowitz.

The region also lost one of its midsize firms recently with the closure of Carter, Conboy, Case, Blackmore, Maloney & Laird, which had about 22 attorneys. Several of its shareholders have gone to Monaco Cooper Lamme & Carr, according to Carter Conboy's website.