Two suburban Philadelphia law firms have agreed to combine, at a time when several small law firms have been acquired by larger practices, even as merger activity overall is down.

Lamb McErlane, a full-service regional law firm based in West Chester, and Imperatrice, Amarant & Bell, a boutique litigation and corporate law firm in Newtown Square, are slated to merge June 1.

The merger combines Lamb McErlane's 36 attorneys with IAB's five, including its three name partners. The new firm, operating as Lamb McErlane, will have 41 attorneys in West Chester, Newtown Square and Philadelphia.

The merger strengthens Lamb McErlane's regional footprint and expands the firm's litigation, education and employment practices, Lamb McErlane chairman Joel Frank said in an interview Tuesday. He estimated the merger will add about $2 million to Lamb McErlane's revenue in 2021.

"Our firms were co-counsel on a matter in Delaware County, and we had a symbiotic relationship in terms of firm culture and values," Frank said.

After just a few months of discussions the two firms were ready to merge in April, but they delayed the combination until now due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rocco Imperatrice, managing partner of IAB, said financial considerations were not a driving force of the merger, noting that the last three years have been IAB's most successful.

"I saw a group of attorneys that are practical and resolution oriented," Imperatrice said. "In my 40-year career it was a unique experience and an opportunity for our practice areas to be expanded."

Lamb McErlane has been slowly expanding and looks to continue that strategy. Over the last four years, eight attorneys have joined the firm, some individually and some within groups, Frank said. Last year, it opened an office in Center City Philadelphia, bringing on a pair of lateral hires from Sprague & Sprague.

Imperatrice said his firm was attracted to Lamb McErlane because of its expertise, particularly in legislative matters in Harrisburg that impact IAB clients, such as education policy.

"We can further build our education practice group together," Frank said.

Widener University, its law school and Widener Partnership Charter School are long-standing clients of IAB. The firm also represents the Riverfront Alliance of Delaware County, which aims to build businesses and increase housing opportunities for the city of Chester, on a pro bono basis.

"We are carefully following legislation related to keystone opportunity zones and similar legislation that would benefit the businesses and citizens of Chester," Imperatrice said.

Lamb McErlane already had employment and education law practices, but did not have experience in higher education, Frank said. So IAB's experience in that area was attractive.

The employment law group has remained busy due to an influx of coronavirus-related inquiries. Frank said he anticipates that trend will continue, as well as an increase in education matters related to issues surrounding COVID-19.

The West Chester and Newtown Square offices of Lamb McErlane are currently open to work on essential matters, but are not open to the public. Both are located in counties that Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf has moved to the yellow phase of reopening.

A number of small practices and boutiques have merged into larger firms in recent weeks. For instance, just earlier this month, Philadelphia startup boutique Baer Crossey McDemus merged into Cozen O'Connor. Still, law firm mergers in general have slowed nationally, with just 17 announced last quarter, according to law firm consultancy Altman Weil, a 37% drop from the first quarter of 2019.

Correction: A previous version of this story was posted with an incorrect byline. It was reported and written by Erica Silverman.

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