Phoenix-headquartered Am Law 200 firm Snell & Wilmer is helping to kick off the 2020 law firm merger season, announcing a combination with eight-lawyer commercial finance boutique Assayag Mauss.

"We began discussions last February with this group," Matthew Feeney, chair of Snell & Wilmer, said in an interview. "We came to a meeting of the minds in October. This is a very good boutique firm that was courted a lot. I think we came to respect each other during the process."

Snell & Wilmer, with about 450 attorneys spread over a dozen offices in the U.S. and Mexico until now, will now have 14 offices, including a larger Orange County, California, location and new outposts in Oregon and Washington.

"We look forward to a seamless integration with Assayag Mauss as we deepen our commercial finance bench and explore opportunities in the Pacific Northwest,"  Feeney said in a statement. "We have always believed in careful, strategic growth and that relationship-based law firms, those that sincerely care about their clients and their concerns, are in the best position to achieve long-term success."

Feeney said the deal with Assayag Mauss was less about geographic location and more about practice area expertise.

"We think commercial finance is a good area to bulk up at this point," Feeney said. "No one knows when the economy will turn, but when it does, that practice area is one you want to be solid on."

"We were looking to expand our corporate litigation and financial practice in California, and we were introduced to Michele and Byron,"  Ketan Vakil, managing partner of Snell & Wilmer's Orange County office, said in an interview. "And we thought their personalities were a great fit."

Assayag Mauss, an eight-lawyer firm founded in 1996 by Michele Assayag and Byron Mauss, counts six attorneys in its Irvine, California, office and two working out of the Portland and Seattle metro areas, respectively.

Assayag and Mauss met at Paul Hastings in 1994 before setting out on their own two years later. The pair, who will work out of Snell & Wilmer's Orange County office moving forward, were the only two partners in the firm, with the other six all being associates.

All will keep their previous titles after the acquisition.

The deal extends a surge of law firm merger activity that's been building since mid-2019—especially involving at least one small or midsize merger partner.

Eleven of the 29 mergers announced or reported in the last quarter of the year involved one firm with fewer than 10 attorneys and the other more than 100, according to Altman Weil's Mergerline.

There were 115 total mergers announced or reported in 2019—eight more than in any other year since data was made available by Altman Weil in 2007.

Industry analysts have said that due to the number of mergers and the desire of larger firms to penetrate relatively smaller legal markets like Seattle and Portland, the number of potential "right fit" partners is shrinking.

Snell & Wilmer reported modest financial growth in 2018, with revenue moving from $260 million in 2017 to $262 million in 2018. The firm also reported an increase in equity partner profits of 7.5%, growing from $800,000 in 2017 to $860,000 in 2018.

Feeney said the firm does not have any current plans to expand eastward and enjoys its status as a "national firm located in the West".

"The attorneys and staff of Assayag Mauss in California, Oregon and Washington are delighted to join the law firm of Snell & Wilmer, effective as of January 3, 2020," Michele Assayag said in an email. "Through this merger, Assayag Mauss will continue its commercial finance, bankruptcy and creditors' rights practices while providing greater geographical reach and offering a broader array of substantive practice areas to its financial institution and Fortune 500 client base."

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