Davis Wright Tremaine to soak up monetary providers legislation agency McGonigle

REUTERS/Yuriko Nakao(JAPAN)

(Reuters) – Davis Wright Tremaine will merge with monetary providers legislation agency McGonigle on July 1, including Chicago and Richmond, Virginia workplaces to its nationwide footprint within the course of.

Washington, DC-based McGonigle’s 44 attorneys will be a part of Davis Wright’s banking, securities, and monetary providers apply, which will likely be greater than double in dimension, the companies mentioned in an announcement Friday.

The merger seems to be the biggest introduced by a serious legislation agency to this point in 2022, amid what’s been a slowdown in agency merger exercise over the previous two years.

The mix will give Seattle-founded Davis Wright, which has 550 attorneys, its first Midwest workplace in Chicago. The transfer may even add 22 attorneys to Davis Wright’s current Washington workplace, and 15 to its New York location, the companies mentioned. 4 McGonigle attorneys are slated to work out of the Richmond outpost for the mixed agency, they mentioned.

Davis Wright’s attorneys are recognized for his or her work in client banking, fintech and funds areas, whereas McGonigle is well-versed in securities, commodities, white collar and authorities enforcement, mentioned Bradford Hardin, a companion at Davis Wright.

Hardin will likely be co-chair of the agency’s new banking, monetary providers and securities apply group alongside McGonigle Chairwoman Elizabeth Lan Davis.

“We’ve been working for years to increase our capabilities within the securities area as a result of our purchasers demand it,” mentioned Hardin.

The merger got here collectively comparatively rapidly with casual talks beginning halfway via March, mentioned Davis Wright managing companion Scott MacCormack. Davis Wright companion Alexandra Steinberg Barrage performed matchmaker by reaching out to Elizabeth Davis, she mentioned. Their sons attend the identical faculty.

“I obtained a textual content from her out of the blue saying, ‘Are you interested by a enterprise alternative?’” Davis mentioned.

There have been solely 14 accomplished agency mergers within the first quarter of this 12 months, down from the historic Q1 common of twenty-two over the previous decade, based on information from legislation agency consultancy Fairfax Associates.

However there may be cause to consider that mergers will choose up now that legislation agency leaders are extra capable of have in-person conferences and commit extra time to long-term planning, mentioned Fairfax Associates guide Lisa Smith.

“The curiosity in mergers by no means actually waned, however the exercise slipped a bit as a result of pandemic,” she mentioned.

Learn extra:

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Large legislation agency mergers picked up in 2021, with extra offers in retailer

Reporting by Karen Sloan

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