San Francisco, December 29, 2003 - Piper Rudnick LLP, a leading national law firm, and Steinhart & Falconer LLP, one of the Bay Area’s top regional law firms, announced today that they have agreed to join forces. The merger, which takes effect on January 1, 2004, will bring together Steinhart’s 32 attorneys – including 19 partners -- in San Francisco and New York with Piper Rudnick’s 950 attorneys nationwide. The combined firm will operate under the Piper Rudnick name. Both firms were advised by Peter Zeughauser and Ron Beard of the Zeughauser Group.
The merger allows both firms to expand existing client relationships and provides a strong platform for developing new regional and national client relationships.
Robb Scott, a Steinhart & Falconer partner who will serve as partner-in-charge of the San Francisco office, noted that although many large firms have courted Steinhart, Piper Rudnick was the first to offer more than just a broader geographic platform.
"Because of the success and nature of our practice and the quality of our lawyers, we get approached all the time as merger candidates," said Scott. "We have had a dozen or so inquiries over the past year alone, but Piper really impressed us with its visionary growth strategy and commitment to establishing a strong Bay Area presence. Plus, its practice areas and culture complement ours in all the right ways. This was the first time the idea of merging really made sense to us."
For Piper Rudnick, the merger continues a period of dramatic growth over the past 15 months, reflected in several strategic mergers and alliances, and the recruitment of many high-profile partners and strategic advisors across the country, including in Southern California.
"The decision to find a partner in Northern California was driven by increasing demand among our institutional clients for us to establish a strong presence in this dynamic region," said Lee I. Miller and Francis B. Burch, Jr., co-chairs of Piper Rudnick, in a joint statement. "The talented attorneys at Steinhart & Falconer not only provide market depth and a strong reputation for quality client service, but also fit perfectly into our overall growth strategy, with practice groups that reflect our national areas of focus."
The combination of Piper Rudnick and Steinhart & Falconer provides several key benefits to both firms and their clients:
- Clients of Steinhart & Falconer can now tap into the combined firm’s greater practice depth and presence in key markets across the country.
- Steinhart & Falconer’s attorneys benefit from additional strengths in New York, where the San Francisco-based firm currently serves leading media, communications, high-tech and insurance companies.
- Piper Rudnick attorneys and clients gain a strong presence in the San Francisco Bay area for the first time, providing synergies with the firm’s rapidly growing Southern California practice.
- Piper Rudnick significantly increases its media practice, for which Steinhart & Falconer attorneys are well known.
Both firms benefit from the combination of highly complementary legal practices in mutual areas of focus, including:
- Real Estate
- Litigation, including a strong commercial litigation and insurance coverage practice
- Corporate and business transactions
- Media and Intellectual Property
- Labor & Employment
- Emerging Companies
Building on National Growth and Momentum
Clients of the combined firm will benefit from the momentum generated by Piper Rudnick’s strategic growth plan to build out core practices in key regions. Recent highlights of the firm’s growth include:
- Formation of a strategic alliance with former Defense Secretary William S. Cohen’s international consulting firm, The Cohen Group.
- The merger with legal and consulting firm Verner Liipfert Bernhard McPherson and Hand, including former Senator and Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell and former Michigan Governor and Ambassador to Canada Jim Blanchard.
- The addition of former Congressman and House Majority Leader Dick Armey in January 2003.
- The addition of 33 attorneys from the former Hill & Barlow law firm, which signaled Piper Rudnick’s official entry into the Boston market.
- Organic growth of the Southern California office with several high-profile lateral recruits and expansion of existing institutional client relationships to the region.
About Steinhart & Falconer
Established in 1903, Steinhart & Falconer is a 32-attorney law firm based in downtown San Francisco providing full legal support within the broad areas of business, litigation, intellectual property and media law. Steinhart's clients range from Fortune 500 companies to local entrepreneurs, and span a variety of industries, including technology, real estate, media and multimedia, insurance, energy and retail, among others. The firm also has a century-long tradition of community service and pro bono work. Steinhart's specific practice areas include:
- Business, including representation of entrepreneurs, investors, and management in the formation, capitalization, governance and operation of corporations, partnerships, limited liability companies and business trusts.
- Real Estate, including representation of clients in the purchase, sale, and leasing of commercial properties.
- Litigation, representing clients in environmental, insurance, real estate, bankruptcy, antitrust, and securities matters, as well as in general commercial litigation.
- Labor and Employment, consisting of advice and litigation on behalf of employers in all workplace-related matters.Intellectual Property, including the protection and enforcement of copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property rights and asserting and defending against claims of infringement.
- Media Law, including representation of print, broadcast, and online media in a variety of matters, such as prepublication review, retraction demands, subpoenas, access to government records, meetings, and judicial proceedings, and libel and privacy litigation, as well as providing counseling and representation on advertising and promotion practices.
- Tax, Employee Benefits, and Estate Planning, offering representation and counseling on a broad range of matters.