© 2014 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden – (December 1) – Locke Lord, one of the oldest law firms operating in Texas, is about to become the second largest firm based in the state.
Last week, partners at Locke Lord voted overwhelmingly to merge with Boston-based Edwards Wildman, creating a law firm of more than 1,000 lawyers in 23 offices worldwide and annual revenues of $675 million. The merger will take effect Jan. 10.
The merger immediately makes Locke one of the 50 largest law firms in the U.S.
The two firms announced in September their intention to merge. More than three-fourths of Locke Lord partners voted last week to approve the combination.
“As these mergers go, it moved along quickly and smoothly,” Locke Lord chairwoman and litigation partner Jerry Clements said in an interview Monday.
“The key was to make a business and strategic case to our partners for why the merger is positive,” said Clements, who will hold the same position at the new firm. “The business case is about, ‘How does a law firm in the next 10 years remain competitive and be a law firm that clients want to hire?’”
Clements said that Edwards Wildman’s strong private equity client base is a natural fit for Locke Lord’s energy clients. The merger “significantly strengthens our position and product offerings in the middle market,” she said.
There were Locke Lord partners who opposed the merger because they thought the firm was doing fine as it was, she said. Those partners were concerned about losing the firm’s current culture and disparities in billing rates and lawyer compensations between the two firms.
Locke Lord currently has 348 lawyers in Texas and reported revenues of $415 million last year. The firm generated $775,000 in revenues per lawyer in 2013. By contrast, Edwards Wildman last year was 25 percent less at $575,000.
“The culture was close enough and we looked at the rate structures and compensation levels and both sides agreed we can budge,” said Clements.
This is Locke Lord’s fourth merger in 15 years. In 1999, Dallas-based Locke Purnell merged with Houston-based Liddell Sapp.
Locke traces its roots to 1891, when mathematics professor Maurice Locke decided to hang his shingle in Dallas. He represented numerous insurance companies in litigation. His sons and grandsons joined him a few years later.
In 1916, Liddell opened in Houston. The firm’s first client at the time was the Houston Chronicle and its then-owner Jesse Jones.
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