© 2018 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden and Brooks Igo
(Jan. 30) – Strasburger & Price, one of the oldest and most prominent corporate law firms in Texas for eight decades, is involved in merger discussions with Clark Hill, a Detroit based law firm that has rapidly expanded through mergers and acquisitions of other small and mid-sized law firms during the past five years The Texas Lawbook has learned.
Leaders for the two middle market corporate law firms have been involved in merger negotiations for a couple months and hope to have a possible combination completed by the end of March, according to multiple lawyers familiar with the discussions.
Clark Hill, which has about 450 lawyers in 17 offices, would essentially acquire Strasburger, which has about 200 lawyers in Texas, Mexico, New York and Washington, D.C., according to sources with knowledge of the talks.
The combined firm would have more than 600 lawyers and annual revenues of about $270 million.
Strasburger Managing Partner Dan Butcher and Clark Hill CEO John Hern Jr. did not return requests for comments.
Clark Hill, through a public relations firm, did issue this statement: “As is apparent from our recent growth, we are in expansion mode and therefore we are routinely talking with firms where the addition of their platform would enhance our service offering to clients. At this time however, there is nothing to report about any specific conversations.”
Founded in 1939, Dallas-based Strasburger has offices in Austin, Beaumont, Collin County, Dallas, Houston, Mexico City, New York, San Antonio, and Washington, D.C. The Texas Lawbook reported last year that Strasburger’s revenues were $94 million in 2016 and that revenues per lawyer were $480,000.
Henry Strasburger and Hobart Price were classmates at the University of Texas School of Law and graduated together in 1921. Price, who reportedly had a photographic memory, quickly landed a job at Thomas, Frank, Milam & Touchstone, which was a top Dallas litigation firm. He encouraged his employer to hire Strasburger.
Strasburger’s success in the courtroom came quickly. He was widely regarded as one of the best trial lawyers in Texas within a few years.
In 1939, Strasburger and Price decided to start their own firm in Dallas and hired a handful of top young trial lawyers to join them in the insurance defense practice. The new firm hit a rough patch less than a year after opening its doors when six of its eight partners were drafted by the U.S. Army to fight in World War II.
But the firm survived and even thrived after the war ended. Strasburger expanded the firm’s practice areas in 1958 to include tax, business transactions and estate planning. Strasburger became the state’s leading products liability defense firm for decades, representing major corporations including General Motors and Toyota.
Strasburger alumni include some amazing lawyers, including Judge Karen Scholer, Weil, Gotshal & Manges partner Paul Genender, Judge Karen Willcutts, former Komen Breast Cancer Foundation GC Andy Halpern, Drinker Biddle partners Neil Rambin and Paul Cauley and Judge Cooter Hale.
Strasburger died in 1972.
Lawyers say that Strasburger leaders have looked for a possible merger partner for a couple years.
During the same time period, Clark Hill has employed a rapid growth strategy. In July 2017, the firm added 100 lawyers last year when it merged with California-based Morris Polich & Purdy. In January, Clark Hill opened an office in Dublin with four partners that were lawyers at other European practices.
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