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Originally posted by Mister_Ruysbroeck
From what I know, it probably won't make a whole lot of waves. McGuire Woods just opened their Chicago office a few years ago in order to service some of their corporate clients with employee benefit work that could be better done in Chicago. They are a much bigger player (the only player?) at the home office in Virginia. I heard rumors that one of Jenner's asshole partners with a pretty sizeable book of business moved over to McGuire to get their lit practice going. Not sure how big the office is now, but I can't imagine it's more than around 50, and I'm too lazy to look up the actual numbers.
Ross & Hardies is a pretty well respected firm, but from what I understand it's having trouble cutting ties to it's insurance industry clients (this could be old news, as I haven't heard much about them in a while) and has never really been a huge player in the market. In fact, I don't even know if they pay market. Maybe a little less than what Baker and Winston pay.
If it were my guess, I'd say McGuire Woods is controlling this deal. They probably have higher PPP and want to make bigger inroads into the litigation field. So, this is a good way for them to do it. I wouldn't be surprised if a couple R&H partners with insurance-based books get the axe or go out on their own.
Of course, I have to disclose that this is all conjecture on my part based on what little I know about the two firms. People with actual knowledge should feel free to correct me.
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Pretty much right on, MR. Ross is (was) a nice firm, but never on the radar screen of the top firms in town... Yet another 2nd or 3rd tier firm to be gobbled up by a larger national player in recent years. I think this puts the combined Chicago presence at 150 or so, and with Ted Tetzlaff leading the merger, they will try to make their presence felt. Gotta think there will be some "chopping of the dead wood", however...
This is definitely not a merger of equals, and with the "branding" trend of national firms, I think the Ross and Hardies names will go the way of "Battle and Booth" or whatever it was before they shortened it in short order...
