The Biglaw firm Venable is combining with the intellectual property boutique Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto. The merger will be effective on November 1, and at that time, the newly enlarged Venable will have an IP practice with 175 attorneys, one of the largest in the country. (The 104 Fitzpatrick Cella attorneys moving over will initially practice under the name Venable Fitzpatrick, while Venable will not change its name.)
As Law.com reports, management at Venable is excited about what the merger means for the firm:
“We’ve got a longstanding commitment both to New York and to the IP practice,” said Stu Ingis, Venable chairman, calling the merger “a home run for us.”
And all sides of the merger are looking at the combined firm to become a powerhouse in the IP field:
“Almost every client has legal needs in the IP space” and Venable will capture more work as an IP powerhouse, Ingis said.
Venable can benefit from Fitzpatrick’s strong pharmaceutical practice, while Venable has a prominent products liability practice that will benefit from the merger, [Dominick Conde, chair of the Fitzpatrick’s management committee] said. “We looked at it at a pretty granular level to identify those opportunities,” he said.
The financials for the already strong Venable (it is one of the few Biglaw firms that has not declined in profitability or per-lawyer revenue for any year over the last decade) are stellar — the combined firm looks to have revenue of over $620 million. And, as Am Law notes, it’s sure to move them up in the Am Law 100 rankings.
The merger is the largest one ever for both Venable and Fitzpatrick.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
