Tuesday, August 20, 2002
Page 3
Merger Talks Reported Between Oakland’s Crosby Heafey, Pittsburgh Firm
By a MetNews Staff Writer
Pittsburgh law firm Reed Smith is reportedly weighing a merger with Oakland-based Crosby, Heafey, Roach & May to create one of the largest firms in the U.S. with nearly 1,000 lawyers and nearly $300 million in annual revenue.
The San Francisco Business Times reports that while neither Reed Smith nor Crosby Heafey would confirm potential merger plans, each has said that it’s weighing opportunities to combine with a large, out-of-state firm.
Crosby Heafey, which has 258 attorneys firmwide, has 50 lawyers at its downtown Los Angeles office, 25 at its Century City office and one in Westlake Village.
Reed Smith, which has no West Coast presence, has nearly 725 lawyers in 14 offices, including two in the United Kingdom.
The Business Times said that there has been growing speculation that Crosby Heafey be merged into a larger firm because of partner defections, declining profits and the July 11 death of Crosby Heafey’s chairman.
Crosby Heafey last year purchased Oakland’s Bay Venture Counsel to expand its venture capital and transactional practice.
The firm acquired the corporate department of a San Francisco firm that has since dissolved in 1999, as well as a corporate law firm in Century City.
Reed Smith’s last merger occurred in January when it absorbed 26-lawyer firm Parker Duryee Rosoff & Haft into its 7-year-old New York office.
Reed Smith entered the London market last year through a merger with Warner Cranston.
Copyright 2002, Metropolitan News Company