shot
of
business
people
standing
in
a
modern
office,
shaking
hands
after
having
a
successful
meeting
and
reaching
an
agreement.
Welcoming
new
hire.
Celebrating
success
and
achievement.
Louisiana-based
McGlinchey
Stafford
rang
in
the
new
year
by
announcing
it
would
shut
down,
leaving
many
lawyers
“scrambling
for
jobs”
in
the
wake
of
the
midsize
firm’s
unexpected
decision
to
wind
down.
Some,
however,
were
lucky
enough
to
be
part
of
a
recently
announced
group
lateral
move
to
a
transatlantic
Biglaw
firm
—
one
that’s
been
in
the
works
since
early
December.
Womble
Bond
Dickinson
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$612,200,000
gross
revenue
in
2024,
putting
it
at
No.
92
on
the
Am
Law
100
—
is
bringing
on
a
36-member
team
from
the
soon-to-shutter
McGlinchey,
including
19
lawyers
(11
partners,
three
counsels,
and
five
associates)
and
17
licensing
professionals
from
the
firm’s
consumer
financial
services
group.
The
American
Lawyer
has
additional
details
on
what
this
means
for
Womble:
[T]he
team’s
move
allows
Womble
to
open
new
offices
in
Albany,
New
York,
and
Cleveland,
Ohio—where
it
already
employed
some
lawyers—and
brings
Womble’s
total
to
31
offices
in
the
U.S.
and
39
globally.
It
also
expands
existing
offices
in
Houston,
Washington,
D.C.
and
Irvine,
California,
firm
officials
said.
While
multiple
other
attorneys
had
already
planned
their
exits,
was
this
group
departure
the
straw
that
broke
the
camel’s
back
when
it
came
to
McGlinchey’s
decision
to
close
up
shop?
Although
the
firm
acknowledged
that
“a
number”
of
attorneys
had
recently
announced
plans
to
leave,
managing
member
Michael
Ferachi
said
that
its
decision
wasn’t
due
to
“any
specific
attorney’s
departure.”
Merrick
Benn,
Womble’s
U.S.
chair,
told
Am
Law
that
his
firm’s
talks
with
the
incoming
McGlinchey
team
started
on
December
8
and
the
deal
was
finalized
by
December
26.
A
little
more
than
one
week
later,
McGlinchey’s
equity
members
voted
to
wind
down.
As
noted
by
Reuters,
Mark
Edelman,
leader
of
the
group
that
decamped
for
Womble,
“declined
to
comment”
on
the
timing
of
the
move,
as
did
a
spokesperson
for
McGlinchey.
McGlinchey’s
collapse
closed
one
chapter,
while
Womble
Bond
Dickinson
opened
several
new
ones
—
an
increasingly
common
dynamic
in
a
legal
market
that
rewards
scale,
and
a
difficult
one
for
the
lawyers
and
staff
left
navigating
an
abrupt
ending.
Law
firm
Womble
adds
19
lawyers
from
shuttering
firm
[Reuters]
Womble
Bond
Dickinson
Adds
19
Lawyers
from
McGlinchey,
Expands
into
Midwest
and
Upstate
NY
[American
Lawyer]
Earlier:
Midsize
Firm
Kicks
Off
The
New
Year
By
Announcing
Plans
To
Close
Its
Doors
Staci
Zaretsky is
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Above
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