In
an
effort
to
expand
their
footprints
across
the
United
States,
Biglaw
firms
have
been
raiding
midsize
firms
in
the
Southeast
to
open
new
offices
and
fortify
specific
practice
groups.
Morris
Manning
&
Martin
—
a
well-regarded
Am
Law
200
firm
that
brought
in
$157,946,000
gross
revenue
last
year
— was
so
hard
hit
by
these
practices
that
it
lost
more
than
one
third
of
its
attorneys
(about
60)
to
firms
like
Fox
Rothschild,
Clark
Hill,
Reed
Smith,
Bradley
Arant,
and
Gunderson
Dettmer,
and
Seyfarth
Shaw.
Earlier
this
summer,
the
firm
had
entered
into
merger
talks
with
an
Am
Law
100
firm,
and
now,
its
previously
unnamed
merger
partner
has
been
revealed.
As
noted
by
the
American
Lawyer,
Morris
Manning
is
planning
to
merge
with
Taft
Stettinius
&
Hollister
—
a
firm
that
brought
in
$701,000,000 gross
revenue in
2024,
putting
it
at
No.
79
on
the
Am
Law
100
—
one
of
the
fastest-growing
firms
in
the
country.
Taft’s
merger
with
Morris
Manning
will
be
its
third
of
2025.
The
tie-up,
projected
to
close
by
the
end
of
the
year,
will
create
a
firm
that’s
1,200
lawyers
strong
with
gross
revenue
approaching
$1
billion.
Am
Law
has
some
addition
details
on
how
the
firms’
plans
came
together:
As
firm
leaders
evaluated
the
possible
deal,
[Taft
managing
partner
Robert]
Hicks
said
that
“because
of
the
departures
we
were
concerned”
if
Taft
would
be
“getting
the
best”
talent
that
remained
at
Morris
Manning.“Frankly,
there’s
like
zero
doubt
in
our
minds,”
Hicks
said.
“Frankly,
every
time
we
met
with
Morris
Manning
just
got
better
and
better,
and
we
felt
more
and
more
solid
about
it.”
…Hicks
said
he
believed
Morris
Manning
was
a
“victim
of
its
own
success”
because
large
firms
typically
seek
out
the
highest-performing
partners
at
the
top
local
firms
when
moving
into
any
new
market.“We
actually
saw
this
as
a
positive,”
he
said
of
the
departures.
“We
looked
at
their
client
base
and
were
highly
impressed.
We
looked
at
the
talented
lawyers
[and]
were
highly
impressed.”
Simon
Malko,
Morris
Manning’s
managing
partner,
went
on
to
say
that
while
they’d
been
approached
with
mergers
“many
times”
before,
Taft
seemed
the
most
promising
“We’ve
never
said
we’re
going
to
merge
for
merger’s
sake,”
he
said.
“None
of
the
conversations
before
Taft
were
compelling
opportunities.”
Congratulations
to
Morris
Manning
and
Taft
on
what
seems
like
a
merger
decision
that
was
made
just
in
the
nick
of
time.
Let’s
see
how
far
the
combination
will
move
Taft
up
in
the
Am
Law
100
rankings.
Fast-Growing
Taft
Finds
Third
Merger
Partner
This
Year
in
Atlanta’s
Morris
Manning
[American
Lawyer]
Earlier:
Biglaw
Firm
Enters
Merger
Talks
After
Losing
Nearly
60
Lawyers
To
Competitors
In
Mass
Lateral
Moves
Staci
Zaretsky is
the
managing
editor
of
Above
the
Law,
where
she’s
worked
since
2011.
She’d
love
to
hear
from
you,
so
please
feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
comments,
or
critiques.
You
can
follow
her
on Bluesky, X/Twitter,
and Threads, or
connect
with
her
on LinkedIn.