Clark Hill and Strasburger & Price announce merger
Clark Hill and Strasburger & Price announced a merger Tuesday that will create a law firm with nearly 650 lawyers.
The firm will be known as Clark Hill except in Texas, where it will be known as Clark Hill Strasburger, according to a press release. The combined firm will have 25 offices in 12 states.
The effective date of the merger will be in the second quarter of 2018.
The combination will strengthen Clark Hill’s resources in energy, retail, tax and healthcare sectors in Texas, where Strasburger has six offices. It will also provide Strasburger with “a significantly enhanced national platform,” the press release says. Detroit-based Clark Hill currently has more than 450 lawyers in 17 offices, while Strasburger & Price has nearly 200 lawyers in nine offices.
Clark Hill CEO John Hern Jr. will be managing partner of the new firm, while Strasburger managing partner Dan Butcher will serve on the firm’s expanded executive committee, according to a story by Texas Lawyer.
Butcher told Texas Lawyer that Strasburger wasn’t seeking a merger partner, but things changed after talks began. “Clark Hill and Strasburger have a similar strategic focus on the type of clients we serve and the value proposition we offer. It’s not like a national firm coming in to force the rates up for our lawyers,” he said.
Clark Hill “has been in expansion mode since 2013,” the press release says. The law firm added 100 lawyers in a merger with Thorp Reed & Armstrong, and added nearly 100 more lawyers in a merger with Morris Polich & Purdy.
