N.J. Law Firm Acquires Stake in Minority Firm

New Jersey-based McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter is acquiring a 49 percent stake in a minority-owned law firm, according to the Newark Star-Ledger.

Managing partner Edward Deutsch did not disclose the price of the deal with 11-lawyer Espinosa & Espinosa. "This gives us the opportunity to create what we think is going to be one of the top minority-owned law firms in the region--if not in the country," he told the newspaper.

Deutsch says the goal is to help Espinosa recruit more minority lawyers. "Done correctly, [the] firm could have 50 to 100 lawyers in a very short time," he said.

Based in Morristown, McElroy, Deutsch has more than 200 lawyers in six offices in four states. ABA President Karen J. Mathis is a partner in the firm’s Denver office. Espinosa & Espinosa is located in Weehawken, N.J.

A press release says the agreement “is designed to produce a far more integrated and synergistic relationship than has been the case with less formal and structured law firm combinations that often take the form of ‘strategic alliances.' ”