Law Firms
Sanford Holshouser Merges with Nexsen Pruet
Posted Jan 5, 2009, 07:54 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
North Carolina law firm Sanford Holshouser is merging with South Carolina-based firm Nexsen Pruet.
The merger announcement will be made today, the News & Observer reports. Nexsen Pruet chairman Leighton Lord III told the publication that for the past three years, the law firm’s strategic plan has called for a Raleigh, N.C., office, but the firm didn’t want to open there without a group of experienced lawyers.
Nexsen Pruet plans to move Sanford Holshouser’s seven lawyers in Cary to Raleigh. Former Gov. James Holshouser will still practice under the Sanford Holshouser name in Pinehurst, N.C., and will be of counsel to Nexsen Pruet, the story says.
Nexsen Pruet currently has 180 lawyers in North and South Carolina.
Sanford Holshouser managing partner Ernie Pearson said the move will give his firm’s lawyers the opportunity to work on a greater variety of matters. "Quite frankly, I wrestled with this," Pearson told the News & Observer. But "I've sort of hit a ceiling on the complexity of work I can do and on the ability to attract large corporate clients. ... [This merger] gives us an ability to have unprecedented capability in the Carolinas."