Business of Law

No Wedding: Kilpatrick & Townsend Firms Agree to Be Just Friends

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Two well-known midsize law firms have called off their merger talks: Kilpatrick Stockton and Townsend and Townsend and Crew have decided a wedding just wouldn’t work although they remain friends. They attributed the aborted engagement to client conflicts.

The 190-attorney Townsend intellectual property boutique, at least, remains open to the possibility of a merger with another firm, according to the San Francisco Business Times:

“Our strategy is to grow our practice and to remain one of the nation’s preeminent IP firms,” says Brian Colucci, a spokesman for the firm. “If a merger will help us achieve that goal in the future, we’ll consider it.”

The merger would have been a good practice fit with the 500-attorney Kilpatrick, which is known for its copyright and trademark work, and the two firms had little geographic overlap.

The Townsend firm made layoffs in 2009 and has lost a number of partners this year, a Daily Journal (sub. req.) article notes.

Additional coverage:

ABAJournal.com: “Who Registered the Domain Name Kilpatricktownsend.com?”

Above the Law: “Law Firm Merger Mania: Townsend and Kilpatrick Kill Talks”

Am Law Daily: “Kilpatrick and Townsend End Merger Talks”

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