Spencer Fane Gets 14 Lawyers in Holley Driggs Combination (1)

Spencer Fane is deepening its reach in the Las Vegas market by hiring 14 of 26 lawyers from local firm Holley Driggs.

The firms announced the group lateral move as a combination that became effective Tuesday. The additions bring the total number of lawyers in Spencer Fane’s Las Vegas office to 35, according to the firm’s website.

The move will allow Holley Driggs lawyers to access a national network of colleagues while adding depth to Spencer Fane’s client services in the US Southwest, firm leaders said in a statement. “We get significant depth and breadth across areas in which we didn’t have an offering,” Spencer Fane chair Patrick Whalen said.

Spencer Fane’s acquisition of the 14 lawyers comes on the heels of its expansion in Utah and New Mexico this year by absorbing Snow Christensen & Martineau and Montgomery & Andrews, respectively.

It’s been a busy year for mergers involving Big Law firms seeking to expand their reach westward. Womble Bond Dickinson announced a merger with southwest-based Lewis Roca, Ballard Spahr announced a combination with Lane Powell in the Pacific Northwest, and Taft Stettinius & Hollister announced a combination with Denver-based Sherman & Howard.

The 41 mergers that went into effect during the first three quarters of this year match the number for the same time period in 2023, according to a report released Tuesday by law firm consultancy Fairfax Associates. By year’s end, researchers at Fairfax expect a total of 44 law firm mergers to have gone into effect.

Seven mergers have already been announced for 2025, including Troutman Pepper’s combination with Locke Lord. Paired with the prevalence of ongoing merger discussions, the Fairfax report said the volume of pending mergers indicates an even busier merger period next year.

A little less than half of the lawyers listed on Holley Driggs’ website are joining Spencer Fane. The firms used a “collaborative process” to assess Holley Driggs’ lawyers for cultural alignment, resulting in some receiving offers to join the acquiring firm and others seeking other employment opportunities, Whalen said.

The combination boosts Spencer Fane in the Nevada real estate and restructuring practices, he said. “If we’re going to have the best talent proposition in Big Law and if we’re going to drive the most value to clients, we have to be open minded about growth,” Whalen said.

Spencer Fane placed among the 200 largest firms by revenue last year, according to the American Lawyer. The firm grossed $266 million in revenue and $779,000 in profits per equity partner.