Updated: Blank Rome Acquires Dickstein Shapiro Lawyers

Philadelphia-based Blank Rome has hired more than 100 lawyers and staff from the smaller Dickstein Shapiro of Washington, D.C., the firm announced on Thursday.

In an asset acquisition, effective Thursday, Blank Rome has taken over Dickstein’s 93-lawyer Washington, D.C. office at 1825 I Street and transitioned 13 Dickstein lawyers to Blank Rome’s New York office, Blank Rome chairman Alan Hoffman said in an interview.

The combined firm has more than 620 lawyers across 14 offices and added lawyers in practices such as government contracts, insurance coverage, intellectual property and corporate.

Based on 2015 financial figures in The American Lawyer, Hoffman projected combined revenues of the firm would rank it around the country’s 65th largest by gross revenue.

The 65th largest law firm in the U.S., based on 2015 figures, was Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, which grossed $481 million. By comparison, Blank Rome grossed $331 million that year, according to The American Lawyer.

“It is not a merger,” said Hoffman. For instance, Blank Rome is not taking on Dickstein’s real estate in offices outside of Washington, D.C. Dickstein lawyers will have to handle those lease obligations on their own, he said.

Dickstein Shapiro, founded in 1953, at its height, in 2010, staffed as many as 400 lawyers.

In recent years, the firm saw many partners join competitors with larger and more profitable platforms. Last year, one of its lobbyists, former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, was indicted for violating banking laws to conceal past misconduct.

The firm grossed $192 million in 2014, according to The American Lawyer, a 45 percent decline from 2012 when it grossed $350 million.

Some former firm lawyers pointed to patent cases that the firm accepted on contingency fee basis that didn’t pan out. In one notable case, the firm won a $482 million jury verdict for Dr. Bruce Saffran who claimed Johnson & Johnson infringed on his patent on heart devices. The outcome was reversed on appeal, depriving the firm of a heady payday.

An alert on Dickstein’s website said on Thursday that the firm is “no longer engaged in the practice of law.”

[Image “Dickstein” (src=https://bol.bna.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Dickstein.png)]

Such asset transfers are not unprecedented. In a similar but larger transaction in 2014, Morgan Lewis & Bockius acquired most of the lawyers and some real estate from the now-defunct Bingham McCutchen. And in 2005, Bingham itself had acquired Washington-based Swidler Berlin under essentially the same terms, according to people who worked there.

Such “asset acquisitions” ensure that the acquiring firm doesn’t take on obligations — such as real estate leases and other payments — left behind by the firm being acquired.

In these types of deals, a representative is typically appointed to oversee the winding down of the firm’s affairs. The Dickstein Shapiro site listed Jim Carroll as a contact person for inquiries concerning Dickstein business matters.

At Blank Rome, James Kelly, chair of Dickstein Shapiro, will become chair of Blank Rome’s Washington, D.C. office. Meanwhile, Blank Rome has named a number of new practice leaders from Dickstein’s joining attorneys: David Nadler will lead a government contracts practice; James Murray will lead a new insurance coverage practice; and Jeffrey Sherwood will co-head Blank’s intellectual property group.

Asked if there were attorneys left out of the deal, Hoffman said: “The group that we are talking about now was the only group that was ever in contemplation of joining Blank Rome.”

Kelly, the chair of Dickstein, told Big Law Business in a statement: “We look forward to this next chapter, where we can focus solely on our clients, with our new colleagues on our enhanced platform.”

Dickstein lists on its website clients including Pfizer, Inc., NRG Energy, Inc. and McAfee Inc.

Brad Hildebrandt, a consultant to Blank Rome, advised on the transaction. Hildebrandt also advised on the 2014 acquisition of Patton Boggs by Squire Sanders and a number of other law firm mergers.