Lathrop GPM to Acquire Hopkins Carley to Create 360-Lawyer Firm

Lathrop GPM is acquiring Silicon Valley-based Hopkins Carley on Oct. 1, expanding its reach on the West Coast.

Kansas City-based Lathrop gains Hopkins Carley’s two offices in California and 62 attorneys, according to a firm statement. The combined firm will have 360 lawyers in 13 offices and annual revenue of about $250 million.

“California’s legal market is one of the largest and most dynamic in the US,” Lathrop managing partner Cameron Garrison said in a statement. “This combination with Hopkins Carley provides high-quality critical mass in the Bay Area.”

The merger adds to the growing volume of US law firm combinations executed this year. Consultants at Fairfax Associates tracked 29 mergers in the first half of the year, up from 28 in the same period last year and 25 in 2022.

Firm leaders are considering mergers as a way to expand client services to more jurisdictions while harnessing the cost savings of economies of scale, said Kristin Stark, a principal at Fairfax.

“The appetite for a merger is so high across the board right now,” Stark said. “There are so many firms considering mergers today that wouldn’t have considered it five years ago.”

Lathrop’s acquisition of Hopkins Carley will be its second since 2020, when it was formed out of Kansas City’s Lathrop Gage and Minneapolis’ Gray Plant Mooty.

The firm aims to expand its reach in private client services, real estate and intellectual property. Its name will remain intact through the acquisition.

The combination will give the smaller firm “opportunities to leverage new technologies and innovations that give us a more competitive edge to serve our pioneering client base,” Jennifer Johnson, Hopkins Carley’s managing shareholder, said in Wednesday’s statement.