In the latest sign of legal industry consolidation, Husch Blackwell said Monday it has added lawyers and professionals from an intellectual property boutique in Minneapolis, seeking to expand on its work for life sciences clients.
While Husch said it wasn’t a merger, but a group lateral move, it was the third example in a week of consolidation in law firms and the third involving Midwest firms. Last week, two regional law firms in the Midwest combined, while another Missouri-founded firm acquired a Salt Lake City firm.
Husch didn’t have to look very far to find the opportunity in Minneapolis. The Am Law 100 firm said it’s adding approximately 30 employees in total — including 11 lawyers – from Patterson Thuente, an IP boutique located in the same downtown highrise.
The No. 81-ranked firm, which grew inch by inch in the Twin Cities before officially planting its flag at the IDS Center, said the move—which should be completed Jan. 1—will more than double its presence in a city it targeted for its strength in industries such as healthcare, manufacturing and banking and finance.
The firms’ respective leaders added in an interview Friday that the pieces fit together particularly well. Patterson “brings a really strong medical device IP practice, which allows us to deliver more for our health care and life sciences type of clients,” said Paul Eberle, Husch’s chief executive officer.
Conversely, Husch not only wanted to bring on the firm’s lawyers, it welcomed the boutique’s paralegals and business professionals, said Tom Dickson, Patterson’s managing partner.
“Being a small boutique, some of our staff have just as much client contact as our attorneys,” he said, adding that Husch’s large platform helps them and their clients, including some of whom are international. “We have opportunities to grow the IP business, and to do it nimbly and offer more services, we needed a partner.”
That Patterson was also based at the IDS Center in Minneapolis was “kind of serendipitous,” Eberle said, adding that “it created a great opportunity to get to know these guys.”
He said the firm did have conversations with multiple firms in the area, even prior to officially launching there, and that it’s continuing to talk about growth with other parties. Eberle added that he expects the office to grow even more in 2024.
Just in the last week, Midwest firms Ulmer & Berne and Greensfelder Hemker & Gale announced a February combination that may result in a new Am Law 200 contender, with an estimated 275 attorneys and annual gross revenue of approximately $150 million.
Meanwhile, Kansas City-based Spencer Fane, No. 151 in the latest Am Law rankings, announced it’s entering Salt Lake City through a merger with Utah’s Snow Christensen & Martineau, bringing the firm up to around 500 lawyers with approximately $244 to $248 million in revenue. That move should be completed by March 1.
Husch, also founded in Kansas City, said it’s considering a number of options to expand its office space while remaining in the downtown area. For now, at least everyone is already under one roof.
“I think if you go back to our original thoughts, we’d always had an expectation we’d add great partners and attorneys” in Minneapolis, Eberle said. “And we quickly met Tom and the team and realized just a couple floors above is a really great firm to learn about.”
Eberle said Husch has gained more than 100 lawyers during the course of 2023 and that it now has over 1,000 lawyers total. He said that, in addition to Minneapolis, Nashville remains a target for expansion, as does the Southwest.
From a growth standpoint, Eberle added, next year could rival or exceed 2023. “We’ll kick off with this great addition, and there is more in the discussion stages that will make 2024 look as good, if not, better,” he said.
