PHILADELPHIA & WASHINGTON- LAWFUEL – US Law News Daily -Sept. 12, 2006–Saul Ewing LLP announced today an agreement in principle to combine with the Washington, DC-based boutique firm of Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, P.C. (SAS), which specializes in labor and employment, corporate and public policy law. The combination is subject to final partner and shareholder approval by each firm, which is expected later this month.
The combination will strengthen Saul Ewing’s existing Washington, DC presence, significantly enhance several of the Firm’s practice areas, and increase its capabilities in international trade.
The firms expect the combination to be completed by October 1, 2006, when Saul Ewing’s existing Washington, DC office will relocate to Schmeltzer’s offices in the Watergate office building. The combined firm will operate as Saul Ewing LLP.
“This expansion will strengthen Saul Ewing in the Washington, DC marketplace by providing additional capabilities to serve our combined clients, particularly in the areas of labor and employment law, and our corporate, high tech and biotech practices,” said David S. Antzis, Managing Partner of Saul Ewing. “The Schmeltzer firm brings to Saul Ewing new capabilities in public policy and lobbying in Washington, DC, as well as within the international arena. Our respective practices complement one another perfectly.”
Ira M. Shepard, one of the named partners at SAS, will be Co-Managing Partner of the Washington, DC office, along with Howard Slavit, Saul Ewing’s current Washington Office Managing Partner.
“We are energized by the combination and are excited that after 30 years of operation as an independent Washington, DC boutique, we are joining an institution that has, during its 85 years of existence, earned an impeccable reputation for superior client and community service throughout the region,” Mr. Shepard said. “The firms share a vision to grow the Washington office and the regional and national practices of the combined operation.”
Saul Ewing will grow as a result of the merger to close to 300 attorneys. In addition to its offices in Philadelphia and Washington, DC, the firm has offices in Harrisburg and Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland, Princeton and Newark, New Jersey, and in Wilmington, Delaware.
Saul Ewing LLP is a regional law firm with eight offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware, and the District of Columbia. The Firm serves businesses throughout the United States and internationally, including recognizable names in corporate America, exciting start-ups and an array of closely held and privately held companies, as well as nonprofits, governmental and educational entities.
