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Law360 (March 17, 2020, 8:09 PM EDT ) Troutman Sanders LLP and Pepper Hamilton LLP plan to postpone their merger date from April 1 to July 1 because of the novel coronavirus, the firms announced Tuesday.
While the firms say they remain committed to merging and becoming known as Troutman Pepper, they also believe that pushing back the date will allow everyone involved to deal with all the challenges that COVID-19 is posing for firms and for the world as a whole, according to a joint statement by the firms.
"Postponing the merger will allow our attorneys to remain focused on excellent client care and will allow all our people to prioritize the health and safety of their families and themselves at this difficult time," according to the firms.
The firms announced the merger in January, saying that Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders LLP would include approximately 1,100 attorneys, offices in 23 locations, and be among the 20 largest firms in the U.S. by headcount.
Pepper Hamilton and Troutman Sanders have been on a different trajectory in headcount in recent years, according to rankings data from the annual Law360 400. Those reports show Troutman Sanders on an upward trajectory, growing from 595 attorneys in 2014 to 672 in the 2019 report.
Pepper Hamilton, on the other hand, has experienced contraction, shrinking from the 78th-largest law firm in the U.S. in 2014 with 530 attorneys to the 103rd-largest firm with 462 attorneys in the 2019 rankings.
Both Pepper Hamilton and Troutman Sanders have offices in New York, Washington, D.C., and Orange County, California.
The remaining offices will be in Atlanta; Berwyn, Pennsylvania; Boston; Charlotte, North Carolina; Chicago; Detroit; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Los Angeles; Philadelphia; Pittsburgh; Portland, Oregon; Princeton, New Jersey; Raleigh, North Carolina; Richmond, Virginia; Rochester, New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Silicon Valley, California; Virginia Beach, Virginia; and Wilmington, Delaware.
This was the first major merger of 2020, following a year that saw a drop in large firm mergers.
Although 2019 featured a bump in the number of firm mergers overall — up to 113 from 106 the year before — only five of those mergers involved firms that both had at least 100 attorneys. There were six such mergers in 2018 and seven in 2017.
--Additional reporting by Emma Cueto and Aebra Coe. Editing by Jay Jackson Jr.
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