Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner has recently amalgamated with Harrigan Leyh Farmer & Thomsen, a Seattle trial firm, thereby tripling the size of its base in the Pacific Northwest. This significant move is a follow up to the opening of Bryan Cave’s Seattle office a year ago when it added litigators from Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, a firm headquartered in Portland.
Chief Executive Officer, Steve Baumer, said the combination enhanced the firm’s standing in the region by enlarging its capacity to execute the essential work being carried out there. This merger comes in the wake of a number of partner departures at Bryan Cave with a seven-lawyer group moving to Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer in February and a trio of restructuring partners shifting to Seyfarth Shaw in January.
After the 2018 merger between US-based Bryan Cave and UK-based Berwin Leighton Paisner, the firm’s headcount has been decreasing. The firm’s revenue and profits per partner have been mostly flat in 2023, totaling $840 million and $950,000 respectively, according to The American Lawyer.
The Seattle firm Harrigan Leyh, which has been around for 40 years, has been involved in high-stake disputes in the Seattle region, including those representing public bodies such as King County, the Port of Seattle, and the state of Washington. The three name partners who are now part of the firm from the Seattle entity are Timothy Leyh, Tyler Farmer, and Randall Thomsen, each bringing a unique expertise to the table.
This merger, which introduces a total of 12 lawyers to Bryan Cave’s Seattle office, sets a new landmark in the firm’s expansion in the Pacific Northwest, setting the trajectory for the years to come.
Original article can be found here.