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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTaft Stettinius & Hollister LLP is ringing in the new year by completing its merger with Denver-based firm Sherman & Howard LLC.
The deal, which closed Wednesday after being announced in September, expands Taft’s presence to the Mountain West region, growing its staff to more than 1,000 attorneys.
Ohio-founded Taft, which has the second largest presence of any law firm in Indianapolis, now has offices stretching from the Rocky Mountain region to Washington, D.C.
Sherman & Howard is Denver’s oldest and third-largest firm with offices in Colorado, Arizona, and Nevada.
“Together, we share a common mindset to deliver exceptional service to our clients,” Robert Hicks, the Indianapolis-based chairman and managing partner at Taft, said in written remarks.”With our unified focus on client engagement, community support, and firmwide collaboration, we look forward to the tremendous opportunities this merger brings for our clients and the communities we serve.”
The merger is the seventh Taft has completed in the past 17 years, following combinations in Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago, Columbus, Cleveland and Indianapolis.
The firm entered the Indianapolis market in 2008 when it absorbed locally based Sommer Barnard, a 39-year-old firm with 103 lawyers.
The moves have helped boost revenue by 400% and headcount by 275% since 2017, the law firm said. That makes Taft one of the fastest growing firms on the Am Law 100, the annual ranking of the 100 largest law firms in the United States.
Sherman & Howard’s 125 attorneys will bring to Taft strong specialty practices in bonds and private wealth, the law firms have noted.
“Our clients are the ones who will ultimately benefit the most from the combined deeper and more comprehensive services,” said former Sherman & Howard CEO Stefan Stein, who is now Taft Mountain West chairman and Colorado partner-in-charge. “Legacy Taft attorneys have also expressed their enthusiasm for the expanded capabilities extending into the Mountain West.”
Since the merger was announced, 12 lawyers have accepted offers to join Taft’s Mountain West offices. More attorneys are currently at various stages of the interview process in those offices, Taft said.
With the addition of Sherman & Howard, Taft is projecting annual revenue of $875 million and a headcount surpassing 1,100 lawyers.
Shortly after the merger was announced, Taft said it was setting its sights on future law firm combinations in Florida and the Northeast.
In Indianapolis, Taft had 172 attorneys in 2023, according to IBJ research. Indianapolis based Barnes & Thornburg LLP is the city’s largest law firm, with 197 attorneys.
Taft gots its start in Cincinnati in 1885 as Worthington & Strong. It became Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP in 1924 when the sons of former President William Howard Taft joined the firm.
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