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Tuesday, March 02, 2010

Law - "The law firms of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP and Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P C announced that they will merge their practices, effective March 1, 2010"

Here are some quotes from a press release the ILB just received:

CLEVELAND, OH and INDIANAPOLIS, IN -- March 2, 2010 – The law firms of Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP and Dann Pecar Newman & Kleiman P C announced that they will merge their practices, effective March 1, 2010.

“We are very excited about our firms joining together. It is another step in what we hope will be many in executing our growth plan and our plan to continuously enhance the quality of service that we provide to our clients,” said Ira Kaplan, Benesch’s Managing Partner. He added, “both of our firms have long lasting relationships with our clients, including in the real estate area as well as other sectors. Our strategic plan calls for growth in core practices and Benesch and Dann Pecar match up very well in that regard. It also is important to us to expand our Midwest presence which provides us with broader reach and depth to better serve our clients.”

Dann Pecar also is excited about the combination as a way to expand their current market and client base. “In looking at our growth plan this combination with Benesch made perfect sense to us. In addition to similar clients, we have similar values and a great cultural fit,” said Jeff Abrams, Managing Partner. “Our firm has been strong in recognized practice areas in Indianapolis. We see this as the right time to take it to the next level and expand our opportunities.”

The firm will do business as Benesch/Dann Pecar in the Indianapolis market. “Dann Pecar has a great reputation and a century long history in Indianapolis. We want to make sure that the business and legal communities understand that we are here to partner with Dann Pecar to expand their continued service to the community” said Kaplan, who will continue as the combined firm’s Managing Partner. Jeff Abrams will be Partner-in-Charge of the Indianapolis office and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Both firms have strong roots in their communities. David Kleiman who is a named partner at Dann Pecar said “we were very impressed with Benesch’s support for the arts and other not-for-profits, a value we share and intend to grow.” He added, “we expect that the transition will be seamless as both parties share the same values, culture and commitment to quality client service. We are looking forward to the combination of our two firms. We pride ourselves on our ability to deliver superior legal services to our clients. Now, by joining forces with Benesch, our clients will benefit from the additional knowledge, resources and experience of a strong Midwest firm with an entrepreneurial spirit.” * * *

This combination will greatly reinforce the core practice areas for the two firms, specifically in the areas of Real Estate, Commercial Litigation and Bankruptcy as well as in the Transportation/Logistics and Construction industries. Additionally, other areas that will be strengthened are Intellectual Property, Health Care, Labor, Public Finance and Commercial Finance & Banking.

[More] Tom Spalding of the Indianapolis Star reports:
It's the latest deal resulting in a longtime Indianapolis law firm giving up or altering its name as a way to grow larger.

In 2009, local firm Sommer Barnard merged forces with the law firm of Taft Stettinius & Hollister, based in Cincinnati. And in January, one of the city's oldest mid-sized firms, Locke Reynolds, best known for defending such clients as Ford and Honda in product-liability cases, merged with the powerhouse law firm of Frost Brown Todd, based in Cincinnati and Louisville, Ky.

Posted by Marcia Oddi on March 2, 2010 02:42 PM
Posted to General Law Related | Indiana Law