🔒Portland law firm partners discuss merger

Lawyers from Verrill Dana, one of Portland's oldest law firms, and Friedman Gaythwaite Wolf, a Portland-based firm known for its litigators, have squared off in court many times. But as of Aug. 1, the two firms have merged, integrating the dozen or so trial lawyers from FGW into the larger firm.

By doing so, Verrill Dana, which retains its name, becomes the state's second-largest law firm with 118 lawyers, trailing only Pierce Atwood's 135.

Keith “K.C.” Jones, Verrill Dana's managing partner, and Harold Friedman, who founded FGW in 1984, sat down with Mainebiz to discuss the merger. The following is an edited transcript.

Mainebiz: What drove your decision to combine the resources of these two firms now?

K.C. Jones: Well, first, it's very much a merger, and it's driven by the idea that the combined firm will be greater than the sum of its parts. It's really being driven by the clients. By merging, we can offer a greater depth and breadth of services to our clients.

Harold Friedman: It's exciting for us because it gives our established trial lawyers the opportunity to work with attorneys with a high degree of expertise in a wide range of areas — real estate, employment, health care and more. That gives us the opportunity to have these resources available to clients when we have court appearances and prepare for trials.

MB: Is that a reflection of how specialized the legal industry has become these days?

KJ: Clients are sophisticated. They want attorneys who can provide effective, efficient representation. I think it's that increased depth of the combined firm that will allow us to provide value to our clients. And in many ways, our trial practices are complementary.

MB: Can you give me an example?

KJ: Our trial practice has experience in a number of areas — intellectual property, corporate disputes, employment, business franchise and several others. And Friedman Gaythwaite Wolf has a fantastic practice and experience in product liability, personal injury, general commercial litigation and other areas. Bringing these resources together in company litigation matters gives us greater depth and makes it easier than if either firm were to tackle it alone.

Litigation has become more complicated, more expensive and you really need a team approach to deal with it. We're looking for an efficient and effective resolution. By bringing together greater abilities through this merger, we can reach a good resolution to a litigation matter earlier.

MB: And that saves the client money?

KJ: Exactly. Being prepared to go to trial frequently can lead to avoiding having to go to trial at all and its associated costs. Harold's firm has a fantastic reputation as trial lawyers.

HF: Most cases — when there's a cause of action and a filing in court — settle. So about 95% of all cases settle. In terms of cost-effectiveness and getting the best result, earlier evaluation of cases, getting the facts and the law together can serve clients well. In addition, we have been engaged in trial work with the goal of getting superior results. And we believe because we have the ability and the staying power to actually try a case if the other side is unreasonable, that works to the clients' benefit where they can get a good settlement. Adding Verrill Dana's team of highly experienced attorneys, the trial lawyers — those who communicate with the lawyers on the other side, with the court and ultimately, with a jury — are much better suited to get that result.

MB: Will the addition of the Friedman attorneys develop into new practice groups at Verrill Dana?

KJ: We expect there will be additional practice groups that will be formed. We're looking to several of the lawyers from the Friedman firm to take a leadership role with respect to those practice groups.

MB: A while back, we wrote about mid-tier Maine law firms positioning themselves for national markets by saying they were as good as any New York City law firm, but charge Maine prices. Does this merger affect your ability to position yourself for bigger markets?

KJ: I think it does. It enhances our reputation as a regional player. Harold's practice is somewhat regional — they have tried cases throughout New England. We think that we match the profile of a firm that a lot of clients are interested in retaining. That is a regional firm that has the ability to practice in a number of areas that is full service and represents a better value. That's what Verrill Dana has been doing for a long time, although we didn't articulate it until recently. We have a lot of clients out of state. We represent Maine corporations in mergers and acquisitions all over the country. And Harold's firm operates similarly.

MB: What kind of structural changes will there be? Harold, do you become a managing partner?

HF: (Smiling.) That is not my field of expertise.

KJ: The three name partners [of FGW] will all be partners of Verrill Dana. We anticipate all their staff and attorneys are coming over. I get to remain the managing partner and Harold gets to do what he loves, which is representing clients and developing business. There won't be any significant management changes at the firm, although several of Harold's partners will likely be heads of practice groups.

MB: I know you have been very clear in calling this a merger. With the name of the firm not changing, how do you see this as a merger, rather than an acquisition?

HF: When I was first involved in forming my firm, my name was on the letterhead. As I moved on in my practice, the practice developed, it was refined, and most of my focus was on developing clients, having close professional relationships with them, and getting the best results we could for them. That continues to be my focus. To be a partner in Verrill Dana is more than I could have ever imagined.

MB: It won't bother you that your name's not on the wall as people step off the elevator into the lobby?

HF: Absolutely not. I have relationships that have evolved over the years with partners here. It's awfully good and I'm very excited.

MB: How did this start? Who approached whom?

KJ: We reached out to Harold and his firm because we saw the synergies, the opportunity to improve our services and how the practices would fit together. I think that Harold's firm recognized that fairly quickly, too.

HF: Yes.

MB: How long ago was that?

KJ: Well, I've actually known Harold for a long time. Fifteen or more years ago, my son was seriously injured and my wife and I were looking for the best lawyer in town and we selected Harold. I've known him and appreciated his skills for a long time. The thought has been out there. But active discussion started three to four months ago.

MB: I know that KPMG did a study this year citing the increasing numbers of law firms that were merging. Is there a reason this is happening now?

KJ: If you're talking about opening new offices and acquiring new practices and new revenue streams, they aren't at play here. Verrill Dana has been pursuing becoming a full-service, regional law firm for a long time. We have acquired lateral lawyers over the years — I joined Verrill Dana 15 years ago from another law firm. It comes back to providing value to our clients. That's what's driving this. It's not the strategic alliances you hear about nationally — like a law firm acquiring another so it can do business in Germany. That's not what's going on here.

HF: We've had overtures over the years [from other firms] and nothing ever got off the ground. When we started communicating with Verrill Dana, we knew who they were, and we made a judgment that the timing was right, the opportunity was terrific and it's been almost overwhelmingly driven by personalities, character and competencies.

MB: How will your clients see the difference?

KJ: I think they will see the difference in that we're going to add new practice areas, product liability, professional malpractice and provide greater depth, so we will clearly be more able to handle complicated company litigation. We'll have more lawyers with trial experience. Each of the name partners at Harold's firm has over 100 civil jury trials that they've tried to conclusion. That's a huge depth of experience to offer our clients.

HF: I have privately communicated with clients and indicated to them that we would be working with Verrill Dana in a litigation and trial context. And each of them gave it a big green light. Go ahead. That's terrific. That's pretty good evidence to me.

And just to let you know how welcoming and inviting they are, I played golf with some of K.C.'s partners and they let me win.

MB: Is that true?

KJ: (Laughing.) The part that he won is true. The part that they let him win, I'm not so sure about. As attorneys, they hate to lose.