The New York Times reports
Two prominent law firms, Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer, winding up months of talks, announced on Thursday that they would combine to become a firm with more than 1,000 lawyers effective Jan. 1. The new firm will be called Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer.
The combination was not a surprise. Each firm brings complementary expertise — Arnold & Porter is a litigation and regulatory issues powerhouse in Washington, and Kaye Scholer, based in New York, which is almost half the size of Arnold & Porter, is best known for its financial services and life sciences work. At each firm, however, the revenue and profit per partner has been buffeted in the changing legal landscape.
In that respect, the linkup seems logical. But the legal trade press reported that some Arnold & Porter partners were unhappy to be tied to what they viewed as the less-prestigious firm.
Kaye Scholer was founded in 1917 by Benjamin Kaye, a noted tax lawyer and playwright.
Arnold & Porter came in 1946. It was founded by Thurman Arnold, a former federal judge and Yale law professor, and Paul A. Porter, a former chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. (Another principal, Abe Fortas, became a Supreme Court justice, but his tenure was marred by a scandal.)
But pedigree aside, modern-day financial considerations appeared to win the day. Last year, Arnold & Porter’s revenue fell 6.4 percent, to $650 million, and the bellwether metric — profit per partner — fell 12.6 percent, to $1.21 million. Kaye Scholer’s revenue also dipped last year, by 1.3 percent, to $370 million, and its profit per partner fell 2.1 percent, to $1.38 million, according to figures from the American Lawyer legal publication.
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