Saul Ewing Llp Announces Planned Merger With Washington, Dc-Based
Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, P.C.
(Philadelphia, PA/Washington,
D.C., September 12, 2006) -- Saul Ewing LLP announced today
an agreement in principle to combine with the Washington, DC-based
boutique firm of Schmeltzer, Aptaker & Shepard, P.C. (SAS),
which specializes in labor and employment, corporate and public
policy law. The combination is subject to final partner
and shareholder approval by each firm, which is expected later
this month.
The combination will strengthen Saul Ewing’s
existing Washington, DC presence, significantly enhance several
of the Firm’s practice areas, and increase its capabilities
in international trade.
The firms expect the combination to be completed
by October 1, 2006, when Saul Ewing’s existing Washington,
DC office will relocate to Schmeltzer’s offices in the
Watergate office building. The combined firm will operate
as Saul Ewing LLP.
“This expansion will strengthen Saul Ewing in the Washington,
DC marketplace by providing additional capabilities to serve
our combined clients, particularly in the areas of labor and
employment law, and our corporate, high tech and biotech practices,”
said David S. Antzis, Managing Partner of Saul Ewing.
“The Schmeltzer firm brings to Saul Ewing new capabilities
in public policy and lobbying in Washington, DC, as well as
within the international arena. Our respective practices
complement one another perfectly.”
Ira M. Shepard, one of the named partners at SAS, will be Co-Managing
Partner of the Washington, DC office, along with Howard Slavit,
Saul Ewing’s current Washington Office Managing Partner.
“We are energized by the combination and are excited that
after 30 years of operation as an independent Washington, DC
boutique, we are joining an institution that has, during its
85 years
of existence, earned an impeccable reputation for superior client
and community service throughout the region,” Mr. Shepard
said. “The firms share a vision to grow the Washington
office and the regional and national practices of the combined
operation.”
Saul Ewing will grow as a result of the merger to close to 300
attorneys. In addition to its offices in Philadelphia
and Washington, DC, the firm has offices in Harrisburg and Chesterbrook,
Pennsylvania, Baltimore, Maryland, Princeton and Newark, New
Jersey, and in Wilmington, Delaware.
Saul Ewing LLP is a regional law firm with
eight offices in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, Delaware,
and the District of Columbia. The Firm serves businesses
throughout the United States and
internationally, including recognizable names in corporate America,
exciting start-ups and an array of closely held and privately
held companies, as well as nonprofits, governmental and educational
entities.
