Lange Simpson to Merge with Adams and Reese Will Create Largest Law Firm in Three State Region

Birmingham-Lange, Simpson, Robinson & Somerville LLP and Adams and Reese LLP today announce the merger of the two firms, effective January 1, 2003. In Alabama, the firm will operate as Adams and Reese/Lange Simpson. The announcement is made jointly by Charles P. Adams, managing partner of Adams and Reese, and Ann Huckstep, chair of Lange Simpson's Executive Committee.

The merger, uniting two of the South's most esteemed firms, creates the largest law firm in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, with a total number of attorneys approaching 300 in seven offices including, Birmingham, Mobile, New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Jackson, Houston, and Washington, D.C. With more than 50 lawyers, the Birmingham office will be the firm's second largest, behind the New Orleans office, where Adams and Reese was founded in 1951.

Lange Simpson is the first large Alabama firm to engage in a merger of this size and substance. According to the New York Law Journal (Anthony Lin, June 25, 2002), the trend toward law firm mergers is nationwide; in fact, there were 24 major mergers in the first quarter of 2002 alone. As companies grow larger, law firms that serve them must also expand. Increased competition calls for law firms to have a broader geographic reach in order to service clients with regional interests more efficiently.

Huckstep explains, "Lange Simpson is a solid, well managed mid-size firm with a healthy client base. As we looked to grow our business and better meet client needs, a merger was the most logical and efficient course," she says. "We considered a number of firms and Adams and Reese was the best fit for us. It is truly a regional firm organizationally, implementing regional firm concepts that result in added value for clients," says Huckstep. "They also have a well-defined vision and a long term strategic plan that is consistent with our firm's goals."

According to Adams, "To better serve our clients, and to make our business stronger, we had a choice: we could either grow our firm by hiring individuals and small groups of attorneys here and there, or we could expedite the process by identifying an entire firm with a culture, location and practice areas to complement our own."

"Further, because our strategic plan calls for progressive growth in targeted markets with thriving economies, we were naturally attracted to the healthy Birmingham business climate," says Adams. "And, we were drawn to Lange Simpson by their long-standing and dominant presence in this market, especially in the areas of transactions, banking, employee benefits, telecommunications, health care, business litigation and planning, and labor and employment."

Former Alabama State Bar President Victor H. Lott, Jr., a partner in Adams and Reese's 21-lawyer Mobile office, says, "Lange Simpson's goals parallel those of Adams and Reese, and we see this merger as a great opportunity to mutually expand our practice areas while continuing to provide superior levels of service to all of our clients. There is a strong synergy between our two firms which became more evident over the past several months as our negotiations progressed, and we believe it will be the catalyst for expanding both firms' services throughout this region and to other parts of the country."

Like successful marriages, successful mergers require compatible philosophies. Lange, Simpson has long been a leader among Alabama law firms in the hiring and advancement of minorities and females. Huckstep, the first woman to serve as chair of a Top 10 Alabama law firm, says they were pleased to find the same distinctive practices and commitment to diversity of people, talent and ideas, at Adams and Reese.

State Senator Bradley Byrne (R-Montrose), who is also a partner in Adams and Reese's Mobile office, notes that the synergies between the two firms extend beyond the practice of law. "We believe our firm cultures are complementary in that we both place strong emphasis on commitment to the communities we serve, dedicating both financial and human resources to those in need," says Byrne. Both firms take pride in their reputation as progressive, innovative firms that help clients develop strategies and solve problems. And both firms have earned their powerful reputations by focusing on results for clients, not just process.

Beyond its solid reputation in legal and business circles, one of the primary identifiers that drew us to Adams and Reese was not the firm's prestigious clientele, but the length of their relationships with so many of those clients," says Huckstep. "That was a sign to us that superior client service had to be as much a cornerstone of Adams and Reese as it is for us at Lange Simpson. We are excited about the merger because it will enable us to add value to the services we provide our clients, with expanded areas of experience in a broader geographical region."

Adams sums up the merger similarly, "Succinctly, what this merger means is that we will have a larger attorney base with even more experience, providing services to a broader clientele in a wider geographical area."

Founded in 1919, Lange, Simpson's practice was devoted primarily to business litigation in its early years. Over time, the firm has developed into a full service, civil practice law firm, representing individuals, businesses, educational institutions, financial institutions, governmental entities, and utilities, with a full range of services. The firm has developed a strong practice in virtually all areas, such as banking, corporate and securities, labor and employment, real estate, bankruptcy, health care and intellectual property, as well as all areas of civil litigation, and in recent years, increasingly with environmental regulation.

Adams and Reese has more than 50 years experience working with local, regional, national and international corporations, agencies, municipalities, universities and individuals. The firm's client list includes companies in a wide range of industries ranging from manufacturing, shipping, and oil, gas and energy resources, to banking and finance, real estate, healthcare and telecommunications. It is a multidisciplinary firm providing legal counsel in practice areas as diverse as labor and employment, construction law, mergers and acquisitions and corporate law to product liability, class action litigation, intellectual property and governmental relations.