Mergers and Acquisitions

"There are a handful of headhunting firms that stand above the rest in both Northern and Southern California .... Esquire is one of those firms".
(California Law Business, September 1998).

"Esquire...one of the top 10 legal search firms in California"
(Daily Journal, February, 2001)

Click here to see a partial list of our clients.

Increasingly, law firms are evaluating strategic growth acquisitions and mergers. Our Mergers and Acquisitions division has been especially busy and has become a key component of Esquire's expansion. Perhaps our most notable deal was facilitating the merger of Hosie Wes Sacks & Brelsford LLP, a prominent Northern California 17 lawyer firm with Perkins Coie. Previous to the merger, Perkins Coie, a Seattle based national firm of 500 attorneys had established Silicon Valley and San Francisco as their top strategic priority for geographic expansion.

After Perkins Coie had determined that Northern California was of vital importance, they retained the services of one of San Francisco's top legal search firms and had discussions with several law firms. Esquire, which had worked with Perkins Coie in Los Angeles learned about the firm's interest in Northern California, and got to work. Based on our knowledge of the industry, relationships we had with several firms, including Hosie Wes, we were able to facilitate the merger, even though Hosie Wes was being actively pursued by a major Southern California firm and in advanced merger discussions.

"An extraordinary fit", said Robert Giles, Perkins Coie's managing partner. (Recommendation letter included). Charles J. Katz, Jr., a senior corporate partner who was involved with the merger said, "When I saw the resumes and information about this firm, I actually thought someone had designed it as a joke for me. It was so exactly what we had in mind". James Brelsford, the Hosie Wes partner who now manages Perkins Coie's San Francisco and Silicon Valley offices put it this way, "Like many of our client start-ups, we formulated a plan to be so well positioned that we would be a highly desirable merger candidate .... we were able to maintain our own identity and our own culture .... but with a larger platform to service our clients".

In addition to the Hosie Wes/Perkins Coie merger, we handled Pettilon & Davidoff in its merger with Gipson, Hoffman & Pancione; Layman, Jones & Dye, a prominent Orange County corporate boutique with Bryan Cave; King, Weiser, Bazar & Jacobs, an 8 lawyer firm, with Van Etten, Suzumoto et al; and the merger of Bottom, Feliton (15 lawyers) with Lewis, Brisbois.

Mark Hillis, Bryan Cave firm-wide managing partner, wrote:

"Over the years, we have been contacted by search firms across the globe .... Esquire Legal Search Consultants has been very effective in providing search services to us. The compatibility in clients, philosophy, management style and culture between the two firms is an excellent fit and demonstrates your firm's understanding of our growth efforts. As managing partner of Bryan Cave, I would like to thank Esquire, and you (Sandy Lechtick) in particular for introducing us to such a fine group of lawyers who will make a significant contribution to our objectives in Southern California."

We've also started offices for other firms. When Esquire brokered a products liability group in Sacramento with Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard & Smith, a 300 lawyer insurance firm, it created the firm's new office in that area headed by experienced trial attorney Dennis Seley. Since then Esquire has placed 12 revenue producing partners throughout the firm's California offices in practice areas including: labor/employment; health care; products liability, insurance coverage and business litigation. Mr. Seley wrote:

"My relationship with Esquire Legal Search Consultants may be one of the most important relationships I've ever had as for my career advancement .... Esquire in my opinion is unquestionably one of the top legal search firms in the state."

Search Philosophy

The Fit

Winston & Strawn (Case Study)

Decision Makers Entre

Mergers and Acquisitions

Relationships with Boutiques

Market Expertise

Career Counseling

Value-added Services