• The Big Law merger will span 35 offices across the U.S. and Europe.

• The combined entity will launch on Jan. 1, 2025, with strengths in energy, finance, healthcare and life sciences.

• Leaders from both firms cite expanded reach and enhanced client service as driving factors.

Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord have agreed to merge, creating a powerhouse firm with over 1,600 lawyers and 35 offices spread across the U.S. and Europe. The merger is set to launch on January 1, 2025, Bloomberg Law reports.

Talks of a merger began earlier this year, and on Thursday, September 5, partners in both firms voted in favor of the combination.

Why It Matters: This is the largest law firm combination to emerge in 2024, creating one of the largest Big Law firms in the country. Both firms reported more than $1.5 billion in combined gross revenue last year, which would have landed them among the country’s 30 largest.

Details of the Merger

• The combined firm will be named Troutman Pepper Locke, according to Reuters. 

• The new firm will be headed by Tom Cole, chair of the larger firm Troutman Pepper. 

• Locke Lord chair David Taylor and Troutman Pepper vice chair Ashley Taylor will be vice chairs of the new firm.

Why It Makes Sense

• The merger provides Troutman entrance to the Texas legal market, gaining Locke Lord’s offices in Austin, Dallas, and Houston. 

• It offers Locke Lord more scale, tripling the firm’s attorney headcount after steady departures in the last few years, and giving it access to Troutman’s practice areas in Philadelphia and Orange County, California.

• The two firms already share significant practice strengths in industries that are critical to the economy, including energy, financial services, healthcare and life sciences.

“Some of their practice areas are going to complement each other and their geographic footprint is going to be hard to beat,” Atlanta-based legal recruiter Raj Nichani told Bloomberg. “The clients in oil and gas are going to be great for Troutman’s arsenal because they have a large footprint on the corporate side.”