In just under a month, Lathrop GPM will officially combine with the Silicon Valley-based law firm Hopkins Carley, bringing its nationwide attorney count to 360, and its approximate annual revenue to $250 million, according to a press release sent by the firm.
Cameron Garrison, managing partner at Lathrop GPM, told Law Week that the merger has been in the works for several months and that the firms’ lawyers are already working to get to know each other and identify new client opportunities. He also noted that the internal staff of the firms are working on the behind-the-scenes aspect of bringing the firms together.
“That doesn’t always get as much attention, but it’s a huge part of making something like this a success,” added Garrison.
Garrison said that the firm is always looking at three things when considering growth opportunities.
“We want to make sure, first of all, that there’s a strong cultural fit, that’s critically important to us, and making sure that we are growing with good people that fit our culture,” said Garrison. “We are always looking for a strong practice fit, making sure that there are supplementary and complementary practices that will help allow us to better serve our clients. And then geography is key as well, and the opportunity to have a significant presence in a tremendous market like northern California was something that was very attractive to us.”
Jennifer Johnson, managing partner at Hopkins Carley, noted that there’s a very tight fit between the firms on core values, how both conduct business and amongst practice areas.
“We have, between the two firms, practices that are very similar that are now getting stronger and are now going to have greater depth,” said Johnson. “And certainly for Hopkins and Carley, Lathrop has practice groups that we don’t currently have in our firm, and so those are going to be added to our repertoire and our ability to service clients in those additional areas.”
Part of that culture fit comes down to the firms’ commitment to lasting relationships with their clients, the people that make up the firms and the community, according to Garrison.
“Those are priorities or targets that I shared with Jen very early on, and she shared similar ones with me, and helped us realize that we really did have alignment on those cultural pieces,” said Garrison.
Johnson told Law Week that another aspect of the cultural fit comes from the firms’ shared values in excellence in legal practice, commitment to community, commitment to entrepreneurship and commitment to honesty and integrity.
While the direct growth in attorney numbers for the combined firm comes from California, Garrison said that they’re excited, from a client perspective, to explore opportunities in Colorado. Garrison couldn’t get into the details on the specific ties, but he noted that they’d identified some opportunities already and are excited to explore them.
“From a macro perspective, we do hope that the excitement around this combination and the overall continued growth of the firm is going to help us continue the success we’ve had in Colorado over the last year in terms of growth, and we hope to see that growth continue,” said Garrison.
Garrison said that so far the response from their clients has been overwhelmingly positive, and both he and Johnson noted that they were looking forward to the services and opportunities the combined firm could provide their clients.
“Folks are really excited about it, and we’re already hearing about some great client opportunities that will come from this,” said Garrison. “And that’s why you do this, right? The business is about serving your clients, and that’s why we’re excited about the opportunity.”