June 1, 2016, marks the first anniversary of the formation of Barclay Damon, LLP, the super-regional law firm created when Hiscock & Barclay, LLP and Damon Morey LLP merged last year.
The 275-attorney combination established Barclay Damon as the Northeast's largest law firm not centered in a major metropolitan area. With the combination, the firm's two centuries of legal experience significantly enhanced the breadth and depth of the services available to clients in practices that include health care, which is now one of largest health law practices based in Upstate New York; labor and employment; and corporate law, among other already-acclaimed practices such as intellectual property and energy. The merger also provided a platform for the firm to expand service offerings in areas such as higher education, international/cross-border, and cyber security. In all, the firm's 33 practice areas provide clients with access to outstanding attorneys who are proficient in virtually any legal area they may require.
John P. Langan, Barclay Damon's managing partner, said, "It's been an exhilarating year, exceeding the expectations of our partners and clients who, themselves, ambitiously predicted great things from the combination. It clicked from day one"”the people, the cultures, the unique energy triggered from the fusion of two great law firms"”and it's been fun to watch since then."
He continued, "Eight separate editions of the firm's internally circulated 'Success Stories' describe almost 100 accounts of extraordinary client outcomes and other great 'wins' from the merger. We were able to meet a range of challenges during our first year, including merging two cultures, aligning two different fiscal year ends, and, in Buffalo, combining 105 lawyers and their support staffs into a single, fully integrated office." That both legacy firms not only met but exceeded their fiscal year end budgeted performances was no surprise to Langan in light of the other successes resulting from the combination.
Prior to becoming Barclay Damon, Hiscock & Barclay saw 20 years of lateral growth and merger activity, including 10 major additions to the firm of between five and 65 new attorneys with each addition. This type of merger between law firms is increasingly a major national and global trend, with more law firm mergers occurring in 2015 than any previous year.
As noted by Peter S. Marlette, former legacy Damon Morey managing partner and now co-managing director of Barclay Damon's Buffalo office, "While we see our merger experience as a snapshot of this major trend in our industry, I believe our ability to successfully adapt to"”and capitalize on"”a transformative change like this sets Barclay Damon apart. It comes in part from the combined firm's unique operational principal of functioning as a unified platform of integrated offices rather than as a single headquarters office with satellites."
James P. Domagalski, the Buffalo office's other co-managing director, noted, "A year ago, our largest office was in Syracuse. Today, it's in Buffalo. Next year, it may be Rochester or Albany. With a proven system of integrated operations, our clients get top legal talent and outstanding value without regard to the primary location of the client or the attorneys."
A super-regional, full-service law firm, Barclay Damon, LLP offers well-respected legal and business counsel in areas that include energy, intellectual property, health care, labor and employment, business and finance, real estate and project development, public finance, and commercial and civil litigation, among numerous others. Barclay Damon has offices throughout the major cities of New York State and in Boston, Newark, Toronto, and Washington DC. For more information, go to barclaydamon.com.
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