Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman have called off talks for a potential merger.
Orrick, the top bond counsel firm, and Pillsbury, a San-Francisco based law firm with a public finance team, said in a statement that prospective client conflicts prevented the deal from happening. The decision was made before either partnership had an opportunity to vote, as the firms agreed that conflicts of interest between Orrick’s public finance clients and Pillsbury’s corporate clients could not be resolved.
“Simply put, Pillsbury’s corporate clients’ interests are sometimes adverse to the interests of the state and municipal entities that Orrick represents,” Jolie Goldstein, chief communications officer, said in an email. “For Orrick, this affirms our commitment to the public finance market and to representing the public sector.”
The deal would have added Pillsbury's 12-person public finance team to Orrick’s top-notch lineup of almost 100 lawyers that specialize in public finance. Orrick advised $30.8 billion in par of deals in 2012. It has been the top municipal bond counsel firm since 2001.
“We mutually determined that we will not be able to proceed due to prospective client conflicts that we have not been able to resolve, notwithstanding each firm’s best efforts,” the firms said in a joint media statement sent to the Bond Buyer.
Pillsbury was responsible for $561 in gross revenue in 2012, according to The American Lawyer. The firm is comprised of 667 attorneys, Pillsbury said an email. Orrick took in $866 million, according to the same list.
The public finance team at Pillsbury is led by Gregory Weston, who has represented bond issuers, underwriters and not-for-profits in both taxable and tax-exempt infrastructure, housing and higher education deals, according to the firm's website.
Orrick said that similar types of mergers are not its primary focus at this time.
