CHICAGO— Two Cincinnati-based law firms -- Dinsmore & Shohl LLP and Peck Shaffer & Williams LLP - will merge on March 1, the firms announced Tuesday.
The merger will give Dinsmore & Shohl a major jolt in the public finance sector. The firm is much larger with more than 500 lawyers across all of its practices but has just a small public finance group of five attorneys.
Peck Shaffer is a top-ranked bond counsel firm that specializes in the public finance arena with 35 lawyers serving in the roles of bond counsel, legal counsel, and underwriters counsel. It's widely regarded for its work on tax-exempt housing deals and worked on the original Section 8 financing regulations.
Effective March 1, Peck Shaffer will become a division of Dinsmore & Shohl.
That firm opened its doors more than 100 years ago but only launched a public finance group in 2007 out of its Pittsburgh office. It operates offices in 16 cities in Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Washington D.C. and West Virginia.
Peck Shaffer was founded in Cincinnati in 1889, making it one of the nation's oldest public finance practices. The firm expanded over time to open offices in Chicago, Columbus, Covington, Ky., and Denver and manages a national practice. Of the legal group joining Dinsmore, 23 are partners while eight are associates and four serve in "of counsel" roles.
Peck Shaffer ranked 7th in the Midwest last year among bond counsel firms, working on $2.3 billion of bonds, and has long ranked among the top 20 firms nationally, according to Thomson Reuters.
As part of the merger, the firm will create a finance department and restructure several practice groups with Peck Shaffer dropping its name to become a division of the larger firm.
The merger gives Dinsmore an immediate boost in the public finance sector with a large and well-respected team while giving Peck Shaffer access to legal expertise in other arenas, the firms said in a statement announcing the union.
"We are excited about the opportunity to join Dinsmore and to expand our public finance service offering," said Peck Shaffer's managing partner Dirk M. Bedarff. "It also enables us to leverage Dinsmore's Corporate, Litigation, Labor & Employment and Intellectual Property groups to fully support our clients' needs."
"The timing is right from our standpoint," said Dinsmore's managing partner George H. Vincent. "Peck Shaffer is known nationally for the quality and strength of its public finance practice.
Combining its 35 attorneys with our top commercial finance and bond counsel groups means we are well positioned in the finance arena. This expansion also aligns with our strategic goals of keeping pace with our clients' sophisticated public financing needs."
