CLEVELAND & ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ulmer & Berne LLP and Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C. announced that they have completed their merger, effective today, creating a new Am Law 200 law firm, UB Greensfelder LLP. The new firm is led by Greensfelder president and CEO, Kevin T. McLaughlin, and Ulmer managing partner, Scott P. Kadish, who now serve as co-managing partners. UB Greensfelder’s practice, industry group, and office leadership will be evenly divided between attorneys from each legacy firm with equal representation on the UB Greensfelder governing board and compensation committees. Ulmer and Greensfelder, with complementary practice and geographic strengths, announced on December 5, 2023, that their respective partners and shareholders had voted unanimously to approve the merger.
A true merger of equals, the blending of two strong, growth-focused, complementary firms results in a new Am Law 200 law firm with approximately 275 attorneys in nine offices and more than $150 million in combined gross annual revenues. Based on those numbers, UB Greensfelder would have ranked approximately 181 on the 2023 Am Law 200 and 163 on the NLJ 500.
“As two highly compatible firms with similar cultures and a shared vision for growth, we have already seen incredible cross-firm collaboration,” Kadish said. “We have hit the ground running with our new, expanded platform, built on a foundation of exceptional client service, and supported by each legacy firm’s complementary practice and geographic footprints.”
“From the beginning, we have talked about our deal being somewhat unique among modern law firm mergers in that both firms were already financially strong, giving us the luxury of combining, not out of necessity, but because we recognized the deal as an opportunity to strengthen both firms,” McLaughlin added. “We have already generated several business opportunities that would not have been possible without this merger.”
UB Greensfelder builds strength-on-strength in corporate transactions, business litigation, financial services, real estate, and health care, as well as in several other practice areas where both legacy firms had outstanding reputations. The combined firm also benefits from Greensfelder’s legacy franchise, energy, and closely held business practices, and Ulmer’s immigration practice and bench strength in products liability.
The merger also creates geographic synergies. Greensfelder and Ulmer had overlapping offices in Chicago, one of the nation’s most important business hubs, and complementary strategic locations throughout the Midwest and in other top-tier business centers. This includes Ulmer’s legacy offices in Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Cincinnati; New York; Washington, DC; and Florida, and Greensfelder’s legacy offices in St. Louis and Southern Illinois. UB Greensfelder’s largest offices by attorney headcount are in St. Louis (with over 100 lawyers), Cleveland (with approximately 75 lawyers), and Chicago and Cincinnati (with approximately 30 lawyers each).
In addition to McLaughlin and Kadish as co-managing partners, Heather Henry, previously Greensfelder’s Chief Operating Officer, will assume the same position at UB Greensfelder, leading all firm operations. As part of UB Greensfelder’s shared management at the practice and industry group levels, leadership roles include:
- Corporate Department – Vincent J. Garozzo, Chair (Greensfelder) and Tracy R. Ring, Vice Chair (Greensfelder)
- Litigation Department – Michael N. Ungar, Chair (Ulmer) and Jeffrey S. Dunlap, Vice Chair (Ulmer)
- Business Litigation – Dolores (Lola) Garcia (Ulmer) and Kevin F. Hormuth (Greensfelder)
- Construction – Jason P. Conte (Ulmer) and Jennifer L. Therrien (Greensfelder)
- Corporate and M&A – Marie C. Kuban (Ulmer) and Patrick J. Sweeney (Greensfelder)
- Energy – Abby L. Risner (Greensfelder)
- ERISA/Tax – Douglas S. Neville (Greensfelder) and Adam R. Watowicz (Ulmer)
- Financial Institutions – Upneet S. Teji (Greensfelder) and Alan M. Wolper (Ulmer)
- Franchise – Dawn M. Johnson (Greensfelder) and Beata Krakus (Greensfelder)
- Healthcare – Kathy H. Butler (Greensfelder) and Daniel A. Gottesman (Ulmer)
- Immigration – David W. Leopold (Ulmer)
- Intellectual Property – Kara E. F. Cenar (Greensfelder) and Courtney J. Miller (Ulmer)
- Labor & Employment – T. Christopher Bailey (Greensfelder) and Joseph J. Brennan (Ulmer)
- Products Liability – Edward S. Bott, Jr. (Greensfelder) and Paul J. (PJ) Cosgrove (Ulmer)
- Real Estate – Lori Pittman Haas (Ulmer) and Donald J. Kennedy (Greensfelder)
- Trusts & Estates – Jennifer Clump Davis (Greensfelder)
About UB Greensfelder
UB Greensfelder is a full-service, Am Law 200, super-regional law firm focused on exceeding client expectations and delivering superior, customized legal solutions. Created in 2024 through the merger of Ulmer & Berne LLP and Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale, P.C., the firm’s 275 lawyers advise regional, national, and global businesses on a wide range of legal matters across more than 25 specialized practice and industry groups. UB Greensfelder has nine primary office locations, including Chicago; Cincinnati; Cleveland; Columbus, Ohio; Florida; New York; Southern Illinois; St. Louis; and Washington, DC. For more information, please visit www.UBGlaw.com.
