Biglaw Firm Dumps Its Problematic Pension To Find Merger Partner

As more and more partners head for the exits, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan's urge to merge has grown even stronger, so much so that the firm was willing to change its ways (i.e., its pension liabilities) to find the right partner.

When we last checked in with Stroock, the firm had authorized a vote of the retired partners to dump its pension obligations through a buyout. But even with the vote underway, still more partners departed from the firm, with the latest being a group of five restructuring partners headed to Morgan Lewis.

But now, Stroock seems to have made positive progress on becoming a more attractive merger partner. The American Lawyer has the details:

[T]he law firm said on Monday it has secured the vote to end its pension obligation and it is optimistic about reaching a merger. ...

While the retirees were due to vote by Tuesday this week, Stroock indicated on Monday that they approved it.

The firm offered the following statement to Am Law: "Now having secured the votes needed to end our pension obligation, we are optimistic about achieving a desired merger."

The firm has previously been involved in merger talks with McGuireWoods, Steptoe & Johnson, Squire Patton Boggs, and Nixon Peabody, but nothing has worked out. Maybe there's finally some hope for the firm now that it's nixed its pension problems.

As More Partners Leave, Stroock Votes to End Pension Obligation [American Lawyer]

Earlier: Biglaw Firm Tries To Dump Its Pension Plan To Become More Eligible Merger Partner

Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she's worked since 2011. She'd love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter and Threads or connect with her on LinkedIn.