Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer Announce Combination

NEW YORK and WASHINGTON, DC, November 10, 2016 -- Arnold & Porter LLP and Kaye Scholer LLP today announced the two firms have agreed to combine effective January 1, 2017 to become Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP. This strategic combination brings together renowned regulatory expertise, sophisticated litigation and transactional practitioners, and leading multidisciplinary practices in the life sciences and financial services industries.

Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer LLP will have approximately 1,000 lawyers across nine domestic and four international offices. In its largest offices, the firm will have approximately 400 lawyers in Washington, DC, 325 lawyers in New York, 175 lawyers in three California offices, and 60 lawyers in London. The combination also gives clients access to lawyers in domestic offices in Chicago, Denver, Houston, and West Palm Beach; and international offices in Brussels, Frankfurt, and Shanghai.

Arnold & Porter lawyers practice in more than 30 distinct practice areas, serving clients whose complex needs demand US, European Union or cross-border regulatory, litigation, and transactional services. Arnold & Porter's focus aligns with Kaye Scholer's critical strengths in bankruptcy, corporate, finance, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, and tax.

Michael B. Solow, Managing Partner at Kaye Scholer, said: "This combination enhances our ability to anticipate and address our clients' most significant and complex legal matters and will result in service offerings that are among the broadest and deepest in the two key US legal markets—New York and Washington, DC. The combination will also maximize our collective ability throughout our platform to provide sophisticated legal counsel and strategic guidance to public and private entities on litigation, transactional, and corporate governance matters."

Richard M. Alexander, the current Chair of Arnold & Porter, who will also serve as Chair of the combined firm, said: "The collective talents and financial resources of the new firm will allow us to continue to deliver to clients the sophisticated counsel and service that they expect, while creating substantial economies of scale that will accelerate our investments in talent and technologies and enable us to pursue innovation in the efficient delivery of legal services."

Alexander said that "the combination will allow us to stay true to the shared values of both firms. We will be one of the world's leading pro bono law firms, continue to maintain a collegial work environment, and foster a consensus-based culture with an unyielding commitment to diversity and inclusiveness."

About Arnold & Porter

Founded in Washington, DC in 1946, Arnold & Porter LLP is an international law firm of more than 700 lawyers with offices in Brussels, Denver, Houston, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, and Washington, DC. The firm maintains more than 30 practice areas spanning a broad spectrum of the law with a primary focus on litigation, transactional matters, and regulatory issues.

About Kaye Scholer

Founded in New York in 1917, Kaye Scholer's 375 lawyers practice in offices around the globe in Frankfurt, London, Shanghai, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Silicon Valley, Washington, DC, and West Palm Beach. Focusing on two key sectors – life sciences and financial services – the firm draws heavily upon its strengths in bankruptcy, corporate, finance, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, and tax to counsel clients in litigation, transactional, and governance matters.

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