Edwards Angell adds 12 lawyers in DC with Fleischman acquisition

The merger adds 12 lawyers, including five partners, to Edwards Angell and brings significant regulatory expertise to the firm’s corporate practice.

Fleischman’s clients include the National Cable & Telecommunications Association, Time Warner Cable, and WorldNet Telecommunications.

Senior partner Aaron Fleischman, who founded the firm in 1976, said the ability to tap into Edwards Angell’s full-service platform was one of the key drivers of the deal.

“In recent years we’ve tried getting more lawyers to join us and couldn’t because they wanted to go to a bigger firm and we couldn’t offer the capabilities they wanted,” admitted Fleischman. “We talked to several firms and Edwards Angell was the obvious one because the’re so active in our niche.”

Edwards Angell Boston partner Steve Meredith said his firm had been involved in the communications business since the 1960s, in particular acting for cable franchise holders and lenders to the sector.

“Last year telecommunications was the biggest single part of our corporate practice but until now the firm’s focus has been primarily transactional,” added Meredith. “We’ve never had specialist regulatory lawyers in-house until now. To have a vibrant practice in that area requires a Washington office, and we hadn’t got one until recently.”