Piper Rudnick and Gray Cary complete merger ahead of DLA tie-up

DLA’s merger suitor Piper Rudnick has plugged the gap in its West Coast strategy after successfully voting through its merger with Palo Alto’s Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich.

The merger vote, which took place yesterday, was passed last night and takes effect on 1 January 2005. The tie-up will accord the new firm more than 1300 lawyers – 380 from technology experts Gray Cary and 1000 from Piper Rudnick.

The new firm will be known as Piper Rudnick Gray Cary LLP.

DLA management had been heavily involved in the merger discussions from the outset. Last month, Piper Rudnick co-chairman Frank Burch told The Lawyer: "DLA is very much aware of everything we are doing and we are very much aware of what they are doing."

The Piper Rudnick Gray Cary merger comes just over a month before DLA and Piper Rudnick are set to vote through their own merger.

The UK and US giants will vote on the proposed tie-up simultaneously on 4 December. Should it be successfully passed, the merger would create a top 10 global firm of almost 3000 lawyers.