Atlanta’s Troutman Sanders has made a dramatic New York debut after securing the entire 91-lawyer Manhattan office of Texan firm Jenkens & Gilchrist.


Atlanta’s Troutman Sanders has made a dramatic New York debut after securing the entire 91-lawyer Manhattan office of Texan firm Jenkens & Gilchrist.

Jenkens acquired the office just four years ago in 2001 following its merger with New York’s Parker Chapin, but complete integration was never achieved.

Coupled with the controversy raised by government investigations into Jenkens’ Chicago-based tax shelter practice over the last two years, a split became inevitable.

A Jenkens spokesperson said: “When Jenkens & Gilchrist acquired the Parker Chapin firm in 2001, sincere attempts were made to make this combination work for everyone.

“However, differences in firm culture and the economic downturn which the market experienced shortly after the merger, coupled with distractions during the last couple of years, did not foster an environment conducive to finding a workable solution.”

The firm agreed to pay $82m (£42.6m) to settle a class action brought by tax shelter clients who, on Jenkens’ advice, used instruments that were later declared illegal by the Internal Revenue Service.

Last year the firm recorded $272m (£141.3m) in revenues from its 462 lawyers. That was down 8 per cent on the previous year. The firm declared that its revenues would remain above $200m (£103.9m) and that its strategy is to try to increase its national footprint.

Troutman, a 600-lawyer firm with presences in Honk Kong and London, in addition to eight US-based offices, will inherit the 91-lawyer team, which is well regarded for its mid-market corporate and securities work, in April.