May 28, 2009
Dear Clients and Friends:
May 1, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the formation of Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino (“TH&S”). As the President of the Firm, I wanted to use that occasion to share some exciting news with you about our Firm; but, before I do so, a little background would be helpful.
In the late winter and spring of 1989, Bob Tallman, Jack Hudders, Tom Sadler, Bill Fitzgerald, Ollie Foucek and I met on a number of occasions with a goal of forming what we hoped would be a top tier Lehigh Valley law firm dedicated to outstanding client service, community involvement and a collegial workplace. As founding partners, we believed that our dedication to client service, our commitment to each other and to our community, and our insistence that our working environment be personally fulfilling for our lawyers and staff were the ingredients that would lead to the Firm’s success.
Over the past two years, in an effort to continue to deliver on the ideals of client service and personal fulfillment, the Managing Partners and others in the Firm have looked intently at the Firm’s strategic direction. Many of our clients have asked us to deliver additional types of services to them. Our own research has confirmed the need to broaden and deepen our array of services. At the same time, consultants we retained have encouraged us to work on succession planning from both practice and management perspectives.
We are fortunate in these difficult economic times that the Firm’s financial position remains strong. In fact, building on five successive years of increased revenue, currently, we are exceeding last year’s financial achievements and remain optimistic about our future business.
So, it is from a position of strength that we have assessed the Firm’s strategic direction and decided to pursue to conclusion merger discussions which began some two years ago with Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, a firm of approximately 115 lawyers headquartered in Bridgewater, New Jersey, and with offices in New York City. Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, based on the advice of a nationally recognized legal consulting firm, sought out TH&S as a merger partner concluding that it was and remains the region’s best and strongest law firm.
I am certain that this news will prompt many questions from you, our valued clients and friends. The first question may be “what does this mean to me?” How will a merger with this firm in New Jersey allow TH&S to meet its client service goals?
In responding to Norris, McLaughlin’s merger invitation, our primary interest was to assure ourselves that the founding principles of TH&S would be preserved and enhanced by the relationship with Norris McLaughlin & Marcus. Thus, we began an extended period of due diligence centered on this priority. Our management team has met many times with our counterparts at Norris McLaughlin & Marcus and I am pleased to say that we are confident that our Firm cultures as well as commitment to quality and timeliness of service to our clients are consistent.
To those of you who are our clients, we want to assure you that the lawyers with whom you have worked at TH&S will remain the same and that, unless you choose otherwise, your files will remain here with us. Our billing rates will not change because of the merger and our presence, financial and personal commitments to the betterment of the Lehigh Valley will remain steadfast. We will continue to practice at our present location and under the name “Tallman, Hudders & Sorrentino,” as the Pennsylvania office of Norris McLaughlin & Marcus.
Strategically there are several compelling business reasons for this merger a few of which we have listed here for your consideration:
- Although Norris McLaughlin & Marcus is larger, we, and they, see this as a merger of equals with both firms being the dominant business law firms in their markets, which are contiguous – TH&S in the Lehigh Valley and Norris, McLaughlin & Marcus in Warren, Hunterdon and Somerset counties in New Jersey.
- These contiguous markets are becoming a single business region. The merger creates a service region consistent with this consolidation, bridging the area from New York City through eastern Pennsylvania, creating opportunities for both firms to participate fully in this extended and rapidly growing marketplace.
- For TH&S the merger brings additional areas and depth of expertise to its clientele. The new areas of expertise include intellectual property, public securities, regulatory, white-collar criminal defense and matrimonial law. The merger adds depth to its practices of: real estate law; health care law; labor and employment law; estate, trust and tax law; environmental law; appellate law; creditor’s rights; commercial litigation; corporate reorganization; and alternative dispute resolution. The merger will also expand the ability of TH&S to deliver legal services to its clients in the states of New Jersey and New York and, potentially in the near future, Florida.
- Through the merger, TH&S will become part of Meritas, the by-invitation-only global alliance of independent business law firms, which ensures quality control and monitoring of its members. With over 170 members in more than 60 countries, Meritas firms offer clients access to extremely high quality legal services in more markets across the globe than even the largest multi-national firm. Member firms are all commercial law firms holding leadership positions in their markets.
- For Norris McLaughlin & Marcus, the merger adds the ability to represent clients in Pennsylvania and offer services in this contiguous market. Additional depth will be added to its practice areas of real estate, health care, labor and employment, corporate and transactional law, government and municipal representation, and litigation.
- The Firms are confident that the merger will add strength in the coveted I-78 business corridor. The merger will also expand the Firms’ presence in the key East Coast financial center – New York City, where Norris McLaughlin & Marcus has a recognized intellectual property, real estate, finance and commercial litigation practice.
- The merger is a result of two years of strategic planning and discussion. For both Firms the main goal of the merger is to better serve the needs of our collective clients and communities by adding additional areas and depth of service, expertise and geography.
Finally, my partners and I want to take this opportunity to thank you for your unwavering support of TH&S and assure that TH&S will remain a valuable resource to the Lehigh Valley community it is privileged to serve. We would not be celebrating twenty years of successful practice without you. While the past twenty years have been wonderful, we are even more enthusiastic about our future and the opportunities that will come from this association. We look forward to our continued and successful relationship.
Sincerely,
Matthew R. Sorrentino
MRS/dld
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