Law Firm Merger Mania: Locke Liddell + Lord Bissell
The latest Biglaw combination brings together more "L"s than you can shake a stick at. From the Texas Lawyer:
Locke Liddell & Sapp, based in Houston and Dallas, and Chicago-based Lord, Bissell & Brook have agreed to merge, and will form a 700-lawyer firm named Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell.
Hmm, that's a mouthful -- the marketing people might want to rethink things. The alliteration and internal rhyme make the firm name far too "busy."
Correction: Based on the comments, it appears that we're wrong about the internal rhyme. But we still think the new firm name is unwieldy.
Some reactions to more substantive aspects of the deal, after the jump.
Some thoughts from a Texas tipster:
"[I]t's interesting that the firm may be headquartered in Austin, which is not exactly the center of the legal world in Texas. (Rain Harrell, where Harriet Miers started, was based in Dallas, before it merged with Locke Purnell way back when, and before that entity merged with Locke Liddell & Sapp). I was also surprised at [Locke Liddell's] profits per partner, which seem to lag significantly behind BIGTEX firms like Vinson & Elkins and Baker Botts.""Don't know what feeds this firm's urge to merge. I'll let you know if I hear more."
From a poster on Greedy Chicago:
"Locke Liddell & Sapp LLP met with its associates (and partners, for that matter) yesterday and announced the 'merger' with Lord Bissell and Brook[s] LLP. I'm surprised there hasn't been more chatter here or on the GTX board.""This is juicy stuff -- Locke's first years make more in their second tier market than Lord's do in the Chicago market. I knew there was something up when Lord didn't move on salaries earlier this year."
Our take: Lord Bissell benefits the most from this deal. They're getting their hands on legal celebrity Harriet Miers!!!
Locke Liddell to Merge With Lord, Bissell [Texas Lawyer]
2006 Profits Per Partner [Texas Lawyer]
(16) 
Is it me or does Harriet Miers look like Emperor Palpatine?
Take _THAT_, Sapp! You will freeload on the Locke Liddell name no more!
I for one enjoy the alliteration and internal rhyme. Upon closer inspection however, I wonder if Liddell is to be pronounced with short 'i' sound (like "little") or a long one, and whether the emphasis is on the first or second sylable ("Ly-DELL"). I sure hope it's the former so it DOES rhyme with Bissell (assuming it is pronounced like the vacuum/cleaning company). Can someone clear this up?
I for one enjoy the alliteration and internal rhyme. Upon closer inspection however, I wonder if Liddell is to be pronounced with short 'i' sound (like "little") or a long one, and whether the emphasis is on the first or second sylable ("Ly-DELL"). I sure hope it's the former so it DOES rhyme with Bissell (assuming it is pronounced like the vacuum/cleaning company). Can someone clear this up?
Lieberman looks a LOT more like Palpatine.
I have only heard it Lye-DELL. So it would have to be Bi-ZELL for it to rhyme.
"Locke Lord" sounds a lot like you're saying "lock and load." Which is perfect for Texas.
Liddell has a short i, but the emphasis is on the second syllable. I assume Bissell has the emphasis on the first syllable. The new name would be a lot easier to say if there was a rhyming scheme, but the LLS partners wouldn't think that far ahead.
"Liddell Lord Locke" gets my vote.
Second quote is wrong; LBB pays market first year salary in Chicago
Second quote is wrong; LBB pays $145K market first year salary in Chicago
I vote for "Liddell Lord Fauntleroy."
What about "Lamda Lamda Lamda"?
It is Locke Lord BiSELL and LiddELL. Two short i's. And since when is $110k market rate for first years?
Bisell wouldn't rhyme with Liddell even if the emphasis were on the first syllable, anymore than "missile" rhymes with "fiddle." The best you can claim is assonance. Plus "internal rhyme" properly refers to poetry (where there may be "end rhyme," by contrast).
Who? Yawn.