Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann is merging with Astrachan Gunst Thomas. From right to left, K. Nichole (Nikki) Nesbitt, co-managing partner; James B. Astrachan, of counsel; Donna M. D. Thomas, partner; Kaitlin D. Corey, partner; Linda S. Woolf, co-managing partner.
A pair of Baltimore law firms are merging to provide a broader array of business-related legal services.
The law firms of Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann and Astrachan Gunst Thomas officially combined on Tuesday. The merger will unify Goodell DeVries’s commercial litigation practice with Astrachan Gunst Thomas’s intellectual property and transactional work.
“Joining forces with Astrachan Gunst Thomas means we can deliver even more to our clients,” said Linda Woolf, co-managing partner at Goodell DeVries. “We represent organizations across many different industries, and we see increasingly complex business and transactional questions that arise for them. We’re excited to add to our bench a team with the knowledge and experience to advise on those matters.”
The combined firm will keep the name Goodell, DeVries, Leech & Dann. It is located at One South Street in downtown Baltimore.
The two firms came together in the same physical office space nearly a year ago as the Astrachan firm was looking for a new location, said Nikki Nesbitt, Goodell DeVries’s other co-managing partner.
The move allowed lawyers from the firm to get to know each other and to test-drive a possible partnership.
“We were excited to have them come to our physical space because we wanted to get to know them a little bit better as a firm, and we were able to do that,” Nesbitt said. “It was just a natural fit because we’re just so compatible with each other as professionals.”
Goodell DeVries brings “a deep bench of litigators,” the company said, who have worked nationwide on issues ranging from product liability and mass torts, class-action litigation and toxic torts.
The firm is also known for its professional liability and medical malpractice defense. It also has a Maryland cannabis law practice, according to the news release announcing the merger.
Astrachan Gunst Thomas specializes in business, intellectual property, merger and acquisitions and transactional work. The firm is known for its work in copyrights, trademarks, advertising law and other areas of business.
“This is a great opportunity for the clients and lawyers of both firms,” Jim Astrachan said in the news release. (Astrachan is also chair of The Daily Record’s Editorial Advisory Board.)
Nesbitt said the Goodell DeVries wanted to merge with Astrachan Gunst Thomas “not just (for) their talents, but also their personalities. We really enjoy working around them.”
https://thedailyrecord.com/2022/02/01/two-baltimore-law-firms-unite-to-expand-legal-offerings-for-business/
