Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, one of New York’s oldest large law firms, is planning to dissolve after losing attorneys to rivals and a series of failed merger talks, the Wall Street Journal reported. The news comes after another firm, Hogan Lovells, agreed to hire more than 30 of Stroock’s partners last week, including co-managing partner Jeff Keitelman and the firm’s elite real estate team. Keitelman and co-managing partner Alan Klinger said in an email on behalf of the executive committee Monday that the move for many of the partners to join Hogan Lovells will “offer the best opportunities and growth potential for the most members of our firm.” A plan to dissolve the firm will move forward, the email said, after partners voted last week to authorize the executive committee to dissolve the firm. The firm said that the Hogan Lovells option amounted to a large-scale lateral acquisition, rather than a merger. Hogan Lovells in a statement last week said that the partners are expected to close their agreements in mid-November.
