Merger on tap for law firms Sherman & Howard and Taft

Law firm Sherman & Howard will merge with Taft effective Jan. 1, in a move aimed at extending their combined public finance geographical reach.

The merged group will be positioned to serve public finance clients across an expanded footprint and beyond, the law firms said in a statement. 

“With this merger, we are deepening the bench of public finance attorneys and fostering even greater collaboration across our expanded offices,” Sherman & Howard Public Finance Practice Group Leader Kendra Follett said. “Through increased resources and support from our Taft colleagues, we are positioned to provide even more services throughout the Mountain West, Southwest, and now the Midwest.”

Taft, which operates without a specified headquarters, has nine primary markets, including Chicago, Ohio, Detroit, Minneapolis, and Washington, D.C. Denver-based Sherman & Howard has eight offices in Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico.

 The merger will enable the expanded public finance team to tap wide-ranging expertise of other attorneys in areas such as utility regulation, healthcare, education, tax-exempt organizations, employee benefits, and real estate, according to the firms. 

“The combined group will also be well-positioned to leverage the firm’s expanded public finance expertise to support engagements involving public infrastructure, public-private partnerships, and federal, state, and local tax incentives,” they added. “We anticipate that the strengths of the combined group will attract talented laterals and fuel further growth of the public finance practice throughout the Taft platform.”

Sherman & Howard, which currently has 15 attorneys in its public finance group, ranked 36th nationally and ninth in the Far West region as bond counsel so far this year, according to LSEG Data & Analytics, formerly Refinitiv. It was the top bond counsel in Nevada and ranked fifth in both Colorado and New Mexico. 

Taft, which has 14 public finance attorneys, was in 86th place nationwide, but ranked sixth for Midwest deals.