D.C. law firms merging

D.C. law firms merging

Sher

   Sher & Blackwell, a Washington-based international transportation and government affairs law firm, is merging with Cozen O’Connor on Sept. 1.
   Sher & Blackwell partners Mark Atwood, Marc Fink, Jeffrey Lawrence, Anne Mickey, Stanley Sher and David Smith, along with nine other lawyers and government relations professionals, will join Cozen O’Connor in its Washington D.C., office. One of 100 largest U.S. law firms, Cozen O’Connor has 550 attorneys.
   Sher & Blackwell known nationally and internationally for its expertise in regulatory matters, antitrust, finance and transactional work, and government affairs. Its clients include the World Shipping Council, Transpacific Stabilization Agreement and Ocean Carrier Equipment Management Association.
   Stanley Sher and Robert J. Blackwell founded the firm in 1991, though Sher notes the firm’s roots can be traced to predecessors in the 1970s.
   “We think clients need a broader service. As clients grow and the issues become more complicated, they need a larger firm and more significant resources,” Sher said. “It’s the way law firms are going.”
   ‘We reached a point where we simply needed greater resources to serve our clients’ growing needs in Washington and around the country,” said    Mark Fink, a managing partner at Sher & Blackwell and former president of the Maritime Administrative Bar Association.
   Sher said the merger will align Sher & Blackwell with a firm with broad litigation and corporate experience. It also has “a culture that fits ours,” he said.
   Sher is a well-known figure in the shipping industry, representing the industry during the development of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998 and Shipping Act of 1984. He was acting president of the World Shipping Council, the main trade association for the liner industry in 2008, when President Chris Koch served as an advisor to Sen. John McCain during his bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
   ‘This partnership represents our continued commitment to growth in Washington where we will now have more than 30 attorneys,’ said Tad Decker, Cozen O’Connor President and chief executive officer. ‘ Chris Dupin