Law firms go back to college

Don't underestimate the longstanding power of college roommates.

That's an important takeaway from the recent merger between Tampa law firm Fowler White Boggs and Pittsburgh-based Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney. The deal closed March 14, and the 90 attorneys and lobbyists at Fowler White will join the 450 lawyers at Buchanan Ingersoll, which has offices in seven states and Washington, D.C. The combined entity is now one of the 100 largest law firms in the U.S.

“We had been looking for a few years,” to merge with a firm in Florida, Buchanan Ingersoll CEO Jack Barbour tells Coffee Talk. “But we had been looking at smaller firms, with 10 or 15 attorneys.”