K L Gates
It was formed on January 1, 2007, by the merger of Pittsburgh-based Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham with Seattle-based Preston Gates & Ellis, co-founded by William H. This merger proved beneficial for both firms because Kirkpatrick and Lockhart Nicholson Graham had not previously had offices in Asia; likewise, Preston Gates & Ellis had not previously had offices in Europe.
In January, 2008, K&L Gates combined with Hughes & Luce, a Dallas, Texas-based firm of 150 attorneys with offices in Austin, Dallas, and Fort Worth. In July, 2008 K&L Gates combined with Kennedy Covington Lobdell & Hickman LLP, a North Carolina-based firm of 200 attorneys with offices in Charlotte, Raleigh, and Research Triangle Park.
On March 1, 2009, K&L Gates merged with Bell, Boyd & Lloyd, a Chicago based firm with approximately 215 attorneys with offices in Chicago, San Diego and Washington, D.C.
K&L Gates has offices located in Anchorage, Austin, Beijing, Berlin, Boston, Charlotte, Dallas, Dubai, Fort Worth, Frankfurt, Harrisburg, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Newark, New York City, Irvine, Palo Alto, Paris, Pittsburgh, Portland, Raleigh, Research Triangle Park, San Francisco, Seattle, Shanghai, Spokane/Coeur d'Alene, Taipei and Washington, D.C. K&L Gates represents capital markets participants and global corporations, growth and middle-market companies, and entrepreneurs as well as public sector entities.
The American Lawyer’s 2005 "Corporate Scorecard" ranked the firm as the leader among all firms in representation of fund clients in the mutual fund industry, and it is a leader in municipal finance, PIPE, private equity, and venture capital transactions.
Notable K&L lawyers include Gates, father of Microsoft founder Bill Gates, former Republican Senator Rick Santorum and former U.S.
Attorney General Dick Thornburgh.
As of December 4, 2008, K&L Gates was in merger talks with the Chicago-based firm of Bell, Boyd & Lloyd. The two partnerships agreed to merge on January 30, 2009. The combined firm will practice under the K&L Gates name and will dramatically expand the firm's presence in Chicago and open an office in San Diego.
According to legal blog Above the Law, the merger has been completed on March 1, 2009.
K&L Gates makes its headquarters in Downtown Pittsburgh in the K&L Gates Center, also known as One Oliver Plaza.
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