Law Firm Stroock & Stroock & Lavan to Dissolve After 150 Years
The dissolution could bring nearly 193,000 SF back onto Manhattan’s office market
By Abigail Nehring October 31, 2023 2:17 pm
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The end is nigh for Stroock & Stroock & Lavan, one of New York City’s top real estate law firms.
Partners at Stroock voted Oct. 24 to dissolve the firm after hopes for a possible merger deal were dashed and more than half of its staff fled in recent months, The American Lawyer reported.
Nonexclusive merger talks with international firm Pillsbury Winthrop fell apart in the last week of October, about a month after Stroock announced both firms had signed a letter of intent to merge, ALM Media reported.
A spokesperson for Stroock did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The venerable law firm, founded in 1876, fell on hard times after its bankruptcy practice fell apart when more than 40 lawyers left for rival Paul Hastings in 2022, Reuters reported.
It has since courted numerous potential buyers — including Nixon Peabody — but talks failed, Bloomberg reported.
And the mass talent drain continued when Hogan Lovells announced it would hire 30 of Stroock’s partners on Oct. 27. The departures included Stroock’s entire real estate practice — ranked eighth in the city by The Real Deal last year — and co-managing partner Jeff Keitelman, according to ALM.
Aside from a loss of a well-known real estate firm, Stroock’s dissolution could also put a huge chunk of Manhattan office space back on the market. Stroock has been a tenant since 1996 at 180 Maiden Lane near the South Street Seaport and renewed its lease for 192,816 square feet at the property in 2021, Crain’s New York Business reported.
A spokesperson for the building’s landlords — Clarion Partners, LaSalle Investment Management and Banyan Street Capital — declined to comment on the terms of the lease or plans for the space after the longtime tenant’s departure.
Abigail Nehring can be reached at anehring@commercialobserver.com.
