Troutman Sanders To Merge With Ross, Dixon & Bell New Firm To Have 750 Attorneys, Offices In 15 Cities

Merger expands AmLaw 100 law firm into California, Chicago

ATLANTA and WASHINGTON, D.C., July 25 2007 - The law firms of Troutman Sanders LLP and Ross, Dixon & Bell, LLP announced today they will merge, creating a 750-attorney firm with national and international reach and unparalleled depth.

The merger, approved by the partnerships at both firms and effective Jan. 1, 2009, combines Troutman Sanders' multi-faceted corporate, finance, litigation, real estate and public policy practices with Ross, Dixon & Bell's exceptional insurance, professional liability and commercial litigation practices, among other synergies. The merger also joins two law firms with established reputations for excellence and attorneys who share a common culture and vision.

The merged firm will be named Troutman Sanders LLP and will remain headquartered in Atlanta. It will have about 1,700 employees.

When the merger is completed, Troutman Sanders will for the first time operate offices on the West Coast and in Chicago. At the same time, Ross, Dixon & Bell attorneys and clients will gain access to Troutman Sanders' established presence in Atlanta, New York, Raleigh, Virginia, London and Asia.

The merger will also double the size of Troutman Sanders' presence in Washington, D.C., which is the current headquarters of Ross, Dixon & Bell. The combined firm will have more than 100 attorneys in the nation's capital.

"The merger of these two great law firms continues Troutman Sanders' strategy of expanding into new markets where we are needed by existing clients and see the potential for considerable future growth," said Robert W. Webb Jr., who has been Troutman Sanders' managing partner since 1993 and will remain chairman and managing partner of the merged firm. "This deal is good not only for our two firms but also for our clients, who will benefit from greater depth, value and enhanced resources."

David Gische, Ross, Dixon & Bell's managing partner, and Mike Whitton of the San Diego office will join Troutman Sanders' executive committee. The combined Washington, D.C., offices of Ross, Dixon & Bell and Troutman Sanders will be led by Kevin C. Fitzgerald, currently managing partner of Troutman Sanders' Washington office.

"Over the years, we've been approached by a number of national and international firms. The merger with Troutman Sanders is an outstanding opportunity that allows us to provide our clients with greater depth in a wide variety of practice areas and significantly expands our geographic presence," said Gische. "We see tremendous opportunities for growth in our core insurance and commercial litigation practices and the potential for rapid expansion of our existing transactional work by combining with Troutman Sanders' strengths in those areas."

Ross, Dixon & Bell started in 1983 when seven lawyers from a major Washington law firm decided to launch their own practice. The firm developed a national reputation for its work in directors and officers liability, led by partners Stu Ross and Gary Dixon, and quickly grew into a highly respected, broad-based civil litigation practice.

A decade later, the firm opened a second office in Orange County, Calif., then merged with the San Diego firm Miller, Boyko & Bell in 1999, adding partner Roy Bell, long recognized as a top litigator and commercial lawyer on the West Coast. In 2000, Ross, Dixon & Bell expanded to Chicago.

Ross, Dixon & Bell is ranked as a leading law firm in insurance nationally as well as in California, Washington, D.C., and Illinois. The firm also has been named for delivering superior client service on the BTI "Client Service A-Team 2008."

Troutman Sanders was founded in 1897 and has grown dramatically in the past 15 years, opening offices in New York, Washington, D.C., London, Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as merging with the four offices of Virginia firm Mays & Valentine in 2000.

With the merger of 650-lawyer Troutman Sanders and 100-lawyer Ross, Dixon & Bell, the firm will operate offices in 15 cities and on three continents. Already, Troutman Sanders is ranked 75th on the AmLaw100 list of the nation's largest law firms with $349 million in revenue in 2007 – which was record revenue for the firm and represented a 14 percent increase over the previous year.

Troutman Sanders provides advice and counsel in over 40 legal practice areas, more than a dozen of which received No. 1 rankings in Chambers and Partners' 2008 edition of Chambers USA. Among those garnering a top ranking was the firm's internationally recognized energy practice, which has captured the highest ranking among U.S. law firms for service to the utility industry, according to a BTI survey of national clients.

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