Husch Blackwell’s Denver Office Absorbs 24 Lawyers From Jacobs Chase

DENVER — July 13, 2011 — Law firm Husch Blackwell on Wednesday announced its Denver office has grown to 41 lawyers with the addition of 24 lawyers from Denver firm Jacobs Chase, which is left with no lawyers.

The Missouri-based Husch Blackwell opened its Denver office in October 2008 in the Wells Fargo Center. “We’re in Denver to stay and we intend to further grow,” said David Fenley, Husch Blackwell’s Kansas City-based co-chairman.

Jacobs Chase was founded in 1995 by attorneys who left Holme Roberts & Owen and grew prominent real estate, business litigation and banking and finance practices. The Jacobs Chase attorneys have a “first-in-class reputation,” Fenley said.

The mass exodus came about through the relationships between Husch Blackwell’s Mary Stuart and David Steefel and Jacobs Chase’s Paul Jacobs and Jeff Chase, who all worked together many years ago at HRO, Fenley said. The deal has been in the works since May. Most Jacobs Chase attorneys have joined Husch Blackwell, though a few went to other firms or retired, he said.

The move is not a merger or acquisition. Though Jacobs Chase no longer has any lawyers, it will continue to exist in some form for the time being, as it recently signed a 10-year lease at its office at 1050 17th Street, Fenley said. The newly joined Husch Blackwell lawyers will stay in that office in a short-term sublease until a space for the combined law firms can be found, probably within the next year.