Clark Hill has continued its wave of expansion by inking a merger with downtown Los Angeles-based boutique firm Barton Klugman & Oetting LLP.

The move will add 10 attorneys from Barton Klugman, founded in 1958, to Clark Hill’s downtown operation, giving the firm a 75-attorney presence there. Terms of the merger were not disclosed.

The Detroit-based Clark Hill — which in L.A. specializes in immigration, transportation employment and litigation — touted the move as enhancing its transactional capabilities in the Southern California market.

“Their Los Angeles office was really litigation-dominant, and they wanted to add to their depth in transactional, corporate, tax and other areas,” said Tod Beebe, who was managing partner of Barton Klugman and joined Clark Hill as a member. “They had some really good people but needed more, and that’s what we brought to the table.”

The merger is Clark Hill’s fourth this year. Beebe, who has spent all 42 years of his career with Barton Klugman, hailed the move as a cultural fit for the firms and for enhancing the ability for his longtime attorneys to do more thorough work for their clients.

“There were things that we couldn’t handle in-house because there wasn’t enough of us,” Beebe said. “Now we have those relationships and that support.”

Talks of combining forces first happened in 2018, Beebe said, when Clark Hill reached out.

“If you’re in a small firm, you get these calls all the time,” he said. “We got this one and there was interest in talking. What we found, at that point, was there were some logistical impediments that stalled the conversation, and then Covid happened. Last year, they circled back around to the conversation.”

Lisa Reimbold, the co-member in charge of Clark Hill’s downtown office, said her office was pleased to add Barton Klugman’s team to the roster. 

“With deep experience across a range of practices and industries, we’re better positioned than ever before to help our clients pursue their business goals,” she said.