Strategic Moves

Merger season begins. A number of firms have already announced endof-the-year marriages. Blum Shapiro of West Hartford, Conn., hooked up with Leask & Leask of nearby Fairfield. The Fairfield office will close and the combined firm will open a new office in nearby Southport in January, giving Blum

Shapiro its second office. L&L brings annual revenue of $2.5 million, four partners and 16 staff to Blum Shapiro, which has FY04 net revenue of $20.5 million, 24 partners and 170 staff . . . WithumSmith+Brown of Princeton, N.J., brought in central New Jersey's Manuel S. Newman & Co. Partners Todd B. Goldberg, Allan L. Gross, Wayne M. Heaton, Lee W. Hessberger, and William E. Newman join WS+B, along with six staff. They'll be based in the Princeton office. WS+B has FY05 net revenue of $39.1 million, 40 partners, 210 total staff and seven offices . . . Brady Ware of Dayton, Ohio, sails into Columbus by merging with Shaw & Shaw. The deal gives BW its third location. The firm has FY04 net revenue of $10.7 million, 11 partners and 170 total staff . . . Moss Adams expands into New Mexico with the acquisition of Neff & Ricci of Albuquerque. The deal also adds 15 partners and 100 professionals to MA's 172 partners and 1,400 staff. It's the 18th office for MA, which had FY04 net revenue of $ 198 million . . . At long last, The Global Alliance found a place to park: Its new home is Moore Stephens North America. TGA brings approximately eight IPA 100 firms to MSNA as part of the deal combining the two networks. TGA was formed earlier this year by a group of large regional firms that want to network with likesize firms, but the group had difficulty getting off the ground and searched for an existing association that could meet its needs and provide infrastructure.