Nixon Peabody to acquire Boston’s Hutchins Wheeler

The deal came about partly because other Boston firms of comparable size had gone out of business, said Richard M. Stein, a partner who is one of Hutchins Wheeler’s 49 lawyers. Boston’s Hill & Barlow closed its doors earlier this month after more than a century of operation.

“We had seen this coming two years or so ago and set out to effectuate a merger so that fate wouldn’t befall us,” he said. The deal was announces as companies in the Boston area had been hiring lawyers for less legal work, said Harry P. Trueheart III, chairman and co-managing partner at Nixon Peabody. Less legal business was not a drawback to the acquisition, he said.

Rochester, New York-based Nixon Peabody has nine offices in the northeast, plus ones in Washington, D.C., San Francisco and Costa Mesa, California and McLean, Virginia. The practice is divided among corporate, real estate and litigation. (Bloomberg News)

Flatley Co. drops Marriott
lawsuit

BOSTON – Quincy -based Flatley Co., owner of the Boston Marriott Quincy Hotel, has dropped its lawsuit against Bethesda, Md.-based Marriott International, Inc., after the two resolved disputes involving alleged kickbacks, according to Marriott.

There will be no payments to either party or significant changes in the management agreement, said Tom Marder, a spokesman for Marriott. Flatley Co. also dropped its suit against Marriott’s Avendra purchasing venture. Marriott didn’t disclose details of the resolution.

The dismissal is a victory for Marriott, whose executives embarked on a campaign of visiting hotel owners earlier this year to smooth relations after five owners sued the company. Flatley executives in a statement credited the increased communication from Marriott for influencing their decision to end the suit.

The hotel owners had alleged Marriott takes kickbacks from suppliers through the Avendra venture, which Marriott and Hyatt Hotels Corp. formed to buy hotel goods in bulk. A court in Puerto Rico dismissed one of the lawsuits from an owner there in October. The three other suits are ongoing. (Bloomberg News)