Blackwell is the new Whyte

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One of Wisconsin’s largest law firms and a Missouri-based law firm are taking the final steps Friday needed to make their merger official.

Once the deal is closed, Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek will change its name to Husch Blackwell.

Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek and Husch Blackwell had originally scheduled their merger and name change for July 1, but then delayed it to Friday so that all possible conflicts concerning clients of the two firms could be fully checked out and resolved.

The firms announced their merger plans in April.

Husch Blackwell was the fourth largest law firm measured by revenue in Missouri in 2015 and has offices in London and 16 U.S. cities, including Houston, Denver and Washington, D.C. It is a litigation and business-law firm.

Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek, a full-service law firm that started in Milwaukee, has 133 attorneys in Wisconsin and 10 in Chicago. The firm also has offices in Waukesha County, Madison and Chicago.

The combined firms will have more than 700 attorneys in 19 cities across the country and in London. Follow @erikastrebel