The law firm of Wyrick Robbins Yates & Ponton is acquiring Gaeta & Eveson, according to The Triangle Business Journal. The deal is going to expand the capital markets and mergers and acquisitions practice at Wyrick.
At Wyrick, Todd Eveson will become the banking and financial institutions practice group leader. Gaeta will work as the ‘of counsel’ to Wyrick Robbins. He will work on client development and will teach as an adjunct professor at the UNC School of Law.
“We have great respect for Gaeta & Eveson’s experience in representing financial institutions, and have admired their integral involvement in the growth of community banks in North Carolina,” Jimmy Yates said. Yates is the managing partner at Wyrick Robbins.
The attorney payroll at Wyrick will increase to 73 with the acquisition of Gaeta & Eveson, which has four lawyers. The law firm was formed in 1999 in an effort to take advantage of the large amount of community bank startups at the time.
“It is clearly a ‘positioning’ move for us,” says Gaeta. “There are no more; de novo banks being formed; the merger wave will continue to mount as the regulatory burdens and expense impact of the Dodd Frank legislation plays out. We believe teaming up with Wyrick Robbins gives us a recognized platform of corporate/securities lawyer talent and a pool of attorneys to draw from in areas of expertise that we, as a small firm, simply cannot provide.”