According to a news release earlier this week that had escaped my attention, former Justice James Baker’s law firm (Hughes & Luce) is merging with the impressively named Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP — which even the firm’s own press release chooses to define as a short form (“K&L Gates”) to avoid typing fatigue. ((The press release also contains 50 or more prepositions. That surely means that it did not cross Justice Baker’s desk. When I clerked, Justice Baker was famous for taught us that his campaign against prepositions could be eliminated.))

Although the merger apparently didn’t warrant further lengthening the new firm’s name, the press release does allude to Justice Baker as among those being added to the soon-to-be 1500 lawyer operation.