Sherman & Howard, Denver’s oldest and third-largest law firm, is merging with Taft, a law firm that started in Cincinnati and is expanding west.

Stefan Stein, CEO of Sherman & Howard, said in an interview Monday that the Denver firm had been exploring strategies for growth over the past couple of years.

“It’s a difficult spot to be in the market in a 125-to-a-150-lawyer, full-service law firm and be able to handle virtually anything that comes in the door,” Stein said. “Taft is a great fit for us because of the platform it has, the talent it has and the fact that it has all the practice areas and industry groups that any client would ever want to be involved in.”

Taft, which has completed six mergers in the past 16 years, was looking to expand into the Mountain West, said Robert J. Hicks, the firm’s chairman and managing partner. A consultant that Sherman & Howard was working with contacted Taft, which saw Denver and Phoenix as gateways to the region.

“We like the growth of the market and we like how technology firms and others are moving specifically to Denver,” Hicks said.

The Denver area has attracted a younger population as well as retirees, Hicks added. “So we’ve always been attracted to it.”

Taft’s model works without a headquarters and local firms manage their markets. Hicks said Taft looks to join with firms that have deep roots in the community and longtime employees when it enters a new market.

“We don’t think we’re nearly handsome or smart enough to come to a market, throw up a flag and say, ‘Hi, Taft is here,’ and expect people to just immediately hire us,” Hicks said.

Sherman & Howard, founded in 1892, is a household name in the Rocky Mountain West, Stein said. The firm has 230 employees, including 125 lawyers. Its main office is downtown Denver. Other locations are in Aspen, Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Reno, Nev., and Albuquerque, N.M.

Joining with Taft, a preeminent law firm in the Midwest, is a great opportunity for Sherman & Howard to expand its national reach, Stein said. The firm will be able to work with lawyers in Taft’s other locations, including Detroit, Minneapolis, Chicago, Cleveland, Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio.

Taft was started in 1885. Robert Taft and Charles P. Taft II, sons of President William Howard Taft, later joined the firm, which became Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

As Taft has grown through mergers, Hicks said the goal has been to empower all the firms to run their own markets. Like the other firms, Sherman & Howard will have three representatives on the Taft executive committee, the equivalent of a board of directors.

Starting Jan. 1, when the merger takes effect, the Denver firm will be known as Taft/Sherman & Howard.

“The Sherman & Howard name will remain as part of the branding for as long as we think that it’s helpful. We don’t want to lose that identity, the goodwill that we’ve established over the last scores of years here,” Stein said.