Eight lawyers at Helms Mullis & Wicker's Raleigh office -- led by name partner and former lieutenant governor Dennis Wicker -- won't be joining Richmond-based law firm McGuireWoods after all.

McGuireWoods and Helms Mullis, which got its start in Charlotte in 1922, announced this month that they would merge, forming a 900-lawyer behemoth.

But when the deal closes next week, Wicker and some colleagues -- eight lawyers, two lobbyists and a paralegal -- will go elsewhere. They have decided to join Schottenstein Zox & Dunn, a law firm based in Columbus, Ohio, that now has more than 120 lawyers.

Schottenstein Zox expects to expand to 25 lawyers and lobbyists in Raleigh over the next 18 months, said Richard Barnhart, a member of the firm's management committee. "We're really excited to enter that market," he said.

Wicker said joining McGuireWoods was an attractive option, but teaming up with Schottenstein is more so because "they are very entrepreneurial in their approach to practicing law. It's a great fit."

Clients moving too

Wicker, who heads Helms Mullis' government relations practice, said many of his clients will move to Schottenstein with him, including the Carolina Hurricanes, RBC Bank, GlaxoSmithKline and Carquest.

Wicker's "reputation and prominence in the state give SZD the immediate credibility we need to grow our law practice there," Jim Davidson, Schottenstein's president, said in a statement. Wicker served two terms as lieutenant governor from 1993 to 2001.

The departures will leave McGuireWoods with a dozen attorneys in its Raleigh office when the merger with Helms Mullis is completed, said Peter J. Covington, chairman of Helms Mullis and future vice chairman of McGuireWoods.

Covington said he's sorry Wicker and the others won't join McGuireWoods. "But with a merger of this size, you have to think it wouldn't be attractive to everybody."

Covington added that McGuireWoods is working to recruit other lawyers for the Raleigh office. "McGuireWoods is very committed to Raleigh and the Research Triangle and Eastern North Carolina," he said.

Four of the Helms Mullis lawyers joining Schottenstein will be partners: Wicker, David Otterson, Brett Hanna and Jason Schneider. The Raleigh office will operate as SZD Wicker, and Otterson will be the office's managing partner.

"McGuireWoods is a very fine firm," said Otterson. "The fact that we're leaving to open an office for Schottenstein is not a reflection on McGuireWoods."

But Otterson, noting that Schottenstein is about the same size as Helms Mullis, said he personally prefers to work at a smaller firm than McGuireWoods.

"I'll basically know all of the lawyers in the firm," he said. "I'm convinced that the size Schottenstein is, and that Helms Mullis was, can provide all the services my clients need."

SZD Wicker will occupy temporary office space in the Wachovia Capitol Center in downtown Raleigh while it seeks permanent quarters.