Steven M. Goldman joins the New York office of Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel. He has resigned as New Jersey Commissioner of Banking & Insurance. He was previously a senior member and 22-year veteran of Sills Cummis & Gross. His JD is from the George Washington University School of Law.

Lisa Pitell joins Pittsburgh’s Cohen & Grigsby from the SAS Institute, as an associate in the international business practice. She handles commercial agreements. Pitell earned her JD at the Duquesne University School of Law.

Peter Lieb joins the Aon Corporation from the NCR Corporation, as executive vice president and general counsel. At NCR he was senior vice president and general counsel; previously he was with Symbol Technologies, International Paper Company, and law firm Jones Day. He served as a federal prosecutor, and clerked for Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger. His JD is from the the University of Michigan Law School.

• Law Firm Hirings & Firings
• News Corp. Hires Williams & Connolly Partner as Counsel
• Tom Gerke Hired at H&R Block as General Counsel
• Siemens Attorney Joins Textron
• 2012 Expected to be Good Year for Law Firm Lateral Market

In the past week, at least five small and midsize firms have said they are merging or boosting their attorney ranks. New York-based Anderson Kill & Olick announced that it is merging with San Buenaventura, Calif.-based Wood & Bender. Both firms specialize in insurance recovery, and the merged firm will have nearly 100 attorneys.

Denver-based Sherman & Howard announced it is merging with litigation boutique Netzorg McKeever Koclanes & Bernhardt, also based in Denver, as well as with Phoenix-based Mohr, Hackett, Pederson, Blakley & Randolph. The combination will bring Sherman & Howard’s attorney headcount more than 190.

Newark, N.J.-based Sills Cummis & Gross is merging with New York-based Silverberg Stonehill Goldsmith & Haber. The nine additional attorneys from Silverberg Stonehill will expand Sills Cummis’ New York office. Columbia, S.C.-based Nexsen Pruet has scooped up Raleigh, N.C.-based Sanford Holshouser, while Portland, Ore.-based Miller Nash has added four attorneys from Newcomb, Sabin, Schwartz & Landsverk.

We already reported on several recent mergers.

The reason for all the merging is obvious — firms need to save money and find new sources of capital. Combining resources with another firm (or letting them buy you out and calling it a “merger”) is one way to do that — once you’ve already cancelled bonuses, frozen salaries, and extorted money from partners.

Also, what are all these mergers going to do for law firm name bloat? I mean, what’s that new merged Denver firm going to be called? Netzorg Mohr Sherman McKeever Hackett Howard Koclanes Pederson Blakley Randolph & Bernhardt?

Via NLJ.

• Law Firms Merge Together
• Arnstein & Lehr Merges with Fieldstone Shear & Denberg
• Law Firm Merger Numbers Closing in on Pre-Recession Levels
• Law Firm Merger Numbers in 2011 to Continue in 2012
• More Law Firms Joining Forces