Washington-based Crowell & Moring and New York-based Herrick Feinstein are in close merger negotiations and in discussions to sign a term sheet, sources told ALM on Tuesday.

One source close to Herrick said the talks are still preliminary and that any merger is unlikely to be announced before 2017. Another source with connections to the firm told ALM that the firms have been in talks for months. The discussions were first reported by The Real Deal.