JD Journal » mergers

Law Firm Merger Numbers Closing in on Pre-Recession Levels

jim — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:03:39 +0000

A survey released by Altman Weil shows that mergers for law firms are bouncing back to the levels they were at prior to the recession of 2008 and 2009. Across the country, there were 60 mergers in 2011, with the number showing that confidence has risen when it comes to moving into new markets.

“We saw a dip during the recession,” Altman Weil principal Ward Bower said. “Nobody was concentrating on strategy. Everyone was concentrating on survival. Now that we are out of the recession, and although it is not a strong recovery by any means, it has inspired a lot of confidence in a lot of firms who are looking to grow again.”

There were four firms from Philadelphia that acquire firms from outside of the city in 2011. The firm of Fox Rothschild added a small intellectual property group from Los Angeles. Seven lawyers in Boston were added to Saul Ewing, 10 lawyers from Houston were added to Blank Rome, and Haddonfield’s Archer Greiner merged with Herten Burstein in Hackensack, New Jersey.

“This was an opportunity for us to get into the downtown market,” Abraham Reich, cochairman of Fox Rothschild, said of the merger with the L.A. firm in 2011. “Is the worst behind us? The answer is yes. But with a footnote. People are still very conservative, as opposed to being bullish.”

The Philadelphia region relies heavily on its law firms when it comes to the economy. Those firms took big hits during the recession but not as big as the ones suffered by the firms in New York, which are tied to Wall Street.

A study released by Altman Weil earlier in 2011 said that more companies were increasing their legal spending, either by hiring internally or spending for outside counsel.

The 60 mergers for 2011 matches the number for mergers in 2007, before the recession hit the United States, and when law firm mergers hit its zenith. In 2008, law firm mergers rose to 70, reflecting merger agreements that had already been in place. In 2009, the number of mergers dropped to 53 and then dropped to 39 in 2010 before jumping back up to 60 in 2011.

Merger two law firms together is a major risk that not many firms were willing to take during the country’s recession. The reason for this is the fact that an ill conceived merger could cost a firm millions of dollars if the result does not work in its favor.

Bower explained that firms that merged in the previous year did so in an effort to meet their clients’ needs. Even though the pace of law firm mergers has increased, the competition to find strong candidates to merge with has also increased greatly.

Baker Donelson Merges with Spain Chambers; Marks Firm’s Entry Into Texas

rebneely — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 08:00:26 +0000

The law firm of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC has merged with the law firm of Spain Chambers, based in Houston. The move, a part of the firm’s strategic growth, marks Baker Donelson’s entry into the state of Texas.

The merger brings the Firm’s total number of attorneys and advisors to over 620, in 17 offices in six states and Washington, D.C. The firm will continue under the name of Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC.

Ben C. Adams, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Baker Donelson was quoted as saying in a press release at the firm’s website: “For both Baker Donelson and Spain Chambers, the driving force behind this merger is our commitment to serving our clients. Expanding into the Texas market enhances Baker Donelson’s ability to serve the needs of existing clients who have substantial interests in Houston and throughout Texas. And with our already established presence in Louisiana, Texas was a logical market for growth, given its economic vitality, geographic proximity and economic connection with Louisiana. The timing and decision to move into Texas now just made sense for us, and with their strong reputation and solid experience, Spain Chambers is a great fit for our clients’ needs.”

Bradley E. Chambers of Spain Chambers was quoted as saying: “Merging with a firm with the national reputation of Baker Donelson offers our clients an expanded platform with international reach while receiving outstanding professional service. In addition to the vast resources and state-of-the-art technologies that Baker Donelson brings, we felt the firm’s culture of commitment to clients, employees and community presents an excellent fit for us, as well.”

Spain Chambers, a full-service law firm, represents businesses throughout Texas, including Fortune 500 clients as well as entrepreneurs, privately-held companies and multinational corporations. The firm serves clients across a broad range of industries, including energy and oil field services, manufacturing, engineering, real estate, construction, health care and information. In addition, its practice areas include litigation in a wide variety of industries and specializations, and corporate and real estate transactions, and tax and estate planning.

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz had its beginnings as the firm of Baker, Worthington, Crossley & Stansberry, which was founded in 1888. As the 73rd largest law firm in the U.S., Baker Donelson gives clients access to a team of over 600 attorneys and public policy advisors representing over thirty practice areas. All are connected across 17 offices to serve virtually any legal and policy need.

The firm has received numerous accolades and recognition over the years. These include being ranked by FORTUNE as not only one of the “100 Best Companies to Work For” in 2010 and 2011, but as one of the top ten public policy firms in Washington, D.C. , and being ranked in the “Top 100 U.S. Law Firms For Diversity” by Multicultural Law magazine every year since 2005.

Law Firm Merger Numbers Rise in U.S.

jim — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 03:51:24 +0000

The United States economy is still struggling to recover from the recession that hit nearly three years ago in 2008. One of the biggest examples of this is the number of companies that are absorbed by other companies in an effort to save jobs and money. One area of business that is not exempt from mergers is the legal sector. In fact, in the past couple of months, law firm merger numbers have risen in the United States. The number is staggering, up 79 percent from the month of January to the month of September this year. The 79 percent increase is compared to the same nine-month period from one year ago.

In the first nine months of 2011, 43 deals involving law firm mergers and acquisitions, which was up from the 24 from the same nine months last year. The company responsible for the data collection regarding the mergers and acquisitions in question is Altman Weil, which is a consulting firm. One major reason for the increase in mergers and acquisitions of law firms in 2011 is the United States economy has shown some signs of improvement after one of the worst economic downturns in the country’s history.

“During the recession and in the immediate aftermath of the recession, firms were in what I’m going to call a ‘survival mode,’ not a strategy mode,” Ward Bower, the Altman Weil principal said. “Now that the economy has grown, they’re dusting off their strategies.”

Quite a few of those strategies employed by the firms seem to focus on geographic growth, with several of the mergers and acquisitions involving interstate or international deals. The Pennsylvania legal market is on pace to finish the 2011 year in almost the same place it finished the 2010 year in when it comes to mergers and acquisitions of law firms. Between the same nine months in 2010, Pennsylvania had five mergers or acquisitions that involved one or more Pennsylvania firms. But during the same nine-month period in 2011 there were only six of those deals.

Since the third quarter began in 2011, there has been only one merger or acquisition featuring a firm from Pennsylvania, when Fox Rothschild acquired Chan Law Group from Los Angeles, California in August. Between 2010 and 2011, four of the Pennsylvania firms involved in deals to merge or acquire other firms were based in the city of Philadelphia. In 2011, Pittsburgh has not seen any deals involving mergers or acquisitions by any of its firms despite a ton of lateral moves by large numbers of firms this year. The majority of these moves usually involve whole practice groups or niche groups that focus on one industry. Plenty of firms in the Pennsylvania area have absorbed other firms in the Pennsylvania area to add lawyers with expertise in a specific industry to their ranks.

Law Firms Collas Day and Crill Canavan To Merge in 2011

marvins — Fri, 03 Dec 2010 13:21:35 +0000

Collas Day in Guernsey and Crill Canavan in Jersey revealed their merger plan, which will take effect sometime in the spring of 2011. The combined law firms will be known as Collas Crill and will create a new 15 partner Channel Island film. The merger is designed to build on the strengths that each firm has especially in the field of corporate and banking, investment funds, property, trusts and dispute resolution.

Collas Day, a leading and highly respected law firm in Guernsey, will continue to cater to the Guernsey market through the firm’s associated fiduciary business, the Guernsey Trust Company. Collas Day IP Management will become Collas Crill IP Management, and Collas Day’s London office will support the combined legal practices.

Collas Day’s senior partner, Chris Bound, expressed his excitement over the upcoming merger. He said that this plan is not just good news for each individual firm, but for the entire Channel Islands as a whole. “Together we will service clients in the Channel Islands, the UK and internationally – including the increasingly important Asian market – and will raise awareness of our services and our jurisdictions in the international legal markets.”

Crill Canavan is a leading law firm based in Jersey but operates through three strong international networks to handle its multi-jurisdictional work. Senior partner Nuno Santos-Costa also said that he highly looks forward to the merger next year. “Both Crill Canavan and Collas Day believe we have found in each other an excellent strategic fit. As mid-sized firms in our respective markets, we already punch above our weight. The merger will strengthen both firms’ presence locally and internationally, while providing clients with greater strength and depth of expertise across our full service offering.”

Law Firm Mergers Ramp Up in Second Quarter

joshua — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 21:46:59 +0000

Law firm merger activity picked up during the second quarter of 2010, with a total of ten completed mergers involving U.S.-based law firms, according to Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, leading consultants to the legal industry.

That marks a rise in activity from the four completed mergers in the first quarter of 2010, and the nine completed mergers in the second quarter of 2009. Two additional mergers have been announced which are slated to be completed during the third quarter of 2010.

Despite the pickup in activity in the second quarter, merger activity year-to-date still lags that of 2009 by a wide margin with 14 mergers in the first half of 2010 compared with 42 in the first half of 2009.

Lisa Smith, head of Hildebrandt Baker Robbins’ Law Firm Strategy and Merger practices, said, “As we predicted, merger activity is back on track after three very quiet quarters. We are seeing significant interest in combinations, including a dramatic increase in interest in cross-border transactions. We expect the second half of the year to continue to show increased merger activity.”

The largest merger involving at least one U.S. firm in the second quarter of 2010 was the cross-border merger between Hogan & Hartson and the U.K.’s Lovells. This trans-Atlantic combination is the second largest merger completed since Hildebrandt Baker Robbins began tracking law firm mergers, the largest being the 2005 merger between London’s DLA and Chicago’s Piper Rudnick Gray Cary.

The next-largest pairings in the second quarter were New Jersey law firm McElroy, Deutsch, Mulvaney & Carpenter and Connecticut-based Pepe & Hazard, and New Orleans’ Jones, Walker, Waechter, Poitevent, Carrere & Denegre with Birmingham’s Walston Wells & Birchall.

The average size of the smaller firm in second-quarter U.S. mergers was 164 attorneys, compared with the average size of 14 in the second quarter of 2009. The high average figure for the quarter was driven by the Hogan-Lovells merger, with both firms having well over a thousand attorneys each. Three of the mergers involved an acquisition of more than 20 lawyers.

Globally, nine mergers were completed in the second quarter of 2010 involving at least one non-U.S.-based law firm. The largest of these was again the Hogan-Lovells merger. Other large international mergers during the quarter included the pairing of offshore law firms Mourant du Feu & Jeune and Ozannes, and the merger of Spanish law firms Vialegis and Dutilh Abogados. There was one intra-Canadian merger: Atlantic Canada’s Cox & Palmer with Halifax firm Goldberg Thompson.

Six international mergers are currently scheduled to be completed during the third quarter of 2010, including the cross-border pairing of Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal LLP with U.K. firm Denton Wilde Sapte to create SNR Denton.

Ruden McClosky Down But Not Out

joshua — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 16:53:30 +0000

By all accounts, these are tough times at Ruden McClosky. Defections, layoffs and office closures recently led the Florida-based firm to fall out of the National Law Journal’s ranking of the top 250 law firms in the United States when its head count fell to just over 100 lawyers.

However, talks of the firm’s imminent demise are off base, the firm’s brass told the Daily Business Review in a far-ranging interview.

“There’s no doubt that the firm has been having economic difficulties in this year uncommon to the history of the law firm,” Michael Krul, chair of Ruden’s corporate and finance department, told the Daily Business Review. “I believe the overwhelming majority of shareholders in the law firm are committed to staying with Ruden and continuing their practices with this firm.

“We’re not going away, we’re not falling apart.”

According to the report, several factors have played a role in Ruden McClosky’s downturn. They include the firm’s “nice guy” culture that included extending credit to clients that were unable to pay their legal bills; a failure to bring “the younger generation” of partners into the management fold; and, most importantly, the downturn of the real estate market and the firm’s slow response.

Firm officials said there are no plans for a possible merger pending.

“Ruden is looking to acquire, not be acquired, if the right opportunity presented itself,” said Carl Schuster. “But we would not just merge into a firm – unequivocally no.”

Those steps do not include a merger, unless a firm wants to join Ruden, Schuster said.

Altman Weil Foresees Increase in Law Firm Mergers

joshua — Wed, 07 Apr 2010 18:33:21 +0000

While law firm mergers continued at a below-average pace in the first quarter of 2010, a principal at Altman Weil said he expects law firm mergers to increase significantly later this year as firms recover from the recent tough economic times.

Tom Clay of legal consulting firm Altman Weil told the Philadelphia Business Journal he anticipates there to be a “ramp-up” period followed by a significant increase in law firm mergers.

“Although we’re seeing a lot more interest in mergers and acquisitions behind the scenes this year, it will take some time for law firms to shift gears from the internal crisis management focus of 2009 back to an outwardly facing, strategic stance,” Clay told Business Journal. “There will be a ramp-up period in the next few quarters before we see the pace of deal-making increase significantly.”

So far in 2010 there have been just eight law firm mergers, according to Altman Weil’s MergerLine Web site. The Business Journal points out all the mergers included the acquisition of firms with fewer than 50 lawyers and five had fewer than 10 lawyers.

Altman Weil told the Business Journal there were 53 law firm mergers last year, which was a 24 percent decline from 2008.

And Speaking of Mergers…

joshua — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:24:07 +0000

There’s a new merger taking place in the Carolinas as South Carolina’s Rogers Townsend & Thomas has merged with North Carolina’s Kellam & Pettit. The combined firm will operate as Rogers Townsend & Thomas. In a press release, Chairman Sam Waters said “The merger assures a strong presence throught the Carolinas. Kellam & Pettit is a perfect fit for us because of our complementary practice areas, and the merger fulfills our goal of providing additional resources and professional services for our clients on a more regional basis.

Rogers Townsend & Thomas has offices in Columbia, Charlotte and the US Virgin Islands.

More on Law Firm Mergers

joshua — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 20:13:49 +0000

Yesterday we reported that law firm mergers were down 24% last year. That’s according to a report from Altman Weil. That’s only half the story, however. According to Hildebrandt Baker Robbins, mergers were up slightly last year.

The discrepancy is caused by the way the two firms calculate the numbers. Altman Weil calculates mergers when they are announced, while Hildebrandt, which just completed its own merger as of January 1, counts them upon their completion. So, taking the Hogan Lovells merger as an example, Altman Weil calculated it into the mix for 2009 while Hildebrandt won’t count it until this year’s report.

A more accurate way to relay the information would be to say that the number of announced mergers was down in 2009, while the number of completed mergers was up.

More Mergers Expected After Slow ’09

joshua — Wed, 06 Jan 2010 18:48:03 +0000

Law firm mergers are expected to rise in 2010 after falling by 24 percent in 2009.

There were 53 mergers last year that involved law firms with 20 or fewer employees, according to a report by Altman Weil MergerLine. The report said law firms’ “cautious approach” in 2009 came as a direct result of the ailing economy.

“Most firms spent 2009 focused on internal issues of cost cutting, layoffs, and compensation adjustments in response to the Great Recession,” Altman Weil consultant Ward Bower said in a statement. “We expect to see an uptick in 2010 as deals currently on hold pending 2009 year-end results are finalized.”

London-based Lovells LLP and Washington-based Hogan & Harston LLP provided the biggest merger of 2009 with regards to number of lawyers involved. The two organizations have a combined 2,532 lawyers, according to the study. The firms’ partners voted to approve the merger last month. The new firm will be known as Hogan Lovells starting May 1.

Hogan & Hartson and Lovells to Become Hogan Lovells

joshua — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:50:03 +0000

Merger talks are still underway between US firm Hogan & Hartson and the UK’s Lovells, but one importnat hurdle has now been cleared. The partners of both firms have agreed on a name. If the merger goes through, the firm will be known as Hogan Lovells, leaving Nelson Hartson out in the cold. Hartson and Hogan met in Los Angeles in the ’20′s and by 1938 Hartson was a named partner in the firm.

I don’t know about the rest of you, but I was secretly hoping for Hogan Lovells Hartson.

Crowell & Moring Pick up Half of Folger Levin & Kahn in San Francisco

joshua — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 18:58:08 +0000

Last weekwe told you that Crowell & Moring were being hush hush about rumors the firm was prepared to merge with Folger Levin & Kahn. It turns out it wasn’t quite a merger. 29 of the 56 lawyers at Folger’s San Francisco office have signed on with Crowell & Moring, including name partner Michael Kahn, and have expanded the west coast presence for their new firm. The remaining attorneys are forming a new Folger Levin. Most of the firm’s LA lawyers are dispersing to other firms, but four of them are joining Crowell & Moring’s existing LA office.

Crowell & Moring is headquartered in Washington DC, with offices in Irvine, New York City, Los Angeles, London, Brussels, and now San Francisco.

Hogan & Hartson in Merger Talks with Lovells

joshua — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 19:51:42 +0000

Hogan & Hartson has begun negotiating a merger with UK firm Lovells. Talks are still in the early stages and obviously when two firms of this size merge, there are a large number of issues to discuss. In particular, US and UK firms use very different account methods and different partnership distribution schemes, which will have to be reconciled before a merger can go forward.

Founded in 1904, Hogan & Hartson is the oldest major law firm headquartered in Washington, DC. It is a global firm with more than 1,100 lawyers in 27 offices worldwide, including offices in North America, Latin America, Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.

Lovells is an international law firm with over 300 partners and around 3,200 employees operating from 26 offices in Europe, Asia and the United States. It is one of the largest international legal business practices in the world.

Anti Trust Guidelines for Mergers to be Reviewed

joshua — Wed, 23 Sep 2009 16:09:20 +0000

The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Justice are reviewing the guidelines used to asses the antitrust issues raised by corporate mergers. The review will take place place at the end of this year and is expected to take six to ten months. Christine Varney, who is the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s Antitrust Division, said they will be looking primarily at three areas: market definition, market concentration and competitive effects.

The review is intended to bring the guidelines into line with actual practices at the two agencies, and to update outmoded guidelines to reflect changes in modern business and society.