Law Firm Merger Numbers Rose in 2015

Summary: With 91 law firm mergers and acquisitions, 2015 had a record number year.

Last year, 91 law firm mergers and acquisitions were reported — a record. The New York Times reports that the legal consulting company Altman Weil crunched the numbers and found that 2015 exceeded 2013’s amount of 88 mergers and acquisitions.

Ward Bower, a principal at Altman Weil, told The New York Times that these mergers and acquisitions are a strategy to “acquire new business in a market where demand is flat or constrained.”

“The record number of deals in 2015 is a reflection of the intense competition among law firms for new work, and we expect the market to remain hot in 2016,” Bower said.

One example of a high-profile merger is the expansion of Dentons . We reported in November that after Dentons’ back to back mergers with firms in China, Australia and Singapore, Dentons became the largest firm in the world with more than 7,000 attorneys and 80 offices worldwide.

While Dentons believed that their expansion would help clients connect with a network of almost every specialty, Bower predicts that size can harm more than help.

“It will be challenging for [Dentons] to create and maintain a unified vision and mission for their brand,” Bower said.

Another law firm powerhouse DLA Piper also expanded. JD Journal reported last March that the 4,200 lawyer firm added Davis L.L.P., a Canadian firm with 260 attorneys on staff.

Source: The New York Times