Record pace for US law firm combinations continues

Bloomberg News for www.theindianalawyer.com

Law firm mergers show no signs of abating. That’s the takeaway from a report from legal consultant Altman Weil Inc., which tracks the number of combinations — both large and small – among firms.

In the third quarter of 2015, 20 law firm combinations were announced in the U.S. There have been 68 announced so far this year, the most recorded in that period in the nine years that Altman Weil MergerLine has been compiling data, the consulting firm said in a statement.

“There’s quite a lot of activity of large general practice firms acquiring IP boutiques,” Altman Weil principal Eric Seeger said in an interview. “In addition, large firms are looking to acquire litigation boutiques and the large national employment firms are always looking to acquire small employment firms.”

The growth in small-firm acquisitions stems from the realization that “everyone is trying to do lateral hiring,” Seeger added. “But it can be hard to meet growth goals that way, because it can be a slow and expensive process, so firms look for small firms that can be acquired in their entirety.”

In addition, “quite a few big firms are talking” to each other, although “that’s always the case,” he said. “We won’t, however, be surprised to see a major merger occur.”