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Stronger together is no longer just a political slogan.
Market difficulties lingering from the recession have brought yet another busy year for U.S. law firm mergers, says an Altman Weil MergerLine report. Marriages of U.S. and foreign law firms also grew by record numbers in 2015 and are forecast to keep up a strong pace in 2017.
Altman Weil's MergerLine reports 85 law firm mergers for 2016, the fourth consecutive year of 80 or more since 2013, when U.S. law firm merger and acquisition activity dramatically accelerated coming out of the recession.
Look for law firm mergers and acquisitions to become even more frequent in 2017 as new business becomes even scarcer, Altman Weil principal Tom Clay says in a statement.
“It's a post-recession reality that with market demand flat-lining the most-effective way to add new business is to acquire another law firm,” says Clay, whose Pennsylvania-based firm specializes in law management consulting. “But as the supply of prime targets inevitably shrinks, we expect the competition to make high-quality deals will intensify in 2017.”
The largest merger of the year: The tie-up between 900-lawyer U.K.-based Eversheds and 400-lawyer Atlanta firm Sutherland Asbill & Brennan. The deal marked one of 11 cross-border combinations announced last year, making 2016 a record year for international tie-ups, MergerLine reports.
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