Law Firm Merger

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The typical press release announcing a law firm merger extolls the excitement, the opportunity to have one plus one equal three, and the great fit of culture, practices and people.  It’s perfect until it is not.  In fact, by some measures more than half of all law firm mergers fail. When the realization sets in that your law firm merger is a bad one and not the combination of your dreams, what can you do?

Besides whistling past the graveyard, you’ve got to do something.  And while a solution stimulated by panic is not recommended, prompt action is advisable. As action plan options go, the following three options generally are presented and often are considered:

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Continue Reading Dealing with the Bad Law Firm Merger–Annulment, Divorce or Staying Together for the Kids?

Despite the seemingly “good” year that 2018 was for many law firms, experience tells us that ”good” can be  a relative thing.  While 2018 performance data compares favorably to the data from the prior years following the Great Recession, all is not completely rosy.  Today’s law firms face more competition than ever as market share is shrinking, and the industry is being disrupted in multiple ways.

The recently released Thomson Reuters State of the Legal Market 2019report provides some industry information about how the 2018 results should be viewed.  The report concludes that despite good results last year, a robust round of “high-fives” should be tempered.  As Thomson Reutersnotes, shared competitive industry information, technological advances, client control of legal service use and terms, greater competition among law firms and other resources, have all greatly altered the legal services market. This change in landscape has, among other things, stimulated a war for talent, causing valuable lawyers with valuable clients to move from one firm to the next in free-agency run wild.

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Continue Reading Four Ways a Strategically Designed Merger Can Strengthen Your Law Firm and Make it More Competitive

There are two primary succession challenges law firms face.  Leadership succession is one and is a vitally important step to assure a firm’s longevity.  A second kind of law firm succession involves the succession of client relationships as senior-lawyers wind-down or retire.

As hard as leadership succession can be, managing client relationship succession can be…

Law firm growth gets a lot of attention. Among the various approaches to law firm growth is the tactic of merger. Almost weekly we are treated to another announcement about two law firms fulfilling their desire to grow by combining. And although law firm mergers have been part of the landscape for years, the incidence…

It almost seems like a broken record to hear about the popularity of law firm mergers.  Legal industry publications report on the latest mergers and hot market trends.  Indeed, just recently The American Lawyerreviewed the merger opportunities that abound for mid-size firms in its Mid-size Firm Leaders Awash in Big Law Merger Offers.…

What is your law firm worth?

This question is paramount when the owners of a firm consider the possibilities related to a merger, a succession plan involving existing firm members, or the outright sale of an established practice.

There are variations by state as to what can and cannot be sold as part of transitioning…

Every year law firms of all sizes merge. For some of the smaller law firms merging, the decision to combine may have been driven by the need for an effective succession plan. In these cases in which long-time management is unenthused about the prospect of turning the keys over the next generation, merger can be…

Law firm mergers happen-a lot.  While the mega mergers get the publicity, many mergers stay under the radar because they involve smaller firms being absorbed by larger firms. Whether for reasons of market dynamics, succession, or battling for growth, some smaller firms simply conclude that life will be better as part of a bigger shop.…

If you practice law, there is one eventuality that should be added to that familiar duo of Death and Taxes. No one talks much about it, but it warrants the same attention to detail. The subject? The end of your practice. 

As is the case with its two more familiar rivals for attention, ignoring it …

Law firm mergers have been in the news with combinations being announced seemingly every week.  So far in 2018, the many mergers closed have drawn the attention of the media and law firm leaders alike.  The rationale for any of the announced mergers depends on the specific transaction and the firms involved.  Whatever the reason,…