Managing Law Firms in Transition

Managing Law Firms in Transition

Tag Archives: Merger Checklist

Law Firm Merger Checklist Item-Culture

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
The spring of 2018 has produced a spate of large law firm mergers.  Despite this noticeable activity, the interest in mergers is not something new-over 600 mergers and acquisitions have closed since 2007.  Based on the tactic’s popularity among firm leaders seeking a competitive edge, we can expect more mergers in the future. For law… Continue Reading

Four Important Elements to Getting Law Firm Merger Right

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Succession, Law Firm Transition
Already 2018 has proven to be a time for law firm merger.  Since the beginning of the year we have been treated to a constant series of announcements about law firms combining. And although law firm mergers have been part of the landscape for years, the increase in law firm mergers shows its growing popularity… Continue Reading

Its Merger Season-Five Reasons for Your Law Firm to Think About Merger

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Succession, Law Firm Transition
Tis the season, but holidays are not involved.  Rather, market forces, activity and trends confirm that law firm merger is on the minds of law firms.  While mergers once seemed to happen mostly around the start of the year, the complexity of the merger exercise means mergers can happen at any time.  And even for… Continue Reading

Finding the Right Law Firm Merger Candidate-Five Fundamentals

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Transition
Law firm mergers are a regular occurrence in today’s American legal landscape.  Large or small, they happen because law firms and their leaders see merger has meeting a perceived need.  Whether seeking greater market share, pursuing untapped lucrative markets, responding to a demographic challenge, or fixing inadequate succession preparations, a merger can represent the right… Continue Reading

Considering Law Firm Merger? Four Disciplined Steps to Getting It Right

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Transition
In the case of many law firms competing in today’s legal environment, growth is important.  Some growth is done quietly while other expansion is discussed widely.  Growth in the form of law firm merger gets everyone’s attention-indeed announcements about law firms joining together in merger seem to be made weekly. For every merger announced there… Continue Reading

Improving Your Law Firm’s Growth Prospects-The Importance of Discipline

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
  For many law firms client expectations, increased competition (from traditional and non-traditional sources) and unreliable demand present formidable challenges. These challenges can be compounded as a firm’s senior lawyers age and succession gets added to a firm’s “to do” list. Some firms have responded to these issues by growing through lateral hiring or merger… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger Today-Aligning the Cultures

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Transition
Merger is a frequent law firm activity, especially in recent years. Based on a recent review of Altman Weil’s MergerLine, over 600 mergers and acquisitions have closed since 2007. While not all the deals identified by MergerLine have been true mergers, many of the “non-mergers” nonetheless have been significant because they represent the near full… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger-Four Rules to Follow

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
Mergers between law firms garner headlines. Just last week, Kansas City’s Husch Blackwell was in the news when it announced that it was merging with Whyte Hirschboeck Dudek S.C., a Wisconsin based business and litigation firm. The merger comes less than year after Husch Blackwell’s Chairman Maurice Watson described the firm’s newly adopted strategy of… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger or Combination-A Solution That Can Suit Many Situations

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Succession, Law Firm Transition
As we have seen recently, law firm combinations have continued at a brisk pace. In layman’s terms, most of the combinations are referred to as mergers although many are at best “merger-like.” Indeed, “true” mergers appear to be the exception and not the rule as law firm combinations continue to be announced. Gina Passarella wrote… Continue Reading

Another Record Year for Law Firm Mergers-Reasons Your Law Firm Should Not Be Next

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Transition, Law Firm Warning Signs
In a newly posted piece, Casey Sullivan‘s Law Firm Mergers Reach Highest Point in Nearly a Decade reports that 2016 is to be yet another record year for law firm mergers.   As the cascade of announcements show (as well as the Altman Weil research compiled in its Mergerline), merger as a law firm strategy has gained… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger: Five Compatibility Metrics

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
To merge, or not to merge? That is the question. More and more law firms face that issue these days. We often advise law firms facing that watershed possibility and take them from considering merger in the abstract to addressing its reality. But because roughly 50% of mergers reportedly fail, properly evaluating a potential merger… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger-What Makes Merger Success Likely?

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
A headline from last week announced the law firm merger of Dykema with Texas’ Cox Smith.  Although Michigan based Dykema already had a foothold in Texas, its merger with well-regarded Cox Smith represents a significant commitment by Dykema to its Texas strategy.  The Dykema/Cox Smith combination also is further evidence that law firm mergers are… Continue Reading

Strategy of Merger: Four Steps for Success for Law Firm Leaders

By Roger Hayse and Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
This blog post was originally posted, in late October, by Kevin McKeown at Above the Law and his blog Leadership Close Up.  Kevin has been a tremendous resource for us and has guided us greatly as we work at delivering meaningful content about the legal industry and the significant changes it faces. These are challenging times for the… Continue Reading

Distressed Law Firm Acquisitions-The Times May Be Perfect (Part Two)

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Crisis, Law Firm Liquidation, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
As reviewed in Part One last week, the example of the Morgan Lewis/Bingham McCutchen mass lateral transaction may serve to stimulate the pursuit of distressed firms by healthy firms. Although distressed law firm transactions are nothing new, the model of that deal plus two new legal developments may foster greater distressed law firm activity. The first… Continue Reading

Distressed Law Firm Acquisitions-The Times May Be Perfect (Part One)

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Crisis, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
This is the first of two installments that examine the changing landscape of distressed law firm acquisitions and how recent developments may encourage healthy firms to pursue struggling firms like never before. Last week, the long-anticipated Morgan Lewis acquisition of a core component of Bingham McCutchen’s practice was announced. Described as a mass lateral acquisition as opposed… Continue Reading

Unwanted Law Firm Departures While Negotiating a Merger-A Test of Leadership

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Crisis, Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
Law firm mergers seemingly are announced weekly and continue a trend as to which most observers are accustomed.  Just last week Locke Lord and Edwards Wildman Palmer jointly announced the signing of a letter of intent to combine their two firms. Not all law firm mergers are marriages of equals, or instances when the strategic… Continue Reading

Law Firm Leadership and Merger-Finding the Right Fit

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
Although this year’s transactions generally are smaller deals, the robust law firm merger market of 2013 has been continued into 2014. Mergers grab headlines, create excitement and almost always provide the merged firm a little boost from the afterglow of positive publicity. Unfortunately, any positive vibe from a merger will not last forever. And more… Continue Reading

Merging with Goliath-Key Considerations for the Smaller Law Firm

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition, Uncategorized
News about the search for a merger partner by Bingham McCutcheon has been in the media the past few weeks. If the search leads Bingham to the altar, its transaction likely will be among parties equally sophisticated and aware of the intricacies of law firm merger. After all, Bingham owes its current size to a… Continue Reading

Merging Your Law Firm As A Succession Plan-Five Key Considerations

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Succession, Law Firm Transition
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… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger-A Succession Planning Alternative

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Crisis, Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Succession, Law Firm Transition
In recent years, law firm mergers have been on the uptick and do not seem to be abating.  Big mergers reap a lot of publicity because the firms joining together often have household names. But as Catherine Ho reports, not all the law firm mergers involve the behemoths that grab the headlines. Ms. Ho’s Law Firm… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger Diligence-Client Compatibility

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition
A law firm considering a merger has a lot to think about.  Evaluating the differing cultures, financial metrics and compensation systems is a must. Merging two law firms without vetting the client fit is not only unwise, but it also is not likely to end well. Yet, finding an acceptable match in the two law… Continue Reading

Law Firm Merger Diligence-Are the Compensation Systems Compatible?

By Andrew E. Jillson on Posted in Law Firm Growth, Law Firm Leadership, Law Firm Merger, Law Firm Repositioning/Turnaround/Restructuring, Law Firm Transition, Uncategorized
Last week was noteworthy because two major anticipated mergers were called off; Orrick/Pillsbury due to reported conflicts and Dentons/McKenna for what may be best described as “cultural reasons.”  But even if there were no conflict issues and cultures meshed well between two firms, most proposed mergers won’t get to a closing if their respective compensation… Continue Reading
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