Law firm mergers set new record in first quarter

Mergers among U.S. law firms continued at their rapid clip in the first quarter, setting a new record with 29 announced combinations, according to legal management consultancy Altman Weil Inc.

Among them was the largest-ever merger to take place between law firms: 2,600-lawyer Dentons with 4,000-member Dacheng Law Offices in China in a deal announced in January, as reported by The Am Law Daily.

Other large international law firm merger announcements in the first quarter included the tie-up between Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, a firm with more than 1,800 lawyers, and Singapore firm Stamford Law Corp., with 80 attorneys. Also, DLA Piper—a firm with 4,200 lawyers—revealed in March that it would acquire Vancouver-based Davis LLP, with 260 lawyers.

The first quarter of 2015 was the strongest first quarter ever recorded by Altman Weil, which has been conducting the law firm merger survey since 2007. The latest results also represent the second-strongest quarter overall, behind 2013’s fourth quarter, when 30 deals were announced in a year that saw a record 88 law firm mergers. (Last year brought a total of 82 firm mergers, according to Altman Weil.)

***ALM – Law.com