In just eight short months, law firm mergers have increased by 79 percent which means that law
firm mergers are at an all time high. It is believed that the downward spiral of the economy may
be the partial reason as to why the mergers have increased so drastically. The United States is
currently dealing with one of the most devastating recessions of all time. In fact, most people and
companies compare the current recession to The Great Depression which began in 1929.
While law firms have merged together for years as a strategic move, many law firms are now
merging with other law firms to works as one company instead of several individual companies
as a means of survival during such a rough economy. A merger is typically designed to combine
one or more companies together. When the two companies come together to merge, they must
make a mutual agreement about the merge with one another.
Because the economy has not improved over a period of time, many of the law firms in the
United States have felt that it would be beneficial to merge together with other separate law firms
as one. The principal of Altman Weil, Ward Bower, has said, “During the recession and in the
immediate aftermath of the recession, firms were in what I’m going to call a ‘survival mode,’ not
a strategy mode.” Some law firms use a merge as a means of strategy but because of the
recession, it is likely that most firms are using it as a means of survival. He also said, “Now that
the economy has grown, they’re dusting off their strategies.” Since there has not been much
change to the economy from 2010 to 2011, law firms are still doing what they can to continue to
thrive and be successful.
In Pennsylvania alone, six mergers have taken place from the months of January to September.
Of those six mergers in Pennsylvania, four have taken place in the Philadelphia area. While
many mergers have taken place in Philadelphia, there have not been any mergers in Pittsburgh
thus far. Although Pittsburgh has not had any mergers within the past eight months, a legal
recruiter in the city of Pittsburgh has claimed that many of the firms in the area are branching
out.
Some of the firms in the Pittsburgh area are even moving forward toward a possible merge.
Many law firms will continue to merge their companies with others until the recession begins to
get better which means that law firm mergers will continue to be at an all time high. While there
has been a 79 percent increase in mergers within the past eight months, that percentage is
expected to continue to increase within the next several months and in the following year of
2012. If the economy does not get better soon, more law firms will continue to merge as a way of
surviving.