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Global law firm Clyde & Co, based in London, announced Thursday that it has expanded to Boston following a merger with the much smaller local law firm Hermes, Netburn, O’Connor & Spearing. The new expansion will bring 14 lawyers to the firm, specializing in insurance and civil litigation, such as product liability, toxic torts, and construction.
Clyde & Co now has 15 offices in the United States following other recent openings in Phoenix, Denver, and Las Vegas earlier this year. The firm boasts a total of 2,400 lawyers with 480 partners—60 of which are in America.
The Boston legal market has recently seen an influx of out-of-town firms, such as Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, Allen & Overy, and Fox Rothschild. Senior Partner Carolena Gordon released a statement about the merger, saying, “New England is home to a vibrant insurance, biotech, healthcare, and professional services ecosystem.” She hopes the new Boston office will be able to work with the other offices in New York and New Jersey to help advise businesses and insurance companies in the region.
The legal industry has been active since 2021, with many firms merging. On Wednesday, Clark Hill announced they are merging with 18-litigator firm Conrad O’Brien in Philadelphia after recently absorbing another small real estate firm there. Another merger happened between Croke Fairchild Duarte & Beres (founded three years ago by alums from large law firms) and a small litigation firm based in Chicago.
On the other hand, one potential deal fell through this week when Womble Bond Dickinson and U.K.-based firm BDB Pitmans announced that they were ending merger talks after “extensive discussions.” Though these two firms disagreed on the terms, many big and small law firms still engage in mergers. For instance, Holland & Knight combined with a Nashville-based firm, and Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe combined with Buckley.
Despite these successful mergers, some potential deals are still in the works, such as Hogan Lovells and Shearman & Sterling, who recently acknowledged that they were discussing a possible merger. Still, neither firm has made any public announcements or confirmations yet.
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It is clear from all of these recent mergers and talks of mergers that the legal industry is in a wave of consolidation. Merging smaller firms with larger ones is becoming increasingly common as some believe it creates efficiencies and provides expanded resource access. In contrast, others fear the consolidation could hurt competition amongst firms. Only time will tell what effect this trend has on the legal industry in the long run.
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Law firm mergers continue, bringing U.K.’s Clyde & Co to Boston
