Merger and lateral activity among US law firms slowed slightly in 2007 but despite the darkening financial horizon, many in the industry expect the attorney shuffle to retain energy in 2008, writes the National Law Journal.
According to consultancy group Hildebrandt International, mergers involving US law firms totaled 55 in 2007 - comprising 23 in the first quarter, 14 in the second quarter, 11 in the third quarter and just seven in the fourth quarter.
The total represents a slight drop from 2006, when 58 pairings occurred, and the firm dip since 2002. Law firm mergers numbered 49 in 2005 and 48 the year before, according to Hildebrandt.
Notable tie-ups in 2007 included the deals that created Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis and Dewey & LeBoeuf. Reed Smith tied up with City firm Richards Butler, while the expansive US national also swallowed Chicago's Sachnoff & Weaver in 2007.
Other deals include those between Drinker Biddle & Reath and Gardner Carton & Douglas; Day, Berry & Howard and Pitney Hardin; and between Locke Liddell & Sapp and Lord, Bissell & Brook.
Hildebrandt consultant Lisa Smith said the average size of mergers had shrunk - a trend that could continue as smaller firms look to hedge against the effects of a worsening economy.
Altman Weil consultant Ward Bower said midsize firms with fewer than 400 attorneys would be most likely to seek merger partners in a lacklustre economy, commenting: "Some firms that have heretofore been satisfied with where they stand may see themselves as better off with a more diverse organisation. Some firms are already considering that."
Jane Vris, whose bankruptcy boutique, Cronin & Vris, merged with Texas giant Vinson & Elkins in August, cited the need to work from a platform that included corporate and litigation practices, outweighing the loss of autonomy incurred by merging with a major firm.
Cronin & Vris had represented the Houston-based law firm in its settlement against Enron, after Vinson had come under scrutiny for the advice it gave Enron prior to the company's collapse.
"We felt like we had control over who our colleagues would be," Vris said.
More news from the US with law.com
For thousands of the best legal jobs, click here.
