Mergers of U.S. law firms dip in second quarter
In the past three months, the number of law firm mergers of U.S.-based firms has dropped, according to surveys by consulting companies Altman Weil and Thomson Reuters Hildebrandt Institute.
June 29, 2012 at 08:09 AM
2 minute read
The original version of this story was published on Law.com
In the past three months, the number of law firm mergers of U.S.-based firms has dropped, according to surveys by consulting companies Altman Weil and Thomson Reuters' Hildebrandt Institute.
Altman Weil said that in the first quarter of 2012, law firms reported 14 mergers, but the second quarter only saw 10. Hildebrandt's numbers differed—the company reported that there were only five mergers in the second quarter, compared to 20 in the first.
Altman Weil and Hildebrandt attribute the dropoff to several factors, including law firms focusing on strengthening local markets as well as the closely followed bankruptcy of Dewey & LeBoeuf, a firm that came to be as the result of a merger in 2007.
Dewey's demise resulted in a mass exodus of many of its partners, who moved their practices to other high-profile firms. Winston & Strawn brought on 60 lawyers from Dewey and Greenberg Traurig, which was at one time in merger talks with the failing firm, hired at least 50 of Dewey's lawyers.
Some U.S. mergers, of course, did go through in the second quarter. Those included Frost Brown Todd merging with the small Nashville, Tenn., law firm MGLAW, as well as Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney merging with fellow-Pittsburgh firm Manion McDonough & Luca.
Outside of the U.S., there's another merger that's garnering some attention. Yesterday, London-based Herbert Smith and Freehills, an Australian law firm, announced their merger. The joint venture will create a 2,800 lawyer firm called Herbert Smith Freehills, which will have 20 offices around the world. When that merger is complete on Oct. 1, it will be the eighth largest law firm worldwide, and will have one of the largest legal presences in the quickly growing Asia-Pacific market.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Lawyers Drowning in Cases Are Embracing AI Fastest—and Say It's Yielding Better Outcomes for Clients
GC Conference Takeaways: Picking AI Vendors 'a Bit of a Crap Shoot,' Beware of Internal Investigation 'Scope Creep'
8 minute read
Why ACLU's New Legal Director Says It's a 'Good Time to Take the Reins'
Trending Stories
- 1Chancery Claims Linking Fox Management to Defamation Liability Clear Hurdle
- 2NJ Managing Partner Survey Indicates Tougher 2024 for Many Law Firms
- 3Southwest Airlines Faces $100M Class Action Over Pay Periods
- 4Firms Saw Slight Declines From Last Year, but Merger Interest Remains High, Managing Partner Survey Reveals
- 5Medicaid Whistleblowers Awarded $37M Plus Interest
Who Got The Work
Michael G. Bongiorno, Andrew Scott Dulberg and Elizabeth E. Driscoll from Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr have stepped in to represent Symbotic Inc., an A.I.-enabled technology platform that focuses on increasing supply chain efficiency, and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The case, filed Oct. 2 in Massachusetts District Court by the Brown Law Firm on behalf of Stephen Austen, accuses certain officers and directors of misleading investors in regard to Symbotic's potential for margin growth by failing to disclose that the company was not equipped to timely deploy its systems or manage expenses through project delays. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Nathaniel M. Gorton, is 1:24-cv-12522, Austen v. Cohen et al.
Who Got The Work
Edmund Polubinski and Marie Killmond of Davis Polk & Wardwell have entered appearances for data platform software development company MongoDB and other defendants in a pending shareholder derivative lawsuit. The action, filed Oct. 7 in New York Southern District Court by the Brown Law Firm, accuses the company's directors and/or officers of falsely expressing confidence in the company’s restructuring of its sales incentive plan and downplaying the severity of decreases in its upfront commitments. The case is 1:24-cv-07594, Roy v. Ittycheria et al.
Who Got The Work
Amy O. Bruchs and Kurt F. Ellison of Michael Best & Friedrich have entered appearances for Epic Systems Corp. in a pending employment discrimination lawsuit. The suit was filed Sept. 7 in Wisconsin Western District Court by Levine Eisberner LLC and Siri & Glimstad on behalf of a project manager who claims that he was wrongfully terminated after applying for a religious exemption to the defendant's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The case, assigned to U.S. Magistrate Judge Anita Marie Boor, is 3:24-cv-00630, Secker, Nathan v. Epic Systems Corporation.
Who Got The Work
David X. Sullivan, Thomas J. Finn and Gregory A. Hall from McCarter & English have entered appearances for Sunrun Installation Services in a pending civil rights lawsuit. The complaint was filed Sept. 4 in Connecticut District Court by attorney Robert M. Berke on behalf of former employee George Edward Steins, who was arrested and charged with employing an unregistered home improvement salesperson. The complaint alleges that had Sunrun informed the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection that the plaintiff's employment had ended in 2017 and that he no longer held Sunrun's home improvement contractor license, he would not have been hit with charges, which were dismissed in May 2024. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer, is 3:24-cv-01423, Steins v. Sunrun, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Greenberg Traurig shareholder Joshua L. Raskin has entered an appearance for boohoo.com UK Ltd. in a pending patent infringement lawsuit. The suit, filed Sept. 3 in Texas Eastern District Court by Rozier Hardt McDonough on behalf of Alto Dynamics, asserts five patents related to an online shopping platform. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Rodney Gilstrap, is 2:24-cv-00719, Alto Dynamics, LLC v. boohoo.com UK Limited.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
