When it comes to law firms, is bigger necessarily better? Sure, having a larger amount of equity and more legal counsel and advisors on the roster is advantageous for business; however, the underlying objective must be to deliver increased value for shareholders.

With law firms being functional at basically any size, large or small, it is very common for two or more firms to join forces to create a more powerful agency. A merger of two firms is considered a means of growth for today's modern law firm by allowing both businesses to build a national presence, drive international expansion and better serve clients. As the economy changes and the market evolves towards a more digital landscape, traditional industries such as the practice of law have to adapt to modern procedures in order to survive and remain competitive.

According to a recent Global Legal Post report, merger activity among the top 100 law firms reached a record level in 2013 and this trend is only expected to continue in 2014. For merging firms, this requires pinpointing operational and cultural issues that individual firms bring to the table and finding levers to drive growth. Only then can the merged entity derive the most value from its combined operation and deliver against stakeholder expectations in the mid to long term.

In order to meet and exceed business goals, law firms require a balance of flexibility, agility, efficiency and scalability. Firm-wide technology systems enable new ways of working, fine-tuning of business processes, adoption of innovative pricing models and cost adjustments. With the proper human resources management technology in place, firms can be integrated with all other firm-wide workflows and IT elements. This can help merging organizations establish their own individual culture and style of operation.

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