Fairfax in the Press

As shown by the impending merger between Arnold & Porter LLP and Kaye Scholer LLP announced Nov. 10, consolidation in the legal industry remains a popular strategy among firms looking to boost revenue and acquire new clients.

The law firm merger front was quiet in the third quarter of 2016, but a spate of combinations announced within the past week suggests the end of the year is likely bring an upturn in merger news.

Fairfax merger data cited, The American Lawyer, AmLaw Daily, October 17, 2016 I’ve been exploring the relevance of Porter’s Five Forces in recent blog posts. One of those forces – Threat of Substitutes – has the potential to be a disruptor for the legal...

In the face of a glaring pay gap between male and female partners, some firm leaders point to the emphasis on origination credit as the key culprit. But moving away from such a model may not be so easy.

The 12 law firm combinations announced or completed in the third quarter of 2016 is a sharp decline from the 28 in the second quarter, according to data from law firm consulting company Altman Weil.

Fairfax merger data cited and Kristin Stark is quoted Published by Texas Lawyer With small acquisitions or combinations dominating most recent law firm merger activity, the number of firm mergers completed through the third quarter remained almost identical this year...

At Levenfeld Pearlstein, a small Chicago law firm, birthday candles can signal a change in leadership.

Since Cravath, Swaine & Moore upped the ante on associate salaries last month, others in the big law community have responded gradually, some going all-in and others devising region-specific pay scales.

Lisa Smith questions whether a city like Boston can be considered insulated anymore because of how many national firms have set up shop there.

Lisa Smith is quoted. “These were all firms that were performing well, have good rates and strong balance sheets and all those things,” Lisa Smith, a consultant at Fairfax Associates, said of the recent mergers. “these firms are operating from a position of strength in that they didn’t have to do anything.”

Kristin Stark is quoted discussing the impact of merger related growth of larger firms in smaller Midwest legal markets.

Lisa Smith is quoted. “We are continuing to see firms anywhere from 100 lawyers to 600 to 700 lawyers feel like they need more scale in order to compete effectively,” says Lisa Smith, a principal at Fairfax Associates. “I think we’ll continue to see consolidation in the form of laterals and groups or small acquisitions or mergers of equal size. Consolidation is going to continue to be big in 2020.”