Law Firm Mergers Steady in Q3 with More Activity on the Horizon
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 1, 2024 – Fairfax Associates tracked 11 completed mergers in the third quarter of 2024 (meaning the effective date of the merger occurred during Q3 2024), bringing the total completed mergers for the first three quarters of the year to 41. This puts 2024 on pace with 2023, which also saw 41 mergers through the first three quarters.
Two additional announced mergers will be effective in Q4, bringing the total for the year to 43. The quarter also saw the announcement of four mergers where both firms have more than 100 lawyers set to become effective in 2025.
Unlike the upcoming 2025 mergers, the Q3 mergers were primarily acquisitions of smaller firms. The largest combination was between the Boston-based firms of Manning Gross & Massenburg (185 lawyers) and infrastructure boutique Donovan Hatem (21). The most active city for merger activity in Q3 was Los Angeles, which saw four mergers all involving firms from outside California: Pittsburgh-based Leech Tishman (114) combined with LA healthcare boutique Nelson Hardiman (17); McGuireWoods (922) combined with Century City-based litigation boutique Pasich (11); Cleveland-based Thompson Hine (347) combined with LA-based Conkle, Kremer & Engel (11); and Milwaukee-based Michael Best (268) combined with venture capital boutique O&A, P.C. (8).
The quarter also saw one cross-border merger between Paul Hastings (1,068) and Paris-based litigation boutique Antonin Lévy & Associés (12).
Two Kansas City-based firms combined with Western firms in Q3: Spencer Fane (520) merged with Santa Fe-based Montgomery & Andrews (11) and Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice (85) merged with Seattle-based Christie Law Group (5).
Looking ahead to Q4, two mergers are expected to become effective at the start of the quarter: Kansas City-based Lathrop GPM (298) has announced a combination with San Jose-based Hopkins Carley (62) and two Ohio firms – Roetzel & Andress (158) of Cleveland and Brouse McDowell (43) of Akron – are also set to merge.
Finally, 2025’s merger activity is already set in motion with seven announced mergers. The largest of these are: Troutman Pepper (1,074) with Dallas-based Locke Lorde (556); Womble Bond Dickinson (941) with Phoenix-based Lewis Roca (221); Taft Stettinius & Hollister (875) with Denver-based Sherman & Howard (125); and Ballard Spahr (574) with Seattle-based Lane Powell (144). There is also one announced cross-border combination for 2025 between Mayer Brown (1,890) and Paris-based Ayache (51).
While the level of merger activity in 2024 is likely to be on par or slightly ahead of last year, the pipeline of announced mergers, as well as ongoing merger discussions, indicates a higher level of activity for 2025.
Fairfax Associates collects data from published reports, press releases and direct reports from law firms. Mergers are reported where the acquired firm has five or more lawyers and at least one of the firms is US based. Law firm combinations involving all lawyers from both firms are included in reports even if not officially reported as a merger by the firms. Upon routine verification of the data, some historical numbers may have been updated since previously issued reports, and the number of mergers contained herein may change as additional mergers are announced.