A frothy law firm merger market in Texas helped push the number of consolidations in the second quarter of 2018 past the figure from the previous year, according to a June 29 report from consultancy Fairfax Associates.

The 16 completed mergers recorded by the consultants trailed the 20 that occurred during the first quarter, but exceeded the 13 recorded from the second quarter of 2017. Overall, the 36 mergers completed in the first half of 2018 outpace the 35 from the first half of 2017, itself a record-breaking year, according to one analysis.