As in years past, the legal market has seen a significant number of mergers and acquisitions in 2018. This past year, however, there was a bit of a twist, and possibly, the beginning of a new trend. Beyond notable law firm mergers involving Bryan Cave, Hunton & Williams, Clark Hill, and more, there were some mergers that raised a variety of eyebrows. Riverview was bought by EY. UnitedLex, which did deals with LeClairRyan and GE, was sold to CVC Capital Partners. Deloitte and EY formed partnerships with boutique immigration powerhouses Fragomen and Berry Appleman, respectively. All of this activity raises an obvious question – what might we expect for 2019?
More mergers between law firms is likely (Side note: the LegalCompass Merger Tool is a neat way to assess different merger scenarios). The 2018 calendar year was one of the busiest on record for law firm combinations. There are good reasons to think the coming year will be just as active. However, beyond law firm mergers there are a range of interesting possibilities to ponder that could have a profound impact on the legal market. Below is a list of transactions that could reshape the legal industry.
