Driven by a slowdown in completed mergers in the second quarter, law firm mergers in the first half of 2019 are lagging behind the same period last year, according to data collected by law firm consultancies Fairfax Associates and Altman Weil.

Fairfax recorded just five completed mergers in the second quarter of 2019, bringing its count for the first half of this year to 30. In the first half of last year, it counted 37 completed mergers in the same time period. Fairfax uses published reports, press releases and direct reports from law firms to collect data when the acquired firm has five or more partners.