Market forces have led to the consolidation of a number of professional services sectors. In accounting, for example, the Big Four account for more than 60% of the U.S. market. There is good reason for this: research has shown that across industries, organizations with a systematic M&A strategy delivered better shareholder returns. Organizations that relied solely on organic growth, on the other hand, performed relatively poorly.
Legal services are not immune to this trend: consolidation is well under way, albeit not to the same extent as in other sectors. In 2017, the largest five law firms by revenue accounted for 8% of the American Lawyer 200 revenue pool. By the end of 2021, that figure had risen to 14%.
