Merger activity in the US legal market has plunged after the record year of 2001, according to research published this month.

The Mergerwatch survey, by consultants Hildebrandt International, shows that the US saw only 18 law firm mergers in the first quarter of 2003, down slightly from the same period last year, when there were 22 mergers, and dramatically from a high of 41 for the first three months of 2001. The survey tracks mergers involving acquired firms of five or more lawyers.