After a record-setting number of law firm mergers in 2017, the blistering pace of mergers has continued through the first half of this year, with 51 combinations announced so far in 2018, according to consulting firm Altman Weil Inc. Those included the acquisitions of four firms with more than 100 lawyers each.
Altman Weil MergerLine on Monday issued its quarterly report on law firm combination activity, showing that 21 firm mergers and acquisitions were announced in the second quarter of 2018, adding to the 30 combinations announced earlier in the year. Among other takeaways, Altman Weil said the size of acquisition targets has been particularly large in 2018: In the 21 deals announced in the second quarter, the average size of the acquired firm was 25 lawyers.
