Last year saw US law firms joining forces at a rate never before recorded. According to a new report from Altman Weil MergerLine, that trend is expected to continue well into the new year.
The latest MergerLine report shwoed 2015 to have been a record breaking year for law firm combinations in the US, both in terms of the number of join-ups and their size. A total of 91 law firm combinations were recorded over the 12 months to 31 December, eclipsing the previous record set in 2013 of 88. Dentons was the most active firm for combinations, tallying eight over the course of the year, including new partnerships in Australia, Latin America and Asia. The year also boasted the largest ever law firm merger, when the 2,500-strong Dentons merged with Chinese firm Dacheng and its 3,600 lawyers to form the world’s largest legal team. Dentons’ M&A activity over the course of the year nearly tripled the firm’s headcount, with a projected total team of 7,400 lawyers once all 2015 deals are finalised.
