Mergers & Acquisitions

Overall partner promotions shrink slightly, including for BigLaw firm that promoted 200 lawyers

A slightly lower number of partner promotions this year by Kirkland & Ellis is in keeping with the trend; new-partner class sizes in BigLaw have decreased an average of 4% this year, based on partnership announcements so far.

Dec 3, 2024 8:56 AM CST

With mergers on the rise, how can law firms ensure their success?

Mergers can lead to problems for both attorneys and their clients if certain issues and potential complicating factors are ignored, law firm consultants warn.

Dec 1, 2024 2:10 AM CST

Miles & Stockbridge will merge with 30-lawyer firm

Miles & Stockbridge has announced that it will merge with 30-lawyer Krooth & Altman, a real estate law firm in Washington, D.C.

Nov 14, 2024 8:51 AM CST

Merger will produce ‘global legal powerhouse’ that will be called HSF Kramer

Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel announced plans Monday to merge with Herbert Smith Freehills, creating a “global legal powerhouse” law firm with more than $2 billion in combined revenue.

Nov 11, 2024 2:21 PM CST

Law firm profitability is at near-record high, new report says

Law firm financials have improved for seven consecutive quarters, leading to a profitability score that is the second highest on record for the Law Firm Financial Index since its inception more than 15 years ago.

Nov 11, 2024 12:02 PM CST

Taft’s revenue ranking ‘will move up substantially’ after planned merger, law firm says

Taft Stettinius & Hollister plans to merge with Denver-based Sherman & Howard, creating a law firm with more than 1,000 lawyers.

Sep 24, 2024 8:50 AM CDT

Another BigLaw firm announces merger—third in week’s time

Womble Bond Dickinson and Lewis Roca Rothgerber Christie announced Tuesday that they will merge Jan. 1, 2025, to create “a powerhouse firm” of more than 1,300 lawyers.

Sep 10, 2024 3:00 PM CDT

Ballard Spahr announces merger that ‘is just the tip of the next iceberg’ in Pacific Northwest

Ballard Spahr is expanding into the Pacific Northwest through a merger with Lane Powell, the law firms announced Monday.

Sep 10, 2024 9:32 AM CDT

2 BigLaw firms ‘fighting it out in the lateral market’ vote to merge

Partners at Troutman Pepper Hamilton Sanders and Locke Lord have voted to merge effective Jan. 1, 2025.

Sep 9, 2024 3:32 PM CDT

In ‘difficult but necessary step forward,’ merged law firm trims 10% of equity partnership

A&O Shearman is cutting 10% of its global equity partners, closing its Johannesburg office in South Africa and terminating its consulting business, multiple legal publications are reporting.

Sep 9, 2024 2:36 PM CDT

Law firms had strong financial performance in first half of 2024, survey says

Another survey shows an 11.4% year-over-year increase in law firm revenue for the first half of 2024, a percentage that is more than double the 4.4% growth for the same period last year.

Aug 26, 2024 12:39 PM CDT

Willkie adds 5 partners, 6 associates from this BigLaw firm, adding to growing Chicago office

Willkie Farr & Gallagher has nearly 100 lawyers in its Chicago office after adding five partners and six associates from Mayer Brown.

Aug 26, 2024 11:21 AM CDT

Lathrop GPM will merge with Silicon Valley firm Oct. 1; ‘why wait?’ managing shareholder asks

Lathrop GPM announced Wednesday that it will merge with Silicon Valley law firm Hopkins & Carley on Oct. 1. The combined firm will still use the Lathrop GPM name, according to a Aug. 21 press release. The 62 lawyers joining Lathrop GPM will increase the larger firm’s head count by…

Aug 22, 2024 11:05 AM CDT

Law firms are seeing ‘significant resurgence’ in financial health, new report says

Most major practice areas experienced growth in the second quarter of 2024, leading to “a significant resurgence in the financial health of law firms,” according to the Thomson Reuters Institute, which released its latest Law Firm Financial Index.

Aug 6, 2024 9:04 AM CDT

With reclassifying proposal for cannabis, companies are seeing green

The smoke is finally clearing on decades of stigma. On Thursday, the White House Office of Management and Budget signed off on a proposal for the reclassification of marijuana, puffing the way forward from a Schedule I drug to a Schedule III drug.

May 17, 2024 12:11 PM CDT