Data released by legal consultancy Altman Weil on Wednesday shows that U.S. law firm combinations rose 47 percent in 2013. Small firm tie-ups were partially responsible for the frenzied merger activity, which saw 88 firms join forces—the largest number in a single year since Altman Weil began tracking mergers in 2006.
The results weren’t a surprise—The Am Law Daily reported late last year on 2013’s record-setting merger pace—but Altman Weil does note some of the reasons driving the merger mania. For instance, most of the merger deals involved a smaller firm being absorbed by an acquirer at least five times its size.
