Article by Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal
In the last month, three law firms announced cross-border mergers
• K&L Gates is merging with Australian firm Middletons, creating a firm of more than 2,000 lawyers. The merged firm will have full financial integration and will carry the K&L Gates name.
• Norton Rose is merging with Houston's Fulbright & Jaworski to create a 3,800 lawyer law firm. The new firm will be called Norton Rose Fulbright.
• SNR Denton is merging with Salans and Fraser Milner Casgrain in a three-way merger. The new firm, which will be known as Dentons, will have more than 2,500 attorneys and professionals.
By the end of next year, predicts U.K. legal consultant Tony Williams, mergers will likely boost the number of law firms with $2 billion or more in revenues from five to 10.
Establishing new offices, rather than acquiring them in a merger, can be expensive, Williams points out. The cost of building a new office can cost between $5 million and $10 million a year, he tells the newspaper.
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