MOSCOW, April 7 (RAPSI) - During the first quarter of 2014, 22 law firm mergers and acquisitions were announced in the US, demonstrating that law firm combinations are still on the rise, legal consulting firm Altman Weil, Inc. revealed Wednesday.

Of the mergers and acquisitions, 18 involved small firms with fewer than 16 lawyers, and four involved larger firms.

The largest combination took place in mid-March between Pittsburgh’s Buchanan Ingersoll, which has 425 lawyers, and Tampa’s Fowler White Boggs, with 92 lawyers.

Not all of the mergers announced were confined to the US borders. Atlanta’s Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, with 437 attorneys, acquired London’s 5-lawyer Arbis LLP.

The first quarter of 2014 has seen the second highest number of law firm combinations in the past eight years, following the first quarter of 2009 – which saw 25 such deals. 
Overall, 2013 saw 88 firm combinations. That number was up from 60 each in 2011 and 2012, and 39 in 2010.

“The trends we tracked in 2013 continue into the first quarter of 2014. Deal volume remains high, but the majority of those deals are acquisitions of very small law firms,” Altman Weil principal Ward Bower said, as quoted in Wednesday’s release.

The Altman Weil MergerLine keeps track of law firm combinations as they are announced either via press releases or media outlets.