Research company Altman Weil says that 68 deals were announced in the US in the nine months to the end of September. There were 20 in the third quarter. 

Cherry picking

Eric Seeger, prinicpal at Altman Weil, said: 'Large and mid-sized law firms continue to cherry-pick desireable small firms based on practice specialty or geography. We’re also seeing same-city or same-state tie-ups between smaller firms that are joining forces in an attempt to strengthen their relative market positions.' Bloomberg Business of Law