Smaller firms have been under pressure to compete with larger rivals -  firms with between two and 20 lawyers account for 78 per cent of all mergers of firms. Nearly half the activity  (43 per cent) was limited to five states - albeit some of the largest states - California, New York, Texas, Florida and Illinois. AmLaw 200 firms made 36 per cent of all acquisitions, and 95 per cent of international acquisitions. The city most frequently targeted was New York City, followed by Chicago, Los Angeles, Houston and Washington, DC.

Report findings

The findings were revealed in a new report from legal management consultancy, Altman Weil, Inc called Ten Years of Law Firm Mergers and Acquisitions, a comprehensive statistical look at US law firm combinations from 2007 to 2016.  The data are derived from Altman Weil MergerLine, an online service that has systematically tracked the US merger market since 2007.