One of the last things I intend to do with this blog is to report on
breaking news, but the Wilmer-Cutler/Hale & Dorr merger is
worth a few words. The merger is being
commonly described as "offensive," to differentiate it from the
more common opportunistic acquisition of a weakened player. Neither
firm had to do it, and the odds of its success appear at first blush better
than average: Cultures at the two firms seem a good match, profits
per partner are within 5% of each other, and practice area and geographic
overlaps appear synergistic.
But there’s another aspect that, to my mind,
is the real news. “This will catch attention at every law firm in the country,” said John Coates,
a professor at Harvard Law School, quoted
in The Wall Street Journal. I agree. I think this deal announces
that the trend towards consolidation of
firms was only taking a breather the last couple of years, and is by no
means over. Common wisdom has been that firms need to be quite large,
indeed multinational, or else boutiques (the "dumb-bell" distribution curve). This
deal says that even firms of 500—600 lawyers may be an endangered
species.
And no, that mouthful of a name won’t last. [My prediction for the final name: Wilmer Hale.]
Next?
