Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. has an excellent post about the trends in law firm mergers, highlighted by the recent merger announcement of Shaw Pittman and Pillsbury Winthrop. In his post, Bruce questions whether there is room in the market for medium-sized (100-400 lawyer) firms, then provides his answer: "In our brave new world, without a compelling regional or practice-specific expertise, I'm increasingly skeptical there is such room. Choose critical mass or local excellence. "
I think that is good news for law practice entrepreneurs. Whether by choice or as a result of conflicts, a number of these lawyers will not join the merged firm. Some may join other large firms, but others will start boutique practices using their big firm skills and contacts to create a smaller firm in their own image. They will have a chance to build what Messieurs Shaw, Pittman, Pillsbury, and Winthrop did more than a generation ago. The good news is that more resources exist today than fifty years ago to help these new entrepreneurs build their firm. And while the stakes may seem higher now, I’ll bet the four above-named founders would disagree.
God, I love the smell of capitalism in the morning!
