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07 February 2008 / Simon Young
Issue: 7307 / Categories: Features , Company , Competition , Commercial
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Risk Management Focus

Merging Firms, Benefits, Cultural Fit

I see the firm next door is merging. There seems to be a rash of mergers about. Are we going to have to go that route?

I don’t think you absolutely have to go that way, but I’d be surprised if you were not at least thinking of what the options might be. But before you even consider it, you need to consider where a merger might fit into your strategy, or where it might indeed endanger it.
 
But surely it’s just a question of getting two firms which are roughly the same, and putting them together, isn’t it?
Not at all. That might give you a real problem. Putting it simply, what do you get if you put two small firms together that are not very good? A larger firm that is definitely no good!
 
So how should we approach it?
You’ve got to identify what you want out of the deal. Are you, for instance, seeking simply an increase in size, so you can dominate a particular local
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Jurit LLP—Caroline Williams

Private wealth and tax team welcomes cross-border specialist as consultant

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

Freeths—Michelle Kirkland Elias

International hospitality and leisure specialist joins corporate team as partner

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Flint Bishop—Deborah Niven

Firm appoints head of intellectual property to drive northern growth

NEWS
Talk of a reserved ‘Welsh seat’ on the Supreme Court is misplaced. In NLJ this week, Professor Graham Zellick KC explains that the Constitutional Reform Act treats ‘England and Wales’ as one jurisdiction, with no statutory Welsh slot
The government’s plan to curb jury trials has sparked ‘jury furore’. Writing in NLJ this week, David Locke, partner at Hill Dickinson, says the rationale is ‘grossly inadequate’
A year after the $1.5bn Bybit heist, crypto fraud is booming—but so is recovery. Writing in NLJ this week, Neil Holloway, founder and CEO of M2 Recovery, warns that scams hit at least $14bn in 2025, fuelled by ‘pig butchering’ cons and AI deepfakes
After Woodcock confirmed no general duty to warn, debate turns to the criminal law. Writing in NLJ this week, Charles Davey of The Barrister Group urges revival of misprision or a modern equivalent
Family courts are tightening control of expert evidence. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Chris Pamplin says there is ‘no automatic right’ to call experts; attendance must be ‘necessary in the interests of justice’ under FPR Pt 25
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