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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

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal—Jack Kelly

Gateley Legal expands Midlands residential development team

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn—Richard Surtees

Gibson Dunn adds employee benefits and executive compensation practice in London with partner Richard Surtees

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL—Alec Cameron

Laytons ETL appoints new partner and head of intellectual property disputes

NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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