Altman Weil, Inc., management consultants to the legal profession, has launched a new online service that tracks law firm mergers and acquisitions involving US law firms of all sizes. 

"Consolidation is one of the key drivers in today’s legal market," noted Altman Weil principal Ward Bower.  "And this new service, bringing together all law firm merger news in one place, will be a great resource for anyone who wants to stay on top of how the market is moving in real time."

In January 2008, MergerLine™ logged six law firm combinations. All were small regional acquisitions, three in the Midwest, two in the South and one in the Western US. 

The 2007 MergerLine™ archive includes 60 law firm mergers and acquisitions announced in 2007, along with 13 additional deals reported in 2006, but effective January 2007.  Of the 60 deals announced in 2007, seven were cross-border mergers, the two largest involving combinations with Hong Kong law firms.  In the US, California was the most active inbound market, with five in-state deals, three bi-coastal combinations, and two Western regional deals.