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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
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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Anthony Collins—William Hallett & Lorna Scully

Anthony Collins—William Hallett & Lorna Scully

Anthony Collins hires two talented legal directors

Switalskis—five appointments

Switalskis—five appointments

Firm expands national abuse compensation team

Mathys & Squire—nine promotions

Mathys & Squire—nine promotions

IP firm announces new partners and senior promotions across UK offices

NEWS
Executors may be overlooking billions of pounds in estate assets hidden in forgotten investments and misplaced share certificates
Britain’s booming non-surgical cosmetics market is operating in what some critics describe as a regulatory ‘Wild West’
Family contact disputes are becoming an increasingly prominent feature of Court of Protection litigation
Material obtained through US discovery applications may have a much longer legal life than many litigants realise
English courts are developing a distinctly practical approach to sanctions disputes arising from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
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