Ideas & Insights

Meeting Clients Where They Are: 2022 State of Digital & Content Marketing Report

Our insights about markets, trends, and emerging best practices help clients achieve market leadership.

Stroock's Merger Talks Face Pension and Accounting System Hurdles

As Stroock seeks out a merger partner, the firm's accounting system and unfunded pension could add additional barriers to a deal. Merger experts say that while those elements add an additional level of complication to merger talks, it doesn't mean a deal can't be done.The firm has explored a merger with McGuireWoods, Steptoe and, most recently, Squire. Peter Zeughauser explains why pensions can become a potential impediment in any merger talks.

Read more

Law Firms Turn to Layoffs Amid Slowing Demand

A hiring spree during recent years left many firms overstaffed. Citing economic headwinds and slowing demand, some large law firms are tightening their belts, shrinking their attorney ranks and eliminating professional staff. The decline in demand for legal work last year followed years of growth driven by a boom in mergers-and-acquisitions work, prompting hiring sprees accompanied by six-figure bonuses for even lower-level attorneys. Peter Zeughauser observes that the demand for legal work “has fallen off the cliff. The firms that were really red hot and significantly over-hired are the first movers to lay people off.”

Read more

Law Firm Mergers: Lessons From Successful Strategic Combinations

Merger discussions among even some unlikely pairings seem to be heating up. In their new book, Kent Zimmermann and John E. Morris explain why and offer tips on how firms of various sizes and market positions should approach merger discussions.

Read more