In the first half of September, Troutman Pepper (51st in the AM Law 200) and Locke Lord (97th) voted to approve their merger, Womble Bond Dickinson (88th) announced they were combining with Lewis Roca (175th), and Ballard Spahr (99th) revealed their plans to merge with Lane Powell (sub-200).

This burst of activity clearly represents a desire from some AM Law firms to scale and grow. But why are so many firms planning mergers in 2024 and what will the combined firms look like once complete? We've taken a look using publicly-available data tracked by Pirical Legal Professionals.

In 2020 & 2021, AM Law firms ranked 51-100 achieved much higher rates of annual Partner growth than their top 50 peers. However, since 2022 that trend has reversed and over the last 36 months the top 50 firms have registered stronger and more consistent headcount growth.

1-50 ranked firms are growing steadily, but for lower ranked firms "it's harder to grow through laterals without being dented by attrition of your own." In the last 12 months AM Law 50 firms have increased Partner headcount by 3.2%, compared to just 0.7% from the second 50 firms.

In an effort to keep up with their competitors, continue to grow, and increase revenue, more & more firms outside of the top 50 are looking to merge.

The merger is likely to create a 1,600-lawyer firm, with revenue of around $1.5 billion, and rank in the top 30 of the AM Law. Troutman Pepper and Locke Lord share several key practice areas, namely Litigation, Real Estate and Corporate.

The merger is likely to create a 1,300-lawyer firm, with revenue of around $742 million. By combining with Lewis Roca, Womble Bond Dickinson will primarily increase headcount across the firm's Litigation, Real Estate and Intellectual Property practices.

The merger is likely to create a 750-lawyer firm, with revenue of around $584 million. Ballard Spahr will be boosting depth in Litigation and Corporate practice areas by merging with Lane Powell.