With deals like the record-setting combination of Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, 2026 dawned with predictions—including our own—that it could be a boom year for law firm mergers.
Indeed, the first quarter of 2026 saw an uptick in completed mergers, and the second quarter brought two new global firms: Ashurst Perkins Coie and Winston Taylor. Then came the Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader deal, completed on July 1. Touted as the largest law firm merger in history, it creates a firm with more than 3,200 lawyers and estimated combined revenues of nearly $4 billion—enough, based on 2025 revenue rankings, to place the new Hogan Lovells Cadwalader among the five highest-grossing firms in the world.
But beyond the global mega-deals, the law firm merger market has actually cooled—dramatically.
Most mergers completed in 2026 were announced back in 2025, and the number of new deals this year has plunged to pandemic-era lows. Global economic and political instability, along with uncertainty over how to implement artificial intelligence, may be driving firm leaders to press pause on consolidation plans.
- Law firm leaders expecting a 2026 merger boom may want to reassess. Only 35 new mergers were announced in the first half of the year, matching the slowest pace in a decade outside 2020.
- While deal volume cooled, deal size surged. The July 1 Hogan Lovells-Cadwalader combination created a 3,200-lawyer firm with nearly $4 billion in revenue, making it the largest law firm merger on record.
- Economic instability, AI investment questions and private equity alternatives are reshaping how firms approach growth, scale and cross-border competition.
- Despite the slowdown, consultants report rising interest in second-half deals as midsize firms face pressure to keep talent, expand reach and compete on billing rates.
Why Mergers Have Slowed
Late last year, Citi Hildebrandt noted that one in five large law firms were considering some form of merger or acquisition. The bank anticipated broader market consolidation, as "the most profitable firms continue to pursue a strong growth mindset, capturing a greater share of market."
Consolidation, Citi noted, could help firms balance expense growth outpacing client demand—driven by rising salaried headcount, a costlier leverage model, client demand for scale and specialization, and sharply higher operating costs, particularly for AI and other technology.
Those pressures haven't gone away. But growing uncertainty over the global economic picture may be keeping firms on the sidelines. Since the start of the year, the United States has entered a military conflict with Iran that has driven fluctuating gas prices and inflation. AI implementation remains an open question for firm leadership. And small and midsize firms in particular may be eyeing newly available private equity capital as an alternative to merging.
The head of KPMG's Legal Operations Transformation Services told Law360 that firm leaders are grappling with genuine uncertainty about how to build a firm that can compete years down the road. Still, the broader consolidation trend hasn't disappeared—Law360 reported that many firms are actively considering and inking combinations, even as overall deal count softens.
Where Things Stand
Law360's data shows the 35 mergers announced in the first half of 2026 marked the slowest first six months for law firm deals in the past decade, excluding pandemic-disrupted 2020. Fairfax Associates, the consultancy that tracks completed mergers, described second-quarter activity as quieter than typical—just seven mergers closed during the quarter.
Two of those seven, however, created major new global firms.
Winston Taylor: Transatlantic Ambition Continues
Transatlantic strategy remains a key merger driver, and it helped trigger the June 1 combination of Chicago-based Winston & Strawn and U.K.-based Taylor Wessing. The new firm, Winston Taylor, now counts 1,400 lawyers across the United States, the United Kingdom, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Shane Gleghorn, the firm's managing partner of Europe and the Middle East, said lawyers have already identified dozens of new cross-border opportunities made possible by the combined footprint.
Ashurst Perkins Coie: Strategy and Self-Preservation
The other major international merger to close in Q2—the June 28 combination of the U.K.'s Ashurst and Seattle-based Perkins Coie—created a firm with roughly 3,000 lawyers across 50 offices worldwide. Global co-CEO Paul Jenkins framed the deal around building a firm with the scale and sector focus to serve clients on complex, cross-border matters.
But the merger is also a case study in deals born from necessity rather than pure ambition. Perkins Coie's path here followed real upheaval: the firm was targeted by President Trump for retribution over past work for Democratic Party causes, and Trump attempted to cut off its access to federal government business by executive order. Perkins won a permanent injunction overturning the order, but reporting indicated the firm still faced client concern about its ability to work with federal regulators—and the firm laid off 5% of its U.S. professional staff in June.
With the merger, Perkins gains international scale; Ashurst gains a deeper foothold in the U.S. market. Consultants say the combination could also help both firms compete more effectively for top-tier clients and premium billing rates.
Other Q2 Mergers
Among the other second-quarter mergers, according to Fairfax’s research, most involved larger firms acquiring smaller and midsized players. Aside from the Winston-Taylor and Ashurst-Perkins mergers, only one other completed merger involved two firms where both had more than 20 lawyers.
- Tyson & Mendes, a 298-lawyer San Diego based firm, merged with 21-lawyer Rebar Kelly, based in Blue Bell, Pa., a Philadelphia suburb.
- Another Philadelphia-area firm, 121-lawyer Weber Gallagher Simpson Stapleton Fires & Newby, completed its merger with Chicago’s 11-lawyer Karbal, Cohen, Economou, Silk & Dunne.
- Regional heavyweight Greenspoon Marder, a 199-lawyer firm based in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., merged with 10-lawyer Los Angeles boutique Resch Polster & Berger.
- Phelps Dunbar, the 425-lawyer New Orleans firm, picked up five-lawyer Johnston Clem Gifford, based in Dallas.
- Ligris + Associates, a 38-lawyer firm in Boston, merged with five-lawyer Alavi + Braza, a Boston real estate boutique.
Aside from traditional law firms, Fairfax also noted the acquisition of 23-lawyer Avantia Law in London by a software platform Carta, based in San Francisco. The newly branded Carta Law will “deliver AI-native legal services for PE and VC firms at a fraction of traditional law firm costs,” the new company said.
What Lies Ahead
Some analysts are looking to 2025's trajectory as a preview of what the back half of 2026 could hold. Last year saw the same 35 deals announced in the first half—but the pace accelerated sharply in the final two quarters, ending with 91 announced deals for the year, ahead of 2021 and 2023 and just behind 2022 and 2024. Notably, Law360 pointed out that three major cross-border combinations—Ashurst-Perkins, Winston-Taylor, and Hogan-Cadwalader—were all announced in the second half of 2025, meaning 2026's headline mega-deals were actually set in motion months before this year even began.
Other deals announced in late 2025 and completed in 2026, including Louisville-based Frost Brown Todd's combination with Newark's Gibbons (now FBT Gibbons), and Columbus-based Bricker Graydon's early-2026 merger with Louisville's Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs (now Bricker Graydon Wyatt).
Fairfax tallied 43 completed mergers in the first half of 2026—two more than the same period last year. A Fairfax consultant told Law360 she's already fielding more calls from firms seeking merger partners for the second half of the year, driven partly by a widening rate gap: larger firms are commanding higher billing rates, and smaller and midsize firms can't afford to lose top rainmakers to bigger platforms offering greater rewards.
Fairfax also noted that Q3 figures will include three more large and midsize combinations, all completed July 1: Hogan Lovells Cadwalader; the merger of Kansas City-based Spencer Fane (583 lawyers) with Tulsa's Conner & Winters (78 lawyers); and New York-based Harris Beach Murtha's (261 lawyers) combination with Boston's Peabody & Arnold (40 lawyers).
Frequently Asked Questions
How many law firm mergers happened in the first half of 2026? Fairfax Associates counted 43 completed mergers in the first half of 2026—only two more than the same period in 2025. Separately, Law360 tracked 35 newly announced mergers in H1 2026, tying 2025 for the slowest first-half pace in a decade outside of 2020.
What is the largest law firm merger in history? The July 1, 2026, merger of Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft. The new firm, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, has more than 3,200 lawyers and an estimated combined revenue of nearly $4 billion.
Why has the law firm merger market slowed down in 2026? Industry analysts point to global economic and political instability—including the U.S. military conflict with Iran and related inflation pressure—along with continued uncertainty over how firms should implement AI, and the emergence of private equity as an alternative capital source for small and midsize firms.
Will law firm merger activity pick up in the second half of 2026? Possibly. In 2025, first-half deal volume matched 2026's pace exactly, but activity accelerated sharply in the back half of the year, ending with 91 announced deals. Fairfax Associates says it's already seeing increased inbound interest from firms seeking merger partners for H2 2026.
--
David L. Brown is a legal affairs writer and consultant, who has served as head of editorial at ALM Media, editor-in-chief of The National Law Journal and Legal Times, and executive editor of The American Lawyer. He consults on thought leadership strategy and creates in-depth content for legal industry clients and works closely with Best Law Firms as senior content consultant.