The following is an excerpt from an article in Legal Management by Erin Brereton in which Gene Commander shared his experience and insights on law firm mergers and acquisitions. The article, published by the Association of Legal Administrators, provides practical suggestions for law firm leaders who are considering M&A as a smart growth business strategy. The article in full can be read here.
While much of the focus during M&As tends to fall on the technical aspects of combining the two firms, creating a magnetic workplace culture is an essential part of enabling the two teams to work well together, according to Commander.
Leadership can encourage a unified culture, he says, by being transparent about the new firm’s values, mission, vision and strategy.
“Is [the] combined firm realizing greater talent recruiting [and] business development competitiveness?” he [asks]. “Are you seeing low attrition rates among talent – and clients? Are you bolstering the continuity and the sustainability of the combined firm? Those are the things that aren’t talked about a lot – but may become very apparent two or three years down the road after a merger is completed.”