Flip Side of Law Firm Merger Mania: Clients Wonder, What About Our Rates?

For years, it has been the accepted wisdom that major corporations want to use fewer law firms in order to control legal costs, and many BigLaw firms have taken that message to heart, adding to their attorney rosters and expanding their geographic range by merging with other legal partnerships.

But now some corporate clients are worrying that such law firm growth may not be helping them, according to the Fulton County Daily Report. Locally, corporate counsel in Georgia are worrying that the merger of Atlanta-based Powell Goldstein with St. Louis-based Bryan Cave will mean increased pressure to bill more time and, possibly, higher billable hourly rates.

"Everyone is wondering how it will affect rates when they will have, maybe, more overhead and we may have fewer options to choose from," says senior counsel Jennifer Hill of the Place Properties apartment developer. "Also, it might make it more difficult to control quality when you have these firms merging."