Mergers provide firms with the chance to weed out underperformers

Merger agreements are providing law firms with a convenient way to get rid of underperforming partners, says Legal recruiter Larry Watanabe of Watanabe & Nason. Accordin to Watanabe the merger “allows the law firm itself to weed out people they didn't want to weed out on their own." The smaller law firm maintains that everyone gets to stay on board after the merger, but unwanted partners are offered “lousy deals to come on over,” he said. Altman Weil legal consultant Bill Brennan points out that sometimes the layoffs happen ahead of time, as midsize firms shore up their financial picture before looking for suitors.

Mergers provide firms with the chance to weed out underperformers abajournal.com Fri, Jan 27, 2012