DLA Piper Goes Down Under and Gets Even Bigger

DLA Piper has some springtime news of its own, and it has nothing to do with extra cash for DLA Piper’s associates. The giant firm with offices all over the world is getting bigger—I’m talking 4,000 lawyers big. Good luck finding your friends at that company picnic.

The firm, which grabbed the number two spot on The National Law Journal’s 250 largest law firms ranking in 2010, announced a merger with its partner in Australia: DLA Phillips Fox (their partnership dates back to 2006). The merger is slotted for May 1st. This move will add another 600 attorneys to the firm’s roster, which will make it the biggest law firm in all of the land (Baker & McKenzie will be handing over its crown as the number one largest firm unless it finds itself several hundred more lawyers).

So what’s all the fuss over Australia aside from its fantastic beaches, amazing BBQs and sleep-stealing tennis tournament (for all of you east-coasters dedicated enough to stay up for the 3:30am Federer-Djokovic match last night)? Three words: mergers and acquisitions. Australia’s got them, and BigLaw firms want them. Last year, the number of Australian mergers and acquisitions was greater than double that of 2009, reaching $108.5 billion. And according to Tony Holland, CEO of DLA Phillips Fox, “[c]orporate Australia is looking much more internationally.”

Congrats on being literally huge, DLA Piper. My only question for you is whether you plan on making a splash this spring by adding associate bonuses to your newsfeed.

Bloomberg Source
The National Law Journal 250
DLA Piper website

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