A recent article in The Lawyer states that managing partners of the big city firms may already be in discussions with private equity.
However, the impact on these firms may be different to smaller regional firms. Despite PE having swept through the accountancy market, the Big 4 remain independent (although some have sold off certain divisions to private equity).
The Lawyer article highlights that the spiraling cost of trying to keep up with AI (together also with succession issues) may drive many smaller firms to sell out to PE. However, for many law firms this would be a massive cultural shift and would mean losing control of their brand and their destiny. For some partners, this is too high a price to pay, particularly when they have worked so hard to own and run their own law firms.
Inevitably, there are going to be major changes in the legal sector in the next few years as many firms succumb to PE and other consolidators, but many firms and partners will continue to fight for independence and control and to protect their culture.
How many big city firms are really likely to sell out to private equity? The official line, at least according to recent canvassing by The Lawyer, is zero. The slightly less official line, judging by more candid, off the record conversations, is that quite a few are at least likely to consider it