The consolidation of the legal market shows no signs of abating with the Law Society Gazette reporting on numerous law firm mergers and acquisitions across the country this spring. Even more recently, my old firm Allen & Overy announced that it is joining forces with Shearman & Sterling.
On the other hand, one very high-profile de-merger, EY’s planned split of its audit and advisory businesses, was scrapped in April. This embarrassing U-turn came after EY reportedly spent US$600 million on preparations for the deal. The media seized on what looked like a story of greed and hubris and ran with it. The financial press quoted one EY insider who pithily described the issue, “ … we sell M&A…we can’t deliver it ourselves. It’s not a great look.”
Even EY’s UK chair acknowledged that there was a risk to the brand as a result and that this may hit staff retention and recruitment. This is the sort of PR nightmare no one wants to see.
Mergers can be difficult
Law firm mergers can be tricky – it a complex business bringing two firms together seamlessly so good PR, both external and internal, could be the difference between success and failure. Inevitably there is always a larger and smaller firm involved in a merger and human relationships being what they are, it is not always a happy experience for everyone!
Depending on the reason for the merger, there may be redundancies to navigate post-merger and staff emotions may be running high, making it easier for the media to find negative stories.
Tips for merger PR
Here are my top tips for merger PR:
- List all the areas of communication that need to be covered (social media, press, internal etc.) and make sure you have someone responsible for delivery in each and that the chain of command is clear. For example, does everyone know who has the authority to sign off what?
- Be clear about the extent of your remit and who is responsible for what. For example, will you be asked just to deal with media relations or internal comms as well?
- Liaise as much as you can with the business to get a clear idea of the project plan and clarify the risks for example, will the new firm be moving to new premises, will there be redundancies?
- Make sure you have agreed statements prepared well in advance so these can be used if the merger story leaks early.
- If your firm does not have its own internal resources, consider bringing in specialist help on a project basis to cover the merger. Do you need to get your senior management/partners some media training if they will be responsible for “selling” the merger on behalf of the firm?
- The announcement of the merger is the end of the beginning not the beginning of the end! Integration will be key to the success of any merger, but this won’t happen overnight. Getting buy-in to the new firm’s values and brand will be a gradual process so internal PR will be an important and on-going requirement.
Recent posts:
How PR will help your law firm in the war for talent
Is your law firm in a PR rut? How to shake things up this spring
How law firms can use influencers to boost their brand
Legal 500 submissions: how to choose your referees
Need some help with PR? Feel free to drop me an email to arrange a 30 minute complimentary call or take a look at some of the packages I offer law firms, accountancy practices and other b2b businesses.