In this blog, we feature insights into the consolidation trend in the legal industry caused by online migration and why plaintiffs law firms will need to adapt and grow, by selling or purchasing a law firm, or miss out.

Since its inception, the legal industry has thrived on word-of-mouth marketing and referrals. With the introduction of the internet, then Google Search Marketing 20 years ago, many firms created a digital presence by building a website and tiptoed into Google search ads. However, firms still relied on referrals and word-of-mouth for the bulk of their business and many neglected to focus on refining their digital marketing strategies.

The 2020 pandemic accelerated the migration of consumers online. With everyone social distancing and working from home on Zoom, no one was on their morning commute driving past billboards advertising personal injury legal services or meeting up for coffee to share their recent legal experiences with friends and family. Law firms could no longer reliably expect new clients from word-of-mouth or referrals.

Firms who had smartly invested in expanding their digital reach and building their online presence before 2020 were hard at work getting clients to write online reviews and refining their pay-per-click Google, Linkedin and Facebook ad campaigns; while firms who had neglected the digital channel, doing just the bare minimum, were scrambling to fill their pipelines. These latter firms are prime candidates for purchase.

For the legal industry, the pandemic has accelerated law firm consolidation. Firms with the necessary liquidity and pipeline of cases are looking to buy out less digitally savvy competitors to add talent and grow the practice.

Click above to watch this video, featuring Jeremy Poock, founder of Senior Attorney Match.