A law firm network (law firm association or legal network) is a membership organization consisting of independent law firms. These networks are one type of professional services networks similar to networks found in the accounting profession. The common purpose is to expand the resources available to each member for providing services to their clients.
The best known primarily law firm networks are Lex Mundi, WSG – World Services Group (multidisciplinary), TerraLex, Meritas (law), The Network of Trial Law Firms, Inc. (TRIAL.COM), the State Capital Group and Pacific Rim Advisory Council. The largest networks have more than 10,000 attorneys located in hundreds of offices worldwide.
“Law firm networks are here to stay, with more than 170 already in existence. However, networks in the legal profession do not have the same level of respect as is found in the field of accounting. One reason could be that the large New York and London firms were the first to proactively globalize. The networks were simply a reaction to this globalization.
Additionally, the large law firms have much larger marketing budgets than networks. Perhaps legal networks remain tarnished because they originated as clubs or even franchises. However, in the light of day, it is now possible to argue that many of the elite law firms are themselves no more than networks. The world is coming full circle.