A mid-sized firm has 40 to 75 lawyers, but many of the vulnerabilities of these firms also apply to some firms with as many as 150 lawyers. The consolidation and shakeout of the American legal market has hit small and mid-sized firms particularly hard. Although competent in many areas of the law, it stands out in none. It gives prospective clients few reasons to select them. One-city law firms.
Geographic expansion is one of the most important characteristics of a mature market.
The client bases of many small and mid-sized firms are being assaulted by larger statewide, regional, or national firms that move into town. Sometimes the new firm merely opens a branch office. More frequently, the incursion is achieved by merger. A small or mid-sized firm that is unwilling to consider expanding its geographic reach will find it hard to react to and compensate for new competitors in their market. Increased competition presents small and mid-sized firms with serious challenges.