Talks about financiers' appetite to lend to law firms and the opportunities for growth.
James Tsolaskis, Head of Legal Services, Royal Bank of Scotland.
Lack of funds is rarely the reason why firms are unable to press on with their plans, as banks generally view law firms favourably. Mergers between two law firms often don’t require any extra finance, and although banks have spent more on debt facilities to law firms in the last six months than they have in the last five years, much of this has gone to support post-merger activity, such as IT, premises, support staff duplication and so on.
It’s important to remember that banks take their financial risk management role seriously. Too often, when a merger is being considered, the level of due diligence and financial analysis among law firms is too shallow.