Riverview and DMH unveil fixed-fee M&A service


Shutkever: M&A clients want to know costs will not spiral out of control

The strategic alliance between Riverview Law and DMH Stallard has borne its first fruit, with the pair promising to handle mergers and acquisitions of any size on a fixed fee.

They claim that deals already carried out in the service’s pilot phase have resulted in clients paying on average 30% less than they would have done on a typical hourly rate charge.

After a consultation to assess the requirements of the deal, would-be clients will receive a fixed-fee proposal within 48 hours. The fee would only change if the parameters of the deal, as outlined at the initial meeting, “shift materially”.

If the deal fails to complete through no fault of the client, then they are charged half the fee.

Riverview Law’s chief operating officer, Adam Shutkever, argued that law firms have “long peddled” the “myth” that most legal work cannot be carried out on a fixed-fee basis. “Any law firm could make this proposition work with proper planning and resourcing,” he said.

Mr Shutkever said businesses going through the M&A process want “certainty of price and knowing that the ancillary costs of the transaction will not spiral out of control”.

Jonathan Grant, head of corporate at DMH Stallard, says: “The offer combines DMH Stallard’s long M&A heritage with the customer-centric approach pioneered by Riverview Law. It really does give clients an expert and timely legal solution at a far more realistic price. We’ve already carried out a number of fixed-priced M&A transactions for clients and so we have proven that it can be done.”

Riverview Law, which launched in early 2012, struck its alliance with south-east England firm DMH Stallard in May.

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    Readers Comments

  • Excellent news! Just what the market needs and just what customers want. We have commented in different places on-line about the need for law firms to learn how to deliver fixed cost legal services. Capita have now entered the market and will no doubt follow a similar pricing strategy.Those that do not will be left behind and will be out of business sooner than they might imagine. Those that do will have a competitive advantage. Better to be a leader than a follower. Michael Welsh – Compare Legal Costs.

  • Simon Edwards says:

    This isn’t remotely innovative; it’s a non-story PR puff dressed up as news. All serious corporate firms (including my own) have done fixed price M&A work for many years. If DMH and Riverview have really only just figured it out, that isn’t something to shout about. Interesting that they don’t mention the extra cost of making a profit for both of them.


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