OK, explain this to me.  I see the large patent firms disappearing one by one.  As far as I can tell, the Pennies, Fishes, Kenyons and Darbys of the world have been competently handling the largest, most complex patent litigations, since forever.  So when they merge into a larger firm it is not as if a small boutique suddenly had access to new resources and could now do work that they couldn’t before.  It seems to me that all that happens is that the largest IP litigation becomes more expensive.  I understand why the partners in these firms want to make more money, I don’t understand why clients accept this. 

If my underlying assumptions or analysis are completely wrong, write and clue me in.