Herbert Smith Freehills has reappointed Rebecca Maslen-Stannage as chair and senior partner as the firm prepares for its transatlantic merger with Kramer Levin this June.
Sydney corporate lawyer Maslen-Stannage’s new four-year term means that she will play a key role in integrating the two firms in their transatlantic and transpacific union, which was given the green light by partners last month.
Her success, in the face of competition from London partners Gavin Davies and Malcolm Lombers, means she will continue to lead alongside HSF’s global CEO Justin D’Agostino when the two firms come together as Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer in a financially integrated merger set to go live on 1 June.
While HSF brings the larger global footprint and revenue, with 2024 fee income standing at £1.3bn, Kramer Levin’s significant US presence will see it represented on the combined firm’s global executive and partnership council. The merged firm is set to house around 2,700 lawyers, with more than $2bn in revenue, based on last year’s financial results.
Partners at both firms voted overwhelmingly in favour of the tie-up, with management now in the process of finalising internal alignment ahead union.
The deal cements a long-term strategy for HSF, which has openly set its sights on the US market as a pillar of its global growth ambitions.
At the time the deal was announced, D’Agostino hailed the proposed merger as a ‘winning trifecta,’ highlighting ‘global disputes and global transactions on day one…. a high-quality US law firm, and alignment over ambitions for growth.’
Leaders confirmed plans to ramp up lateral recruitment across the US over the next two years, with a particular focus on practices including energy.
‘This is not just a vague aspiration,’ D’Agostino told Legal Business in the wake of the merger vote. ‘We have a solid commitment to each other, focused on expanding in specific areas and adding high-quality resources to the existing HSF Kramer team.’
Other than Paris, where Kramer Levin’s office has spun off to join Morgan Lewis, New York is the only location with overlapping offices, with management confirming that there is a process in place for bringing the two teams together.
The combination is expected to create fresh opportunities for partners and clients alike. Mike Flockhart, global head of corporate at HSF, said: ‘Our ability to now offer global service, particularly in the US, is something we haven’t been able to do before on the transactional side.’
Roughly 120 of the merged firm’s more than 600 partners are in the US, instantly gifting HSF an opportunity to capitalise on growing market pressure for international firms to secure a foothold in the US. ‘
‘Any firm that does not have a significant presence in the US legal market but has global aspirations will be reflecting on what the A&O-Shearman merger and the HSF-Kramer combination mean for them,’ Flockhart stressed.
‘The US is such a compelling market to be in, and given the sheer size of the market, I’m sure there will be two or three other significant firms that will feel this puts them at a disadvantage, increasing their need to act with urgency.’
Looking ahead, the firm is taking a phased approach to integration, with early milestones centred on immediate client opportunities.
‘This will be a multi-year project,’ Flockhart concluded. ‘We’re creating something greater than the sum of its parts. The opportunities that emerge from a combination like this will fully unfold over time.’
Despite the positive reaction from the majority of partners, there has already been a handful of exits in London. Private equity partners David D’Souza and Ambarish Dash are set to join Morrison Foerster in the City, while product liability disputes partner Philip Pfeffer is moving to New York to join Jones Day’s business & tort litigation practice.
One partner inside the firm warned success wouldn’t be instant. They said: ‘We were losing clients due to not having a US operation, so this is good news – but there’s a lot of hard work ahead in executing a successful integration, and it will take many years to know if it’s a success.’
