More than 170 legacy Allen & Overy (A&O) and Shearman & Sterling partners have left or retired since the two firms’ merger was announced in May 2023, with more than a third of these exits taking place in the US, according to Legal Business research.
Departures tracked by LB from Companies House filings and other data show that 130 partners have left since the union went live in May 2024. This means that around one in six of those who were partners at the firm when the merger went live, have since gone.
The overwhelming majority of these are from legacy A&O, with 101 exits from the UK-headquartered firm since May 2024, plus an additional 29 from the Shearman partnership.
Figures in the LB Global 100 2024 show this represents around 16% of the c.800-strong partnership when A&O Shearman was created, with a similar percentage leaving from each legacy partnership.
Eighty partners have left since the start of 2025, three quarters of which (61) are ex-A&O. Of the additional 50 partners to have left since May 2024, 40 were ex-A&O.
Significantly, 113 partners have left since September 2024, when A&O Shearman announced that it would be cutting 10% of its global partnership.
This equates to two-thirds of the 170 departures tracked since the merger was announced and 86% of those tracked since it went live in May last year.
This volume outpaces the 10% figure by some measure, with the exits also including a number of well-regarded partners and former practice heads, such as antitrust specialist David Higbee in Washington DC, who recently quit for Paul Weiss with two other partners.
Regional breakdown
Breaking down the exits by region shows a sharp concentration in London and the US, mirroring the footprint of the legacy partnerships.
With 34 departures since the merger completed, London has seen more exits than any other city around the world, accounting for more than a quarter of all departures since May 2024. Some 26 of these exits came from the legacy UK firm’s London HQ.
The proportion of departures rises in the US, with legacy A&O seeing 38 partners leave since the union across the pond – more than a third of its total.
Overall, there have been 55 US departures from the combined A&O Shearman since the merger – meaning the US represents 42% of all 130 exits since the deal went live.
New York has seen 31 departures, the overwhelming majority of which (26) are legacy A&O, with Washington DC seeing 17 departures – nine ex-Shearman (including Higbee), and eight from legacy A&O. The remaining exits are in other offices in the US.
Destination firms
Although individual remuneration packages are not known, at least 75 partners leaving since May last year have taken up roles at other global 100 firms, with 66 joining firms with higher average PEP than the $2.6m figure reported by A&O Shearman for the 2024-25 financial year.
The main beneficiaries have been rival UK and US firms, including Orrick, Proskauer and Paul Weiss. Other departees have joined smaller firms, gone in-house, retired or are not currently practising.
Practice area trends
Looking at the exits by practice, with 25 departures, the banking and finance practice has seen the highest number of partner exits since the merger went live, with a further nine partners leaving in capital markets.
At 17 exits, corporate and M&A has also seen a significant number of departures, with many joining US firms in Europe. Sixteen disputes partners have left, including arbitrators, while regulatory and restructuring practices have seen seven exits apiece.
A&O has never provided any practice or geographic breakdown of its planned partnership cuts.
The scale of partner exits over the period since May 2024 significantly outstrips the merged firm’s close rivals such as Freshfields and Linklaters in London and globally.
Commenting on the moves one former partner said: ‘Partner exits are always inevitable when two different firms with different ethos merge.’
A legal recruiter added: ‘There’s always a bit of internal sorting and any time there’s a merger there’s instability. A big merger like that requires at least a few years to sort out.’
It hasn’t all been exits though. Since the merger went live, A&O Shearman has also added a steady stream of new partners globally. The firm has made 25 lateral partner hires worldwide since May 2024 and has also promoted 73 to its partnership – 40 in May 2024 and a further 33 in May 2025.
A&O Shearman declined to comment.
*All infographics based on data from May 2024
