The run of consolidation in the US national market continues with Dallas-bred Locke Lord and Boston’s Edwards Wildman this week announcing plans to merge, forming a $675m practice that would sit just outside the top 50 of the Global 100.
Uría Menéndez takes stake in two allies as elite Latam duo agree groundbreaking tie-up
Iberian leader Uría Menéndez has elevated its offering in Latin America and acquired a 30% stake in the merger of its best friend firms and national heavyweights, Philippi and Prietocarrizosa, in a union the firm says is a ‘major milestone’ in its international strategy to consolidate its commitment in the region.
Hogan Lovells ties up with Mexico’s Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa
Hogan Lovells has made further inroads in Latin America by tying up with leading Mexican firm Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa (BSTL), constituting the firm’s 46th and 47th offices in Mexico City and Monterrey. Continue reading “Hogan Lovells ties up with Mexico’s Barrera, Siqueiros y Torres Landa”
Silver linings playbook: can Norton Rose Fulbright bring its disputes team into the global elite?
Sarah Downey assesses the post-merger state of NRF’s dispute resolution practice
With Norton Rose Fulbright (NRF)’s eye-catching union now over a year old, the top ten UK firm has achieved the enviable feat of creating, through a succession of global bolt-ons, a 3,800-lawyer firm with $1.9bn in revenue, almost without fallout.
Its 138-fee-earner (excluding trainees) City dispute resolution practice is something of an exception, having lost a handful of its star players, including Dorian Drew, adviser to ex-Barclays’ chief executive Bob Diamond on the Libor scandal, who last year left for Clifford Chance.
Q&A with Blake Morgan’s Walter Cha
The merger between Blake Lapthorn and Morgan Cole went live on 1 July to create Blake Morgan. The firm’s managing partner, Walter Cha, talks competition and strategy.
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How did the merger come about and what are the reasons behind it?
We both acted for common clients and a lot of people were known to each other. We have a partnership at Blake Lapthorn and Morgan Cole that are ambitious and want to see themselves grow rather than wait for other things to impact on them.
Ceasefire or guerrilla skirmishes – Ashurst struggles to reconcile its post-merger factions
Jaishree Kalia reports on the uneasy peace still hanging over the post-merger Ashurst
It’s been over eight months since Charlie Geffen, the high-profile head of Ashurst, suffered a bruising leadership defeat to litigator Ben Tidswell (pictured) in the wake of the City firm’s merger vote with its Australian partner.
There was no doubt the election defeat of the strong-willed Geffen, who divided the City firm’s partnership into staunch supporters and embittered opponents, and the legacy of its merger with Australian leader Blake Dawson had unsettled the firm. The discharge of Geffen as the ‘war-time’ leader who carried the firm’s strategy and brand through the post-Lehman years is still hard to take for some, while the merger has not convinced everyone. The somewhat ill-tempered resignation in November of highly rated corporate co-head Stephen Lloyd for Allen & Overy (A&O) was an all-too visible sign of that tension – and the lack of engagement felt by the ‘boys’ club’ in Ashurst’s corporate finance teams.
Cameronics redux: a hard-to-grasp institution that looks set to surprise
Given that I get paid to poke around law firms’ inner workings, it’s not that often that I find it hard to get my head around a law firm but CMS Cameron McKenna in its 2014 form is one such creature.
The clichéd view of the firm is of a slow-moving practice struggling with a hard-to-sell international alliance and a classic case of chasing pack malaise – too close to the Magic Circle for comfort, but too big to have the lean focus of a quality mid-tier. Like most clichés there is more than a grain of truth in this view but, as Camerons absorbs Scotland’s most storied law firm Dundas & Wilson, at closer glance the truth looks far more complex and interesting.
Continue reading “Cameronics redux: a hard-to-grasp institution that looks set to surprise”
Succeed or fail, the merger talks between China’s Zhong Lun and Jun He are something of a game changer
With the weight of economic power widely-regarded to be shifting east, a tie-up between Chinese merger talks partners Zhong Lun and Jun He would give the merged entity unrivalled breadth in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and beyond, although UK partners say they have no immediate concerns that the firm would be competing with them for deals on the world stage. Continue reading “Succeed or fail, the merger talks between China’s Zhong Lun and Jun He are something of a game changer”
CMS and Dundas to cut up to 60 jobs ahead of May merger
CMS Cameron McKenna and Dundas & Wilson have placed 60 support staff roles at risk following the duo’s recently announced union. Continue reading “CMS and Dundas to cut up to 60 jobs ahead of May merger”
Scottish union – Berrymans Lace Mawer ties up with HBM Sayers
The toll of top UK law firms opening in Scotland increased today (17 March) with the announcement that Berrymans Lace Mawer and HBM Sayers are combining to create a £100m risk and insurance-focused firm with 170 partners. Continue reading “Scottish union – Berrymans Lace Mawer ties up with HBM Sayers”