A&O Shearman is set to cut 10% of its partnership, close its South Africa office and end its consulting business, in the firm’s first major reorganisation since it completed its merger this May.
The news was announced today after the completion of what the firm described as ‘a broad strategic review’, which has ‘identified areas of overlap and overcapacity’. In a statement, the firm that it expects that global partner numbers will be now reduced by 10% by the end of the financial year.
This ‘refocus’ will ‘position the firm to continue to promote and recruit partners in the areas that enable the business to take advantage of the growth opportunities for the new firm,’ the statement continued.
The decision to close in Johannesburg comes as the office nears its tenth anniversary. According to the firm’s website, the office is home to 32 lawyers, including eight partners. The office will close by the end of the calendar year.
The firm’s consulting practice, which is now known as Consulting by A&O Shearman, will also be wound down. The consulting business was launched in 2018 after A&O identified a need to provide non-legal regulatory advice to financial services clients.
‘These reshaping measures, alongside the other strategic initiatives that we are progressively implementing, are designed to unlock the growth opportunities envisioned by our merger, setting the stage for future long-term success’, managing partner Hervé Ekué said in a statement.
‘We never take decisions like this lightly, particularly when they affect our people’, he added. ‘We are very grateful to the partners who will be leaving the firm, as well as to our teams in Johannesburg and Consulting for their contributions over the years. This is a difficult but necessary step forward. We are confident in the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to achieve exceptional outcomes for clients and solidify our position as a new industry leader.‘
While it has been widely expected that the merger of A&O and Shearman & Sterling would result in significant job losses, it is understood that redundancies will be limited to its equity partnership, the Johannesburg office and the consulting business, with no further plans for a firmwide redundancy programme.
The firm has seen a number of high-profile departures since the May merger. In July, former private capital sector co-head Philip Bowden moved to Proskauer with acquisition finance partner Megan Lawrence. Bowden ran for senior partner at pre-merger A&O twice, losing to incumbent Wim Dejonghe in 2020 and to then-interim managing partner Khalid Garousha in 2024. Meanwhile, leveraged finance partner Vanessa Xu left pre-merger A&O for Kirkland in April.
At the same time, the firm has continued to make lateral hires, with the most recent additions coming earlier this week when it announced the recruitment of Sidley Austin private equity partners Dan Graham and Paul Dunbar in London.
alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk