US firms Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and Chadbourne & Parke are in early merger talks, with the potential to create a 1,000 lawyer firm.
Trowers & Hamlins unites with Devon firm as part of regional push
Trowers & Hamlins has combined with Devon based Stones Solicitors to create a firm with turnover of about £85m, in a deal to boost its regional presence in the UK.
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‘A critical first step’: WLG sets sights on global stage with Canadian tie-up
Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) has set out its global ambitions, following the announcement in July of its union with Canadian firm Gowlings. Gowling WLG will create a 622-partner law firm across 18 cities, and is billed as a new Global 100 practice with revenues estimated at over £400m.
Although some peers have expressed surprise at WLG’s decision to go into the Canadian market, the combination is being pitched by management as a platform to reboot the combined firm as truly global.
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Watford’s finest: Dentons in talks with Matthew Arnold & Baldwin over third tie-up of 2015
After having already announced tie-ups with China’s Dacheng and US firm McKenna Long & Aldridge this year, Dentons is pushing on with its expansion plans by holding talks with Watford-headquartered firm Matthew Arnold & Baldwin (MAB).
Wragges in surprise union with mid-pack Canada firm to create 600-partner global player
There has been plenty of speculation about US and UK firms moving into Canada, but until now UK stalwart Wragge Lawrence Graham & Co (WLG) had not been high up the list of suitors in the profession’s mind. Nevertheless, WLG this week made the surprise announcement that it is to combine with the sizeable Canadian practice Gowlings in a move that will create a 622-partner law firm across 18 cities. Continue reading “Wragges in surprise union with mid-pack Canada firm to create 600-partner global player”
‘A good little business’: Weightmans completes Leeds merger to create £100m firm
Legal Business 100 firm Weightmans has completed its merger with local Leeds firm Ford & Warren, creating a combined entity with revenues of around £100m and headcount of over 1,400.
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Shearman partners with three-office Saudi firm as it builds Middle East presence
While some law firms are consolidating their presence in the region, Shearman & Sterling has bolstered its presence in the Middle East through an affiliation with local Saudi Arabian firm Abdulaziz Alassaf & Partners.
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Olswang’s entire Berlin office in talks with Freshfields and MoFo alongside other international firms
Following news yesterday (18 June) that 13 equity partners are exiting Olswang’s Berlin outpost, it has emerged that the entire 50-strong lawyer office is set to move en masse and is currently in talks with several international firms, including Morrison & Foerster and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer.
Guest post: Law firm mergers – be clear if it’s for your balance sheet or your clients or it won’t go well
The industry standard in tracking US law firm mergers, Altman Weil’s Mergerline, has had this to say about activity in the wake of the Global Financial Reset:
Eversheds merges with Heisse Kursawe after ‘a very long courtship’ as it plans greater German investment
After a full year of advanced negotiations, Eversheds has merged with its German partner Heisse Kursawe Eversheds, allowing the duo to financially integrate and make investments in Munich, Berlin and Hamburg.