We appear to be in the throes of a law firm merger frenzy.
In the first six months of this year, we’ve already seen 28 mostly mid-sized U.S. firm mergers take effect. Some activity has also taken place outside the U.S., with Holland & Knight absorbing Bogotá, Colombia-based firm Cuberos Cortés Gutiérrez, and several Canadian regional firms combining, including two mid-sized Toronto firms forming one of the biggest law firm tie-ups in that city in over a decade. And then, of course, there’s the pending merger of U.K.-based Allen & Overy and U.S.-headquartered Shearman & Sterling, which the firms’ leaders say they fully expect their respective partnerships will vote through in October after the leadership completes its roadshow.
But there’s more. While not a merger in the traditional sense, last week Eversheds Sutherland and King & Wood Mallesons announced a formal cooperation agreement in which KWM China will refer all future matters requiring legal advice in the U.K., Europe, the Middle East, Africa and South America to Eversheds Sutherland International, while Eversheds’ clients requiring China advice will be referred to KWM. In an interview with Law.com International’s Habiba Cullen-Jafar, Eversheds Sutherland CEO Lee Ranson explained the logic behind the tie-up: “We’re evolving to where the demand is based,” he said.
Indeed, there is a logic behind all these cross-border mergers and tie-ups. With such combinations, consultants say...
