Bloomberg reports this morning that the Norton Rose Group is looking for mergers in the U.S. and China according to Chief
Executive Officer Peter Martyr
He's told Bloomberg
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-04-15/norton-rose-wants-u-dot-s-dot-china-law-firm-mergers-ceo-says
?I see the world as two pillars, China and the States,? he said in an interview. ?To be a global business you need to have both of those pillars. What we already have is the hammock that swings between them now.?
London-based Norton Rose has grown from 1,200 lawyers in 2009 by merging with four firms through a so-called verein structure, maintaining separate finances. Asia?s largest legal group King & Wood Mallesons was formed last month with a similar arrangement between Chinese and Australian firms. Both groups aim to challenge the world?s largest law firms, U.S.-based DLA Piper (1191L) (1191L) and Baker & McKenzie (1111L) (1111L).
Norton Rose?s transformation has changed how other law firms see it, said Martyr who was appointed Jan. 1 to a second three-year term. While it isn?t in merger negotiations with any U.S. firms now, he said he receives visits from six or seven a year, and ?we?re constantly talking to other people.?
Any U.S. partner would have to have a strong New York presence, Martyr said, as a global law firm needs to be in the world?s capital market centers.
?You have to be in the States,? he said, noting that he?s said such a merger should occur within two to five years for the past four years. ?If the right thing comes along at the right time, we?ll do it.?
Full Report at Link Above
