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Did A Toxic Combination Of Trump And Brexit Kill This Biglaw Merger?
Aug 25, 2016 at 1:29 PM
Brexit: Killing more than just David Cameron’s career.
Well, at least stalling more than just Cameron’s career. According to a report from Law.com, a merger that had been in the works since 2015 between U.S. Biglaw firm Hunton & Williams and the U.K.’s Addleshaw Goddard is hitting the skids, as world events are becoming just a little bit too real for the law firms:
Merger talks between Hunton & Williams and U.K.-based Addleshaw Goddard have stalled due to uncertainty caused by Britain’s shock decision to leave the European Union, according to partners at the two firms.
Discussions between the two firms have been ongoing since late 2015 and had reached a relatively advanced stage, but the pair have now taken pause to assess the impact of Brexit and the upcoming U.S. presidential elections.
Even if world events weren’t seemingly conspiring against the merger, it is incredibly challenging to put together two firms with different cultures, methods of accounting, and compensation systems, as firms separated by the Atlantic Ocean frequently are:
If the merger does go ahead, it would be a rare combination between two large U.S. and U.K. law firms. For all the talk of transatlantic consolidation, such deals have been relatively thin on the ground. That’s not surprising: law firm mergers are incredibly hard things to get right. Only a small fraction of discussions between firms end up leading to a deal. In March, Greenberg Traurig ended its merger talks with London-based Berwin Leighton Paisner amid concerns about the U.K. firm’s practice mix and culture, and having grown disillusioned with BLP’s management. There are countless other examples of failed deals and no doubt many more than never make it to the press.
Best of luck to Hunton and Addleshaw as they try to make the bigger, better versions of themselves. There are always other fishes in the Biglaw sea.
Transatlantic Law Firm Merger Talks Stall Due To Brexit Uncertainty [Law.com]
