| Electing to share a single profit pool following a full equity merger, Herbert Smith and Freehills will join forces to become Herbert Smith Freehills on 1 October 2012. The launch comes on the back of a raft of recent UK/Australian mergers, notably, Ashursts (which combined with Blake Dawson), Norton Rose (which merged with Deacons, Australia) and Linklaters (which collaborated with Allens.) Rationales from the UK side for such mergers range from leveraging Chinese investment (given Australia’s geographical proximity) to tapping into Australia’s vast natural resources.
Herbert Smith boasts a strong litigation team whilst Freehills has shored up a robust energy and mining team. The firm will have 2,800 lawyers in total including 460 partners spanning 20 offices in Asia, Europe, Australia, the UK and the Middle East. The firm will be led by joint CEO’s David Willis and Gavin Bell, the current Managing Partners of Herbert Smith and Freehills respectively. Of the merger Willis commented that the market for premium legal services will become increasingly dominated by a small number of truly global firms. And Bell went on to state that “establishing from day one a single, integrated firm will give all partners the incentive to work together toward a set of shard goals and ensure a seamless service to clients.” |
Latest Updates
Related Articles
Related Articles by Jurisdiction
Latest Articles
