Herbert Smith merger creates ‘truly global’ giant
International law firm Herbert Smith is to merge with Australian firm Freehills to create one of the world’s largest firms.
The new firm, Herbert Smith Freehills will, subject to regulatory approval, launch on 1 October, Herbert Smith said today. It will have 2,800 lawyers, including 460 partners worldwide and operate from 20 offices spanning Australia, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the UK, making it the eighth largest law firm based on total lawyer numbers.
It will be a full equity merger with a single profit pool.
The new firm will be led by joint chief exectives, David Willis and Gavin Bell, the current managing partners of Herbert Smith and Freehills respectively.
It will be organised around global practice groups and have representatives from both firms on its management and governance bodies.
Willis said: ‘We are excited about bringing together two pre-eminent law firms to create a new and distinctive global law firm. We share with Freehills a strong belief that over the next few years that the market for premium legal services will become increasingly dominated by a small number of truly global firms.’
Willis added: ‘This merger will therefore put us in a strong position to provide clients with the single global offering they increasingly demand.’
Bell said: ‘The merger will give Herbert Smith Freehills the platform to become the leading global law firm across Asia Pacific, a region likely to see continued substantial growth and to become an increasingly important part of the global legal services market.
‘Establishing from day one a single, integrated firm will give all partners the incentive to work together toward a set of shared goals and ensure a seamless service to clients.’
Comments
tumble weed
Wow - just hear that deafening silence from the Gazette readership at the news of the biggest law firm merger this year.
This points to the central problem of the Gazette it's readership, and the Law Soc's top brass, are made up of High Street and small firm lawyers with little or nothing to say about the global legal market.
Every City lawyer I know tells me they put their copy of the gazette straight in the bin.
What is the way out for the Gazette - stay on the low level focus and irrelevant to City and international firms? Or be bold and take on The Lawyer and Legal Week, but alienate their core, far more lower paid readership?
Bliss it was to be alive
Yes, lets bow down and worship this glorious turn of events. Parts of Australia and England and Wales are leading the revolution in law firm external finance. Very soon all other countries will join us and the glorious new dawn will appear all over the world. Bliss it is to be alive at this time.
History tells us that revolutions eat their own children and that revolutionary states often become pariahs. We could be heading along that road. US and other EU lawyers are not stupid.
Still, links to Australia are going to be an enormous culture shock for the stuffy English firms. I have links with Australia and once secured an introduction, as a prospective employee, to the biggest firm in that country through the wife of a jobbing builder/labourer. That is how meritocratic Australian firms are. I am looking forward to this culture swamping the "Only Oxbridge and a few Russell Groupies" city culture.
Learn the lessons of Fredicus and the banking sector crash
I hope this British Australian partnership is a success and produces innovative legal services but remember there was a time when the anchor man of the then worlds largest bank was the master of the universe and look what happened only a few years later. Now we are all be f***d as a result of this hubris!