Linklaters' merger delayed by concern of Belgian member

The partners of De Bandt Van Hecke Lagae & Loesch, the Belgian member of Linklaters & Alliance, have yet to vote on the firm's planned merger with the City giant, conceding that the decision not to merge by the Dutch member, De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek, has caused concern.Linklaters was reported to want De Bandt to vote for the merger in May.

But Roel Nieuwdorp, De Bandt's managing partner, told the Gazette that his firm would probably not be ready to vote before July.Mr Nieuwdorp said it was pure media speculation that the firm would vote by the end of May.

A Linklaters spokeswoman said the original notion had been aired by partners not at managerial level.There was no deadline, said Mr Nieuwdorp.

He said the monthly partners meeting - which took place last week - resolved to examine the issue again next month.

However, he confirmed that the decision in April by De Brauw to reject a full merger was an issue to be taken into serious consideration, and he did notsuggest the firm would take a vote next month either.De Bandt has had a relationship with De Brauw since 1990, when both the firms formed the Alliance of European Lawyers, subsequently subsumed into Linklaters & Alliance.

German member Oppenhoff & Rdler merged last year.The withdrawal of De Brauw had added a complication to the decision, Mr Nieuwdorp said, adding: 'There is a concern as to business development in the merged firm.' He added that while De Brauw's decision has not caused a delay on its own decision, 'it has obviously been an influence'.The Linklaters spokeswoman said: 'There is no question there have been ups and downs, but this was always envisaged as a three-to-five year strategy, and we never set a deadline.'Swedish member Lagerlof & Leman have yet to vote on merger, and Italian member Gianni Origoni has indicated it will not merge.

Although Linklaters says there was never a merger intention with Origoni, the alliance's strategy is to form a unified pan-European firm.Jeremy Fleming