U.S. Firms Make European Inroads
U.S. law firms are merging with European firms or snagging their top lawyers, creating tensions as the overseas firms struggle to adjust.
Spurring the firm merger mania is increasing legal work available because of the boom in corporate mergers and acquisitions, the New York Times reports.
The newspaper mentions several U.S. firms that have acquired or merged with their European counterparts in the last several years. They include:
–Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe of San Francisco merged with half the lawyers from French firm Rambaud Martel.
– Reed Smith of Pittsburgh merged with Richards Butler of Britain.
– Piper Rudnick of the United States merged with DLA of Britain.
– Mayer Brown & Platt acquired Lambert & Lee of Paris and Gaedertz of Frankfurt, then merged with Rowe & Maw of Britain.
– Paul Hastings acquired Moquet Borde & Associés of France.
– Latham & Watkins of San Francisco has hired several European lawyers, including 95 attorneys from the Paris office of Amsterdam-based Stibbe.
