While few expected the vote for the merger between Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling to fail, Friday’s news that nearly all partners at both firms had approved the move did surprise many across the industry.
Although the tie-up was widely regarded as a logical strategic step for both firms, there was still the widespread belief that large transatlantic law firm mergers are intensely challenging. What appears to have helped in this case is the way the firms handled how the news was presented to the world.
