After months in the making, the merger between two leading British and Australian firms finally went live on October 1 to create Herbert Smith Freehills, a 2,800-lawyer global powerhouse.
When the combination of 1,600-lawyer Herbert Smith with 1,200-lawyer Freehills was first announced in June, according to sibling publication The Asian Lawyer, the firms began the process of integrating profit pools and an estimated $1.35 billion in gross revenues. In July the firms named new practice group leaders and unveiled a 13-member global management team to oversee the integration process, which included combining duplicate bases in cities like Singapore.
