Bond Dickinson managing partner Jonathan Blair insists his firm’s transatlantic tie-up with US counterpart Womble Carlyle is not the first step in a path towards multiple international mergers, like Dentons or DLA Piper.

“That is not part of the plan – this is not about trying to create a mid-market DLA Piper,” he insists. “This is unique, there is no other entity which has done what we are doing with a transatlantic tie-up focusing on these two jurisdictions.”