DLA’s ambitious merger bid with Piper Rudnick has been rocked with the news that the US firm is also in merger talks with West Coast stalwart Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich.

The talks, which would see 975-lawyer Piper Rudnick tie up with 350-lawyer tech specialist, are in their early stages, according to US reports, although the impact on the DLA merger bid is uncertain.