endgame: richards butler chief roger parker led the search for a us mergerRichards Butler and US suitor Reed Smith are set to this week join the select club of law firms that have secured a transatlantic merger – leaving the UK firm’s high-profile Hong Kong arm waiting on the sidelines.

As Legal Week went to press, the pair looked near certain to rubber-stamp their proposed tieup in a partners’ vote yesterday (14 June), forging a giant with 1,300 lawyers and a global turnover of around $725m (£414m).