Dewey Ballantine and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe have blamed wrangles over post-merger management and a series of heavyweight Dewey departures for the shock 11th-hour decision to call off the tie-up.

The firms announced in a joint statement last week (4 January) that talks to create one of America’s largest-ever legal tie-ups had been abandoned despite the pair having nominally agreed a tie-up.