It looked significant at the time but in retrospect the 2010 tie-up between Lovells and Hogan & Hartson genuinely marked – and itself influenced – the changing shape of the legal industry. Not only because it constituted a transatlantic union between two major firms, but because the pair chose to deploy a multi-profit centre structure that has since been widely used over the last two years.
Some deals haven’t dazzled but none looks more significant than last week’s news that Norton Rose has secured a tie-up with Fulbright & Jaworski. But then arguably it was Norton Rose that created the model for Hogan Lovells with its takeover of Deacons. Rivals scoffed but it kicked off a run of deals in Australia by firms that see themselves as well above Norton Rose’s station.
