What to do down under has long presented a headache for the UK’s magic circle firms, with varying approaches to the market splitting the group. Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer says it has ruled out Australia for now after reportedly making several attempts to hire in the market, while Slaughter and May is sticking with its conservative roots and leaving well alone.
The other three firms have all dipped their toes in the region. Clifford Chance and Allen & Overy have both made small plays in Sydney and Perth which have largely remained out of the headlines, while Linklaters has chosen a different approach altogether, forming an alliance with Allens. The positions contrast sharply with the full financial mergers at Ashurst and HSF and also with the large-scale mergers that were the subject of discussions between several members of the group and Australia’s leading firms in the past. Over the years, both Clifford Chance and Linklaters, for example, have held merger talks with legacy Mallesons.
