Law Firm Merger Mania: Fulbright & Jaworski Smells Sweet to Norton Rose

Norton Rose and Fulbright & Jaworski are merging. Let's learn about the size, name, and leadership of the new entity they will form.

FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI / NORTON ROSE — PRESS RELEASE — FULBRIGHT & JAWORSKI AND NORTON ROSE JOIN FORCES

Fulbright & Jaworski and Norton Rose Join Forces

Combination Creates Top 10 Global Legal Practice

November 14, 2012, HOUSTON – International law firm Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. today announced that it has entered into an agreement to combine with Norton Rose, a leading global legal practice. The combined organization will have 55 offices worldwide and 3,800 lawyers. It will be a top 10 global legal practice by gross revenue and by number of lawyers. The transaction will be completed on June 1, 2013 under the global brand Norton Rose Fulbright.

“Fulbright’s combination with Norton Rose will expand our global platform and enable us to provide an even broader range of services to our clients,” said Steven B. Pfeiffer, Chair of Fulbright & Jaworski’s Executive Committee. “We will be an international leader in providing seamless and superior client service.”

Pfeiffer continued, “The combined legal practices will be differentiated in the increasingly competitive legal marketplace by the depth of legal experience and geographic accessibility that the combination can provide to clients.”

Tony Williams, Principal of Jomati Consultants in London and a former Managing Partner of Clifford Chance, commented, “This is a market-changing combination. The combined firm’s strength and depth is something that others will try hard to emulate. But, as a first mover, it will be a hard act to follow.”

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Kenneth L. Stewart, Chair-Elect of Fulbright & Jaworski’s Executive Committee, said, “This is a smart combination of two groups whose geographic presence, capabilities and client service cultures are strongly complementary. The combined organization can provide the experience, insight and service our clients need in doing business around the world.”

“This transaction creates a premier, global legal organization,” Stewart added. “We will offer transactional and litigation experience in key industry sectors, including energy; health care, life sciences and pharmaceuticals; financial services; infrastructure, mining and commodities; technology; and transportation. The organization will also establish a global regulatory and investigations practice.”

Ward Bower, Principal of the leading U.S.-based legal consulting firm Altman Weil, Inc., stated, “After the combination, there will be less than a handful of law firms with global reach, depth and breadth of this quality.”

Peter Martyr, Global Chief Executive, Norton Rose, said, “We have been looking at the U.S. market for a number of years, seeking a firm that meets our requirements for excellence in law, good business synergies and a compatible culture. Fulbright & Jaworski meets all our criteria; it is financially strong, with forward-looking management and similar strategic growth aspirations.”

Fulbright was founded in Houston, a global energy center. It now has 17 offices worldwide, including the financial and governmental centers of Dubai, Hong Kong, London, New York and Washington, D.C. Norton Rose currently has 43 offices in Europe, Asia, Australia, Canada, Africa, the Middle East, Latin America and Central Asia.

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Peter Martyr will be the Global Chief Executive of the combined organization. Ken Stewart will serve as Managing Partner of the U.S. operations and will take a senior position on the combined organization’s Global Executive Committee. Other Fulbright partners will also serve on the Global Executive Committee. After 10 years as the elected Chair of the Executive Committee of Fulbright, Steve Pfeiffer will step down from that position at the end of 2012.

Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P.

Founded in 1919, Fulbright & Jaworski L.L.P. is a leading full-service international law firm, with more than 850lawyers in 17 locations in Austin, Beijing, Dallas, Denver, Dubai, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Munich, New York, Pittsburgh-Southpointe, Riyadh, San Antonio, St. Louis and Washington, D.C. Fulbright provides a full range of legal services to clients worldwide.

The 2012 BTI survey of FORTUNE 1000 general counsel named Fulbright to its “The BTI Client Service 30,” and Corporate Board Member magazine named Fulbright among the top 25 corporate law firms in the U.S. in its survey of board members of public companies.

For more information, please visit: www.fulbright.com.

Merger Madness: Norton Rose Combines with Fulbright & Jaworski [WSJ Law Blog]
Fulbright plans merger with Norton Rose [Thomson Reuters News & Insight]
Fulbright to Merge with Norton Rose, Creating Firm with 3,800 Lawyers [ABA Journal]

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