UPDATE: Now O’Melveny says they aren’t merging. See update here.
Two firms that haven’t been shy about their interest in expansion are reportedly in “deep” discussions over a potential international merger. Magic Circle stalwart Allen & Overy and America’s O’Melveny & Myers are considering joining forces to create a new megafirm.
Christine Simmons and Rose Walker of the American Lawyer reported the nascent merger about an hour ago:
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Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers are in deep discussions about a potential combination, according to two sources briefed on the matter.
If a merger deal is finalized between both firms, it would create a 3,000-lawyer business with roughly $2.8 billion in combined gross revenue. Details of the talks, to date, have been contained to only a small number of senior figures, although Allen & Overy partners were told in January that the Magic Circle firm was in talks with several U.S. firms about a potential combination.
Would this influx of Americans cure Allen & Overy’s atrocious gender pay disparity? I’m guessing no.
The tie-up would tread the well-worn path of previous cross-Atlantic deals like Clifford Chance’s takeover of Rogers & Wells, Norton Rose’s takeover of Fulbright & Jaworski and absorption of Chadborne, and Bryan Cave’s merger with Berwin Leighton Paisner. It appears that in the sport of Biglaw, everyone wants to play in both courts (see, that’s a double entendre!).
But every merger is special in its own way, so we’ll have to wait and see how this one plays out. Swiss Verein? Acquisition? True Merger? It’s all a mystery to us at this point.
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Stay tuned for more developments.
UPDATE: A firm spokesperson from O’Melveny reached out to tell us, “We have no plans to merge and never have.” So… that happened. More on that here.
Allen & Overy, O’Melveny Eye Potential Trans-Atlantic Union [American Lawyer]
Earlier: Another Biglaw Firm Reports Dismal Gender Pay Gap
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.