So this is… intriguing.
On the heels of the American Lawyer’s blockbuster story that Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers are “deep” in merger talks — which we covered here — a firm spokesperson reached out to Above the Law to state:
“We have no plans to merge and never have.”
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Never? That’s a strong word. There were stories about trying to merge with Willkie not so long ago.
The American Lawyer story has received the above update, as well as this statement from Allen & Overy:
“While we have said for several years that we are open to considering a merger with the right partner in the U.S., we talk to many firms in many countries all of the time and we do not comment on market speculation and rumors regarding any particular firm,” the firm said.
See, that’s a much more equivocal statement.
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What in the world (or at least the Anglo-American legal market) is going on?!?!? Well, it could be that this is the sort of fake news that Sinclair Broadcasting warned us about. Or maybe this is the hand in the cookie jar phase of a major story. You know the “I have the utmost confidence in [insert name]” statement that inevitably precedes a firing.
Interesting times we live in, here in the legal world.
Allen & Overy, O’Melveny Eye Potential Trans-Atlantic Union [American Lawyer]
Earlier: Allen & Overy And O’Melveny Are Considering Merger (Please Name It Allen & O’Melvery)
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.