Allen & Overy, O'Melveny & Myers merger talks exposes chinks in the competition’s armor
By : Legal Era
Update: 2019-03-26 12:42 GMT
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Much interest has been generated in the merger talks between Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers. So much so that one top partner at a US firm in London said, “Allen Myers sounds like a 1970s porn star.”For an entire generation, this potential trans-Atlantic merger holds immense significance as it is likely to set the tone for the future of all top UK firms.A Twitter poll by Legal Week...
Much interest has been generated in the merger talks between Allen & Overy and O’Melveny & Myers. So much so that one top partner at a US firm in London said, “Allen Myers sounds like a 1970s porn star.”
For an entire generation, this potential trans-Atlantic merger holds immense significance as it is likely to set the tone for the future of all top UK firms.
A Twitter poll by Legal Week saw readers reluctant to let go of the A&O brand with the most popular merged identity names being Allen Myers and Allen & O’Melveny. If at all the deal goes through, the likes of Linklaters and Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer Will be unable to keep a straight face while talking about building their New York presence. The deal would put immense pressure on rivals, even the likes of Latham & Watkins and Kirkland & Ellis. But in the event the deal fails, the implications would be even bigger.
For one, if A&O is unable to secure a deal with a mid-tier US firm like O’Melveny, it will put all decent deals out of reach.
A&O rivals in the UK are watching closely and beneath it all there is a desire that the deal goes through, however grudgingly.