U.S. law firm Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel and global legal giant Herbert Smith Freehills said in a joint statement on Friday that their partners voted to approve a merger, creating a 2,700-lawyer firm.
The deal is expected to take effect on June 1. The firms said the combination will create a top 20 firm globally, with over $2 billion in revenue and 26 offices.
The two firms had announced plans to merge in November. The combined firm will be called Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer.
Kramer Levin has offices in New York, Silicon Valley and Washington, D.C. The firm had nearly 340 lawyers and generated more than $435 million in total revenue in 2023, according to figures reported by the American Lawyer.
Herbert Smith Freehills is the product of a 2012 merger between London-founded Herbert Smith and Australian law firm Freehills. It has more than 2,400 lawyers in 23 offices globally, with New York as its sole U.S. outpost, according to its website. The firm generated more than $1.6 billion in revenue in 2023, the American Lawyer reported.
More than 50 lawyers from Kramer Levin’s Paris office, which was not slated to be part of the merger, joined Morgan, Lewis & Bockius at the beginning of the year.
Paul Schoeman and Howard Spilko, co-managing partners of New York-founded Kramer Levin, in a Friday statement said combining with HSF “enables us to achieve our shared vision and potential for strategic growth in the U.S.”
Law firms with roots in the U.K. have long sought growth in the U.S. legal market, including through mergers and partner hires in major U.S. cities.
London-founded Allen & Overy and New York’s Shearman & Sterling last year completed a transatlantic merger to create A&O Shearman, which has nearly 4,000 lawyers globally.
Source: Reuters.com