The Memo: Another transatlantic merger: HSF to merge with US firm Kramer Levin

The legal industry remains as competitive as ever, with the top law firms locked in intense competition for the very best talent, clients and global market share. The growing number of US firms in the UK market continue to rival their homegrown counterparts, with many US firms in London outperforming when it comes to revenue per lawyer. Yet, interestingly enough, UK firms have struggled to gain a solid foothold across the pond. But that is not to say it hasn’t been done; one of the most recent examples (and one of the biggest the industry has seen thus far) is the £2.7 billion merger between the UK’s Allen & Overy and the US’s Shearman & Sterling to form A&O Shearman. 

Just this month, Australian-British Herbert Smith Freehills and US firm Kramer Levin announced their own strategic transatlantic merger. According to both firms, this over $2 billion partnership will result in a “fully integrated global legal powerhouse” which will be known as Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer. The joint firm will have more than 2,700 lawyers and around 640 partners, putting it in the top 20 largest law firms by headcount. HSF has just one US office in New York but will be bringing over 2,400 lawyers from 23 offices around the globe. Kramer, meanwhile, has an established presence in New York, Silicon Valley, Washington DC and Paris, with just over 340 lawyers who brought in over $435 million in revenue last year.

So, the merger evidently offers both firms the opportunity to expand their geographic reach and may even set a tone for a future trend of transatlantic mergers yet to come. The proposed date for the launch of HSF Kramer, as it will otherwise be known, is 1 May 2025.