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City law firm Lovells is reportedly on the verge of merging with top US law firm Hogan & Hartson.
The merger, if it goes ahead, would be the most significant merger between British and American legal firms.
Historically, transatlantic legal mergers between major firms of equal standing have not happened, fraught with the dangers of different cultures and different pay structures.
British law firms are traditionally hierarchical, paying partners the more they rise through the ranks to senior partner status. American law firms tend to pay their lawyers in relation to how much work and fees they bring in.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Lovells' management board met yesterday to consider a merger and a deal that could see Lovells' lawyers moving over to an American pay regime and structure.
The board of Washington-based Hogan & Hartson, says the Journal, has already voted in favour of the deal. Both firms need their partners' approval.
The companies are pre-eminent in the competition and regulatory fields. A merger would not only cement their standing in the US and Europe but increase their combined reach in the emerging and important Asian market.
