UK: Top law firm is joining forces with Atlanta-based Sutherland

One of UK’s top law firms is joining forces with Atlanta-based Sutherland Asbill & Brennan, the latest and largest law firm merger of the year at a time of hyper-competition and sluggish demand across the legal industry.

The merger of London-based Eversheds and Sutherland, formally approved Friday, creates a firm with 2,300 lawyers and 61 offices in 29 countries. The combined firm will operate as Eversheds Sutherland starting in February.

Neither side expects any major internal structural shake-up. Eversheds Sutherland will be led by two joint CEOs as part of a six-member global management team.

It’s the latest merger amid a period of increasing supply of legal services but tepid revenue growth. The firms’ announcement follows last month’s union of East Coast law firms Arnold & Porter and Kaye Scholer, which formed an 1,000-lawyer firm with offices across the US, Europe and China.

Eversheds, with offices spread around Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa, is the larger of the two firms, reporting revenues of around $500 million in the last fiscal year.

Full Content: Wall Street Journal

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