Press Release

Haynes and Boone London Merger Announcement Receives Widespread Press Coverage

July 11, 2016

The June 30 announcement of Haynes and Boone’s merger with Curtis Davis Garrard received extensive coverage on both sides of the Atlantic, with several dozen outlets in the U.S. and U.K. reporting the news.

In the U.K., The Lawyer reported that the merger would push the combined firm close to the ranks of the world’s top 100 firms by revenue, as measured by the publication’s 2016 Global 200 report. The Lawyer quoted CDG senior partner Simon Curtis as saying there were “distinct advantages” for the firm’s clients in joining a full-service US firm. The Law Society Gazette reported that Haynes and Boone was entering the London market “to better serve its clients’ growing need for English law advice on international business and litigation matters.”

The American Lawyer, meanwhile, reported that the merger marked “the largest trans-Atlantic union since the November 2012 combination of Norton Rose and Fulbright & Jaworski.” The New York Times also cited Haynes and Boone’s tie up with CDG in a report about the 2016 law-firm merger market. Bloomberg quoted Tim Powers as saying the merger was important to the firm because of CDG’s English law capabilities. “The preferred choice of law has become English law in global transactions,” he said.

Many of the media outlets highlighted the firms’ view that the U.K.’s vote to exit the European Union would not alter London’s standing as a vital hub for international business. Noting that the merger was the first law firm combination post-Brexit, Legal Business reported that “both parties had contemplated the impact of a leave vote during discussions, 'but agreed at the outset that this would not alter the many strategic advantages of a merger.'” In Law360, Curtis was quoted as saying that “our clients’ business activities in the U.S., Asia, Latin America, Europe and beyond will not be adversely impacted by the vote.”

Links to coverage:

Law Society Gazette - U.K.

The Global Legal Post - U.K.

KLRD Radio

Above the Law

Law360 (subscription required)

The Lawyer - U.K. (subscription required)

Dallas Business Journal (subscription required)