The merger between Haynes and Boone, LLP and London-based Curtis Davis Garrard continued to attract press attention with the Sept. 1 announcement that U.K. regulators had issued their final approval for the transaction.
Coverage came from trade press including Offshore Energy Today, international news services like Bloomberg, U.S. national publications including Law360 and Fortune, as well as regional outlets like the Dallas Business Journal and Texas Lawyer.
Fortune's Term Sheet noted that the combined firm is now open for business as Haynes and Boone CDG in the U.K. and Haynes and Boone in the U.S.
A Bloomberg Big Law Business op-ed piece penned by firm Managing Partner Tim Powers discussed why the firms decided to join despite the U.K's vote to exit the European Union. Entitled, "Why This Law Firm Is Bullish on London Legal Market," the Sept. 8 article noted that the so-called Brexit could not change the fact that London is one of the "world’s preeminent hubs for commercial and legal services."
"While neither side believed that Brexit would occur, we believed that an exit vote would likely lead to short-term uncertainty in the financial markets but not alter the strategic case for the merger," Powers wrote. "With that confidence, we agreed to specifically exclude Brexit from the material adverse event clause in the merger agreement."
Law360 interviewed newly appointed London office Administrative Partner Brad Richards about expectations for the merger. “We know that CDG has a great name in this market,” said Richards, who has moved to London from the Haynes and Boone Houston office. “In what they do, they are very highly regarded. We wanted to make sure we both are taking advantage of that good name.” Ultimately, Richards said, the firm's goal is to “make our competitors sweat a little bit.”
Offshore Energy Today noted that the merger creates an "international commercial law firm providing legal services to the maritime and offshore oil and gas sectors in the U.K. and U.S., including in Houston and other energy hubs." Now numbering about 600 lawyers in twelve U.S. cities, London, Mexico City and Shanghai, the combined firm is tailored to serve "major oil and gas companies with worldwide development interests, smaller independent oil and gas companies, offshore contractors providing a range of exploration and production services and specialist suppliers of oilfield services and equipment, including shipyards," the magazine said.
And Texas Lawyer featured an interview with Powers, who touted the merger as a client conduit to English law service. "In global transactions," Powers said, "English common law will continue to govern transactions and dispute resolutions going forward more and more."
Links to coverage:
Dallas Business Journal (subscription required)
Law 360 (subscription required)
National Law Journal (subscription required)
Texas Lawyer (subscription required)
