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Law Firm News Stories

FFW fails to pull off Osborne Clarke merger
16 November 2012
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Merger talks between Field Fisher Waterhouse and Osborne Clarke have been abandoned. It's the second time this year that FFW has been unable to get a tie-up out of the trap.

FFW started courting Lawrence Graham back in May, as revealed by RollOnFriday. But the affair ended in tears and recrimination, with each side bitching about the other. FFW grumbled about LG's poor financials - which was probably fair, given that the latter has just announced another round of redundancies. And LG grumbled about a lack of unity amongst FFW's partners - which was also probably fair, given that the firm's COO has just resigned and the partners have been briefing against each other to anyone in the market who cares to listen.

So FFW went back on the dating scene and approached Osborne Clarke. But that too has now collapsed, albeit more amicably. OC said that their approaches were "too different to continue", but the talks had helped "build excellent relationships with the FFW team". FFW said that the process had been positive because of the "strong relationships and friendships that had been formed". Before skulking off to sit in a boarded up room full of decayed wedding cake.

    A FFW partner yesterday

One insider at FFW was rather more prosaic, telling RollOnFriday that a number of difficult partners would need to be given the boot before anyone would consider taking them down the aisle. Expect some high level departures in the new year.


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anonymous user
16/11/2012 08:00
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So, is it farewell then, Mark Abell...?
anonymous user
16/11/2012 09:40
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Surely only a matter of time before FFW merge with Norton Rose, who seem to want to merge with everyone
anonymous user
16/11/2012 10:33
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"... a number of difficult partners would need to be given the boot before anyone would consider taking them down the aisle ..."

Won't be many people left if that comes to pass. On the other hand,"Schandenfreude" comes to mind.
anonymous user
16/11/2012 12:42
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How about merging with Edwards Wildman Palmer UK LLP?
anonymous user
21/11/2012 15:51
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FFW are trying to merge because their two offices leases are coming to an end in or around 2013/14. FFW will have to throw a lot more money in which FFW partners do not want to do. LG would have been the perfect merger (due to LG's office size).

Some facts about FFW:

1. Profits PEP have gone down from 510k to 410k.
2. HR Director Charlie Keeling has left the firm.
3. Managing Partner (Matthew Lohn) is on leave from god knows how many months.
4. FFW's public sector work - well anyone remember this article: http://www.thelawyer.com/ffw-scraps-formal-public-sector-focus-in-industry-group-rejig/1013765.article

No managing partner, reducing profits PEP, No HR director, reduction in public sector work (which amounts to 35% of the firm's turnover), high staff turnover rate and no offices to work from....Sounds like a very interesting position to be in.