Leading Spanish firm Uria & Menendez is attempting to form closer ties with top New York firm Davis Polk & Wardwell in a further sign that Slaughter and May's 'best friends' network is tightening its links.
The Spanish practice, which has known the top US firm through its City ally Slaughters, is now trying to forge a similar link to the one that already exists between Davis Polk and top German firm Hengeler Mueller.
Name partner Rodrigo Uria visited Davis Polk last week to discuss the possibility of closer links, including introducing the same IT systems and putting in place a secondment program for associates. Such links have already been forged between Davis Polk and Hengeler Mueller.
It is understood that Davis Polk is sympathetic to such a move with Uria, although a similar call from Slaughters' French ally M&A boutique Bredin Prat has caused concerns at Davis Polk that the Paris firm lacks strength beyond its senior partners.
"Uria has indicated to us it wants to establish similar links to those we have already establish with Hengeler," Davis Polk corporate head Arthur Golden told Legal Week.
Last month it emerged that Hengeler Mueller and Davis Polk were planning to extend their working relationship beyond capital markets and M&A to general finance work and also plan a joint litigation practice, a move that Uria is keen to copy. In May the famously traditional German firm committed itself to increased joint marketing and IT compliance with both Davis Polk and Slaughters.
This month firms in Slaughters' network of top Continental firms, including Uria, met in Milan to discuss their relationships in a bid to step up co-operation outside of their magic circle ally (Legal Week, 12 July). The firms, which also include Italy's Bonelli Erede Pappalardo and Nauta Dutilh in the Netherlands, have discussed stepping up their co-operations beyond bi-lateral referrals.