Successful mergers do not just happen overnight – they need to be supported by, as a minimum, a good business case, compatible 'cultures' and vision and leadership by those managing the merging firms. Above all, they have to be worked at, because implementation of the vision can often be make or break for a merger.

Rarely, however, do we hear of firms factoring into the process the question arguably the most critical to a successful merger – 'Do we have a management team capable of successfully implementing our merger?'

Being able to respond positively to that question in relation to a UK domestic merger, of whatever size, is crucial enough to future success. But for potential mergers between large UK and US firms, which are likely to become more common with increasing globalisation, the issue takes on an even greater significance.

Look at many large law firms and, leaving aside the demands of a merger, it is clear that some do not have good enough management in the shape of leaders who have vision and the determination to drive through that vision. On the assumption that a large UK/US merger has a strategic rationale, making for a 'good fit' and that issues relating to different cultures, work ethics, taxation, accounting and regulatory matters can be satisfactorily worked out, a nagging doubt still remains. This is as to whether, given the size of the task before them, the merging firms will have sufficient quality management resource with which to effectively implement the merger, to fully achieve their stated objectives.

Any firm contemplating such a merger is probably grappling with a range of issues, such as: