Mayer Brown heads trio of Christmas merger deals involving US law firms
Mayer Brown's merger with leading Hong Kong firm Johnson Stokes & Master was the largest of three merger deals involving US law firms to be announced over the Christmas break, in the latest moves by America's top practices to expand beyond their domestic heartland.
January 09, 2008 at 08:38 PM
2 minute read
Mayer Brown's merger with leading Hong Kong firm Johnson Stokes & Master was the largest of three merger deals involving US law firms to be announced over the Christmas break, in the latest moves by America's top practices to expand beyond their domestic heartland.
Mayer Brown unveiled the news shortly after Paul Hastings Janofsky & Walker made its long-awaited German debut after brokering a deal to absorb a respected 27-lawyer Frankfurt boutique, while Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis sealed a domestic merger with Dallas firm Hughes & Luce.
Mayer Brown's deal will dramatically increase the Anglo-US firm's presence in Asia, handing it a seven-office network with more than 260 lawyers and a turnover of $160m (£81m).
Under the terms of the deal, which will complete on 28 January, Mayer Brown will practise as Mayer Brown JSM in Asia. Elaine Lo, chair of Johnson Stokes' partnership board, will head up a new Asia board as well as joining Mayer Brown's management committee, along with senior litigation partner Nick Hunsworth.
Mayer Brown said the merger meant the firm had already over-delivered on its three-year Asia strategy to build up to 100 lawyers, having opened a small office in Hong Kong at the start of the year.
Paul Hastings' agreement with Frankfurt practice Smeets Haas Wolff went live on 3 January. The move marks the end of a long search by Los Angeles-based Paul Hastings to launch in Germany. All five Smeets Haas partners joined Paul Hastings as equity partners. The German outfit focuses on corporate, banking and restructuring work.
Meanwhile, K&L Gates' tie-up with Hughes & Luce went live on 1 January. The deal adds around 150 lawyers along with offices in Fort Worth and Austin to K&L Gates' 1,400-lawyer network.
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
NOT FOR REPRINT
© 2025 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
You Might Like
View All
Can Law Firms Avoid Landing on the 'Enemy' List During the Trump Administration?
5 minute read
Letter From Asia: Will Big Law Ever Bother to Understand Asia Again?
Simpson Thacher, Nishimura, Mori Hamada Assist on KKR's $4B Winning Bid in Japan
Trending Stories
- 1Supreme Court Appears Sympathetic to Law Requiring Porn Sites to Verify Users' Age
- 2Cybersecurity Breaches, Cyberbullying, and Ways to Help Protect Clients From Both
- 3AI in 2025: Five Key Predictions on How It Will Reshape International Law Firms
- 4Justice Known for Asking 'Tough Questions' Resolves to Improve Civility
- 5Robinson & Cole Elects New Partners and Counsel
Who Got The Work
J. Brugh Lower of Gibbons has entered an appearance for industrial equipment supplier Devco Corporation in a pending trademark infringement lawsuit. The suit, accusing the defendant of selling knock-off Graco products, was filed Dec. 18 in New Jersey District Court by Rivkin Radler on behalf of Graco Inc. and Graco Minnesota. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishi, is 3:24-cv-11294, Graco Inc. et al v. Devco Corporation.
Who Got The Work
Rebecca Maller-Stein and Kent A. Yalowitz of Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer have entered their appearances for Hanaco Venture Capital and its executives, Lior Prosor and David Frankel, in a pending securities lawsuit. The action, filed on Dec. 24 in New York Southern District Court by Zell, Aron & Co. on behalf of Goldeneye Advisors, accuses the defendants of negligently and fraudulently managing the plaintiff's $1 million investment. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Vernon S. Broderick, is 1:24-cv-09918, Goldeneye Advisors, LLC v. Hanaco Venture Capital, Ltd. et al.
Who Got The Work
Attorneys from A&O Shearman has stepped in as defense counsel for Toronto-Dominion Bank and other defendants in a pending securities class action. The suit, filed Dec. 11 in New York Southern District Court by Bleichmar Fonti & Auld, accuses the defendants of concealing the bank's 'pervasive' deficiencies in regards to its compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act and the quality of its anti-money laundering controls. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian, is 1:24-cv-09445, Gonzalez v. The Toronto-Dominion Bank et al.
Who Got The Work
Crown Castle International, a Pennsylvania company providing shared communications infrastructure, has turned to Luke D. Wolf of Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani to fend off a pending breach-of-contract lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 25 in Michigan Eastern District Court by Hooper Hathaway PC on behalf of The Town Residences LLC, accuses Crown Castle of failing to transfer approximately $30,000 in utility payments from T-Mobile in breach of a roof-top lease and assignment agreement. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Susan K. Declercq, is 2:24-cv-13131, The Town Residences LLC v. T-Mobile US, Inc. et al.
Who Got The Work
Wilfred P. Coronato and Daniel M. Schwartz of McCarter & English have stepped in as defense counsel to Electrolux Home Products Inc. in a pending product liability lawsuit. The court action, filed Nov. 26 in New York Eastern District Court by Poulos Lopiccolo PC and Nagel Rice LLP on behalf of David Stern, alleges that the defendant's refrigerators’ drawers and shelving repeatedly break and fall apart within months after purchase. The case, assigned to U.S. District Judge Joan M. Azrack, is 2:24-cv-08204, Stern v. Electrolux Home Products, Inc.
Featured Firms
Law Offices of Gary Martin Hays & Associates, P.C.
(470) 294-1674
Law Offices of Mark E. Salomone
(857) 444-6468
Smith & Hassler
(713) 739-1250
