CC calls off tie-up with Australia's Mallesons
Clifford Chance (CC) and leading Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques have called off informal merger talks after months of discussions, it has emerged. The two firms, which previously talked about merging in 1999, entered into initial discussions earlier this year but have ended them recently as a result of the market downturn. The talks did not extend as far as the partnership as a whole and were confined only to partners involved in management. One CC staffer told Legal Week the discussions had been aborted because the magic circle firm wants to concentrate on its existing business in the current market conditions. However, it is thought that the two firms will continue to work closely together.
December 08, 2008 at 09:07 AM
2 minute read
Clifford Chance (CC) and leading Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques have called off informal merger talks after months of discussions, it has emerged.
The two firms, which previously talked about merging in 1999, entered into initial discussions earlier this year but have ended them recently as a result of the market downturn.
The talks did not extend as far as the partnership as a whole and were confined only to partners involved in management. One CC staffer told Legal Week the discussions had been aborted because the magic circle firm wants to concentrate on its existing business in the current market conditions.
However, it is thought that the two firms will continue to work closely together.
CC and Mallesons have been linked since 1999 but talks between the pair ended in 2000 when CC opted to concentrate on its US merger with Rogers & Wells and expansion in Germany. The two are also believed to have spoken briefly in 2001.
Mallesons has five offices in Australia and a network in Asia covering Hong Kong, Beijing and Shanghai – as well as an office in Papua New Guinea and a London base.
In October, the Australian firm boosted its Shanghai practice with the addition of competition partner Martyn Huckerby from CC. Huckerby was a senior associate in CC's China competition group.
CC, meanwhile, has offices in China, Singapore and Thailand. The firm recently ended its Singapore joint venture with Wong Partnership in anticipation of liberalisation in the market and last week (5 December) won one of six licences to practise local law in Singapore.
One partner familiar with the Australasian market said: "From CC's perspective, wanting to expand in the Asia-Pacific region, at some point it would need to gain a presence in Australia and it is a competitive market so you do not want to go in alone. From Mallesons' perspective it would want to bolster Beijing and Shanghai and expand further in Asia."
Both CC and Mallesons refused to comment.
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
- 1Shareholder Democracy? The Chatter Musk’s Tesla Pay Case Is Spurring Between Lawyers and Clients
- 2Can a Law Firm Institutionalize Its Culture? Boies Schiller’s New Chairman Will Try
- 3Full 8th Circuit Hears First Amendment Challenge to School District’s ‘Equity Training’
- 4Exploring Generative AI’s Impact on Intellectual Property
- 5Training Lawyers in AI and Using AI to Boost Training
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
