With Addleshaw Goddard, Irwin Mitchell and, of course, Dentons all linked with either international or domestic tie-ups in recent days, mergers have most definitely been the theme of the last week.

As the pool of Scottish independent firms gets ever-smaller, Addleshaws is in talks with Maclay Murray & Spens, potentially following in the footsteps of CMS UK and Pinsent Masons by combining with a firm north of the border.

Despite the number of similar deals reaction to the news has been mixed with some warning that a Scots tie-up is not a vital ingredient to success.

In contrast to these plans, which have not yet been voted on by either firm, Irwin Mitchell's union with Thomas Eggar looks set to go ahead with the minimum of fuss. The pair will combine under the Irwin Mitchell brand this month, though it remains to be seen how many Thomas Eggar partners will join the combined firm's equity.

Meanwhile Dentons added yet more locations to this year's merger frenzy, with the firm yesterday confirming that it is in talks to enter Latin America with combinations in both Mexico and Colombia.

This followed last week's news of a tie-up in Luxembourg, after approving deals in Singapore and Australia the previous week.

Other highlights over the last seven days include news that firms can expect to be hauled in front of the Public Accounts Committee to justify their rates for government advisory work following criticism of Freshfields' fees on the sale of Eurostar.

On the positive side firms looked last week to have (so far) avoided a levy on their earnings to raise millions to fund the criminal justice system.

Last week also saw Legal Week host the British Legal Awards, which saw RPC crowned Law Firm of the Year and Allen & Overy senior partner David Morley take home the law firm leader of the year award.

Other highlights over the last seven days include: