Merger talks, aspirations to merge and the fallout from existing combinations have dominated the headlines on Legal Week over the last seven days.

Berwin Leighton Paisner is pushing ahead with plans to become the first UK firm in years to pull off a transatlantic merger, moving to the due diligence stage in its talks with Greenberg Traurig.

In contrast, Addleshaw Goddard and Scottish firm Maclay Murray & Spens have called off their merger discussions, and we also took a look at merger hopeful Olswang's odds of success. 

Mergers of the US variety were also on the mind of outgoing Allen & Overy (A&O) senior partner David Morley in our video interview, in which he discusses everything from his hopes for cracking America, to how A&O has changed in his 35 years at the firm and the changing demands of the next generation.

A&O confirmed last week that Morley will be succeeded as senior partner by current managing partner Wim Dejonghe.

Also coming to the end of a leadership era is DLA Piper, where global co-chair and international senior partner Sir Nigel Knowles is to step down at the end of April after nearly 20 years at the helm.

Elsewhere merged global firm King & Wood Mallesons reported a significant restructuring of its UK practices alongside flat revenue for 2015, as it emerged that the firm's London partners could be paid their distributions on a monthly basis as the firm is still struggling to catch up with quarterly profit payments owed to partners.