Eighteen months after its merger talks with Greenberg Traurig fell apart in the public eye, Berwin Leighton Paisner has renewed its efforts to crack the US, confirming that it is in discussions with Missouri-based Bryan Cave about a potential union.

The talks, set to go to a partner vote later this year, represent a much more modest proposition than Greenberg but, also in contrast to Greenberg, partners believe a deal is much more likely to happen this time.

Elsewhere, fresh from a spate of partner exits globally, we broke the news that Ropes & Gray has been offering associates retention bonuses of up to $50,000 to stay with the firm instead of following their partners out of the door to firms such as Kirkland & Ellis.

And following the shocking recent revelations regarding Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein, we also carried out our own investigation into the level of sexual harassment women are experiencing within law firms – finding that nearly two-thirds of female respondents have been sexually harassed while working at a law firm.

We also look at why firms need to take the issue more seriously and encourage women to come forward without fear of recrimination.

Other highlights on Legal Week over the last week