Two years after its merger talks with Greenberg Traurig ended, Berwin Leighton Paisner has secured its elusive US tie-up, confirming yesterday (26 February) that partners had approved a fully financially-integrated deal with Bryan Cave that will go live in April.

The newly merged Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner will be a top 50 player by global revenue and the first leading firm to be led by two women.

In other news, long-winded panel reviews could be set to become a thing of the past after Barclays confirmed its latest panel review will be its last. After that, the bank is planning to jump onto the continuous feedback bandwagon, with a move to ditch formal reviews in favour of constant adjustments.

It's a decision that's likely to be closely watched by the bank's key advisers, which include a host of top US firms, many of which have been showing their commitment to London through a series of bumper partner promotion rounds.

Legal Week's research found combined City promotions at 32 of the largest US firms in London jumped by nearly 30% year on year, with many expanding their UK presence, despite the uncertainty of Brexit. The increase compares to a global increase in new partner promotions of just 6% across the same group of firms.

Elsewhere, elite US outfit Quinn made headlines last week when firmwide managing partner John Quinn sent a reply-all email spelling out his feeling about one of two of his New York partners leaving to launch their own firm, hitting out at Faith Gay's "stealthy" exit and "saccharine" farewell email.

Other highlights on Legal Week last week include: