As Allen & Overy and Shearman & Sterling leaders travel throughout offices to rally partners toward a merger, they are confronting questions tied to the New York law firm's pension program and addressing the future leadership structure after the sudden exit of a managing partner. But they say the firms have been making strong progress toward a merger, with a vote still on track in October.

In an interview, Allen & Overy global senior partner Wim Dejonghe said he accepted to "govern for the short term" but said after the summer that "we need to get someone next to me to help me run the business."