Senior leadership figures from Allen & Overy (A&O) and O'Melveny & Myers are meeting in Germany today (5 September) to discuss the potential merger of the two firms, as progress towards a decision on the proposed deal gathers pace.

O'Melveny chairman Bradley Butwin is among the US firm's contingent to have travelled to Frankfurt for discussions between management and partners at both firms, which are taking place at the Sofitel Frankfurt Opera hotel in central Frankfurt today.

It is understood that A&O Germany senior partner Thomas Ubber is among the A&O delegates at the hotel.

Today's meeting comes two months after Butwin and other O'Melveny leaders travelled to London to hold meetings with A&O's firmwide management.

There is understood to have been an increasing amount of contact between both firms in recent weeks, as merger discussions between the pair accelerate.

While a date for partners to vote on the deal has not been set, it is understood that it could take place before the end of the year, if discussions continue to progress.

One A&O Germany partner, speaking last week, said that while to date there had not been much discussion about the merger, there was an expectation that the firm's German partners would hear more from management soon.

The partner added: "I couldn't give you a sense if people are against it or in favour – it's not really tangible for us yet."

The merger talks, which Legal Week revealed in April, are understood to have moved into the due diligence stage, and A&O made a presentation about the potential tie-up to its partners at its annual retreat in Miami earlier this summer.

A number of partners close to the firms have told Legal Week they expect that a successful deal will be reached, although another London partner warned that it "genuinely could go either way".

If the pair do combine, it would create a business with revenues of £2bn ($2.6bn) and a total lawyer headcount of about 3,000.

A&O restructured its Germany partnership last year, with about half of the firm's partners in the country seeing their position on the lockstep moved down or frozen in a bid to improve profitability. The firm also made it more difficult for those in the country to move beyond 40 points on its 50-point ladder.

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