Once you engage in merger talks to that degree, and then it breaks up, the perception can be that you are now really in play.
Because those firms that are at the top of the food chain know that there’s a lot of quality at Shearman & Sterling, and if they can make a run … they’re going to try to do so. So it’s imperative to try to keep those people.
— Brian Burlant, a managing director at legal recruiting firm E.P. Dine Inc., in comments given to Law360 on the troubles Shearman & Sterling may be looking at in the wake of the firm’s collapsed merger talks with Hogan Lovells. During the course of the merger talks, Shearman conducted layoffs and lost a number of high-profile partners, as well as an entire European team. Burland emphasized the importance of the firm retaining top talent during this transitory period.
Staci Zaretsky is a senior editor at Above the Law, where she’s worked since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.
