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16 December 2016 / Dominic Zammit
Issue: 7727 / Categories: Features , Profession
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Merging brands or branding mergers?

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Dominic Zammit provides a guide to how to successfully brand a merger

Mergers present an opportunity to shake up the market and change the status quo. The most successful will create a fresh proposition that doesn’t just bind the heritage of the partners but lifts them in a new common purpose. But beware the risks of compromise.

The partners of CMS UK, Nabarro and Olswang have voted overwhelmingly to combine their firms to create a new City powerhouse that will become the world’s sixth largest law firm. Scale brings its own benefits in terms of brand awareness. But what does it mean for clients? According to the official press release, the merger will “create a modern firm that is uniquely positioned to provide clients with a distinctive offering driven by technology and sector expertise, underpinned by deep experience and heritage”.

Focusing on heritage with a nod to the future through technology, it’s steadfast, comfortable, covers all bases. The question is: have they been radical enough?

For some, mergers present a branding nightmare; for

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Signature Litigation—Catherine Naylor

Signature Litigation—Catherine Naylor

International fraud and asset recovery offering boosted by partner hire

Stevens & Bolton—Alexa Payet

Stevens & Bolton—Alexa Payet

Private wealth disputes team adds contentious probate specialist

Morgan Lewis—Paul Feldberg

Morgan Lewis—Paul Feldberg

Firm strengthens investigations and sanctions capabilities with London partner hire

NEWS
Cheshire West, which established an ‘acid test’ for deprivation of liberty safeguards, has been overturned by the Supreme Court
The Chancery Division and other segments of the High Court are to be replaced by a new Business and Property Division (BPD), in a major civil justice shakeup
Law firms that hold client money will need to file annual accountants’ reports and make a declaration, the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) confirmed this week
Two district judges and a tribunal judge have been sanctioned for delays in delivering judgments and orders
Private equity (PE) investment into UK law firms halved to £250m last year, but deal volume rose, according to research by Acquira Professional Services’ Momentum private equity market tracker
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