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Pre-merger paradox – some atypical hiring

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05 May 2026

By Scott Gibson and Sloane Poulton, Directors at Edwards Gibson

The dying days of 2025 saw an unprecedented slew of law firm tie-ups: between 17 November and 18 December, no fewer than three transatlantic mergers were announced: Ashurst with Perkins Coie to form Ashurst Perkins Coie; Taylor Wessing with Winston & Strawn to form Taylor Winston; and Hogan Lovells with Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft to create Hogan Lovells Cadwalader.

“… it is somewhat surprising that, since the merger announcements … the merger candidates have collectively hired 15 partners against just 11 lateral defections to rivals.”

When law firms merge, elevated partner attrition is common - both immediately before and after the coupling - as practice overlaps, client conflicts, partner egos, and questions of relative contribution almost inevitably come into play. Far less common is for partner hires at the pre-merged legacy firms to outstrip departures. Indeed, in the period immediately following the announcement of a tie-up, legacy firms typically seek to minimise, or even freeze, lateral hiring. The rationale is straightforward: in an already delicate integration - often balanced on a knife edge - where low-level turf wars and internal power plays are distraction enough, introducing further cost, complexity, and potential conflicts via third-party arrivals risks unsettling an already fragile equilibrium.

So, it is somewhat surprising that, according to Edwards Gibson’s Law Firm Partner Moves in London, since the merger announcements began in November 2025 to the end of April 2026, the merger candidates have collectively hired 15 partners against just 11 lateral defections to rivals. This breaks down as: Ashurst (6 hires vs 4 departures); Taylor Wessing (5 hires vs 4 defections); Cadwalader (2 hires vs 1 defection); and Perkins Coie (1 hire vs 0 defections). Whilst Winston & Strawn has neither lost nor gained any laterals, Hogan Lovells stands out as the only firm in net decline, with 1 hire offset by 2 exits.

Against that wider backdrop, as Edwards Gibson’s forthcoming (92nd) edition flags, the last two months are notable for their tempo: Ashurst and Taylor Wessing alone contribute nine arrivals (a quintet and a quartet respectively), and even Cadwalader and Perkins Coie’s solitary hires are proportionately meaningful for their bonsai London partnerships – in Perkins Coie’s case lifting partner headcount by close to 15%. 

 

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© Edwards Gibson 2026

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