More law firm merger maniachristine balderas/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Another major Bay Street-based national law firm, Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP, is in reportedly talks to merge with a growing global legal giant.
According to the British-based trade publications Legal Week and The Lawyer , FMC is in talks with London-and-Washington-based SNR Denton, as the global firm also seeks to finalize another merger with British law firm Salans.
Spokespeople for FMC and SNR Denton could not immediately be reached Wednesday.
But when contacted earlier this week by The Globe about whether FMC was pursuing a merger with a global law firm, a spokeswoman would not comment on specifics. In an e-mailed statement, the firm said it regularly held talks with global firms on potential opportunities. A spokesman with SNR Denton said the firm wouldn't comment on rumours or speculation. But neither firm explicitly denied they were in talks.
If approved in votes by the firms' partners, the merger would create a large new law firm with about 2,500 lawyers and global network of offices that would be rebranded as simply Dentons, Legal Week says.
Fraser Milner Casgrain would adopt the new name, and the newly merged firms would use what is known as a "Swiss verein" structure that would not see their finances combined, the reports say. If approved, it would take effect next year.
Canada's top law firms have been the subject of interest from international players looking to grow, as the world continues to hunger for Canada's natural resources. Last year, Ogilvy Renault, and later, Macleod Dixon, agreed to merge with London-based global firm Norton Rose.
Jeff Gray