A&O Shearman to cut partnership by 10% and close Johannesburg base in post-merger shake-up

A&O Shearman is ready to chop 10% of its partnership, shut its South Africa workplace and finish its consulting enterprise, within the agency’s first main reorganisation because it accomplished its merger this Might.

The information was introduced as we speak after the completion of what the agency described as ‘a broad strategic evaluate’, which has ‘recognized areas of overlap and overcapacity’. In an announcement, the agency that it expects that world accomplice numbers will probably be now diminished by 10% by the top of the monetary 12 months.

This ‘refocus’ will ‘place the agency to proceed to advertise and recruit companions within the areas that allow the enterprise to make the most of the expansion alternatives for the brand new agency,’ the assertion continued.

The choice to shut in Johannesburg comes because the workplace nears its tenth anniversary. In accordance with the agency’s web site, the workplace is house to 32 attorneys, together with eight companions. The workplace will shut by the top of the calendar 12 months.

The agency’s consulting follow, which is now often called Consulting by A&O Shearman, can even be wound down. The consulting enterprise was launched in 2018 after A&O recognized a necessity to supply non-legal regulatory recommendation to monetary providers purchasers.

‘These reshaping measures, alongside the opposite strategic initiatives that we’re progressively implementing, are designed to unlock the expansion alternatives envisioned by our merger, setting the stage for future long-term success’, managing accomplice Hervé Ekué stated in an announcement.

‘We by no means take choices like this frivolously, notably once they have an effect on our individuals’, he added. ‘We’re very grateful to the companions who will probably be leaving the agency, in addition to to our groups in Johannesburg and Consulting for his or her contributions over time. This can be a tough however mandatory step ahead. We’re assured within the alternatives that lie forward as we proceed to realize distinctive outcomes for purchasers and solidify our place as a brand new business chief.‘

Whereas it has been extensively anticipated that the merger of A&O and Shearman & Sterling would end in important job losses, the agency stated that redundancies could be restricted to its fairness partnership, the Johannesburg workplace and the consulting enterprise, with ‘no additional plans for a firmwide worker (each fee-earner and non-fee earner) redundancy programme.’

The agency has seen a lot of high-profile departures for the reason that Might merger. In July, former non-public capital sector co-head Philip Bowden moved to Proskauer with acquisition finance accomplice Megan Lawrence. Bowden ran for senior accomplice at pre-merger A&O twice, dropping to incumbent Wim Dejonghe in 2020 and to then-interim managing accomplice Khalid Garousha in 2024. In the meantime, leveraged finance accomplice Vanessa Xu left pre-merger A&O for Kirkland in April.

On the similar time, the agency has continued to make lateral hires, with the newest additions coming earlier this week when it introduced the recruitment of Sidley Austin non-public fairness companions Dan Graham and Paul Dunbar in London.

alexander.ryan@legalbusiness.co.uk