New BigLaw giant
The transatlantic merger between Taylor Wessing’s UK arm and US player Winston & Strawn has officially gone live today, creating a new BigLaw beast boasting over 1,400 lawyers and revenues of £1.3 billion.
News that the firms were in discussions over a potential deal first emerged late last year, and partners eventually gave the green light in January. Training contract seekers, take note: the new firm is called Winston Taylor.
Commenting on the merger finally going live, firm chairman Steve D’Amore said:
“As Winston Taylor, we are centred on a client-first approach and will be working shoulder to shoulder with our clients at the cutting edge of industry and ingenuity. “With that common purpose, we are leveraging both strength and scale by integrating our teams and offices at record speed, working at pace to create a firm that is aligned, focused, and built for the day-to-day needs of our clients as well as their breakthrough moments.”
At this stage, there’s still no word on what trainee and newly qualified (NQ) salaries will look like at the newly formed firm. Prior to the merger, Winston & Strawn led the way, with first-year trainees earning £56,000, rising to £61,000 in year two and £160,000 on qualification. Taylor Wessing’s salaries were lower but still competitive, at £52,000, £57,000 and £115,000 for NQs respectively.
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