Coudert aims for equality in Squire Sanders merger

Coudert Brothers is attempting to secure a merger of equals with a firm that dwarves it in terms of revenue, average profits and lawyer numbers.

As first revealed on www.thelawyer.com last week, Coudert is in the throes of a 30-day due diligence on Squire Sanders & Dempsey, after five months of discussions.

Coudert’s management told its partners: “We emphasise that this is a potential combination among equals… Coudert has proceeded throughout the process from a position of strength, and if a combination with [Squire Sanders] were to occur, the name of the new firm would begin with Coudert.”

For the last financial year, Squire Sanders reported total revenue of $375.5m (£206.8m), 30 per cent more than Coudert’s $262m (£144.3m), according to The American Lawyer.

Average profits per partner at Squire Sanders topped $525,000 (£289,000) compared with Coudert’s $420,000 (£231,000), a drop of 11.6 per cent on 2002. Squire Sanders has 705 lawyers to Coudert’s 630.