Heller Ehrman in merger talks with Mayer Brown

US firm Heller Ehrman is understood to be in talks with Mayer Brown, just two weeks after the collapse of Heller’s talks with Baker & McKenzie.

London-based global vice chairman Paul Maher refused to confirm or deny the tie-up, adding: “We don’t comment on rumours or speculation.”

San Francisco, California-headquartered Heller has been at the centre of merger rumours throughout the summer. Other targets are thought to have included Winston & Strawn and Proskauer Rose.

In June chairman Matt Larrabee told The Lawyer that a merger was one of the options his firm was considering, but that no decision had been taken.

At the beginning of 2008, Mayer Brown merged with Hong Kong firm Johnson Stokes & Master in a bid to expand its global reach (The Lawyer, 7 January).

Heller Ehrman has offices across the US as well as in London, Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong.