Simmons puts China and Germany growth ahead of US merger
Simmons & Simmons has put finding a US merger on the backburner, preferring to focus on investment in Germany and China.
Mark Dawkins
Managing partner Mark Dawkins told The Lawyer that, although the firm was not pursuing a US merger, last year’s talks with Mayer Brown made him realise “that we sometimes underestimate how strong our name and reputation are”.
The major attraction of Mayer Brown was the opportunity it would have given Simmons to bulk up in China. Four years ago Simmons shelved plans to open in Beijing after regional managing partner Huen Wong left for Fried Frank with a seven-partner team. Now Simmons has lured back one of the partners and has reapplied for a licence in the Chinese capital.
Dawkins also said Simmons’ German practice had “nearly trebled in size over the past six years”.
“We’ve focused on bringing in quality and that’s paid huge dividends, as we now have a strong and highly regarded practice in Germany, which we expect to continue to grow,” he added.
The comments were made as Dawkins prepares to hand over the reins to Jeremy Hoyland in May.
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Readers' comments (7)
Anonymous | 10-Jan-2011 9:19 am
“We’ve focused on bringing in quality and that’s paid huge dividends..." Really? In the last few weeks, 3 prominent corporate partners have jumped ship!!! One of them has left with no future plans in place.
So really, seems like talent is being lost, impacting the Simmons' brand and reputation. This further makes the firm unattractive for a merger, hence its reprioritisation to leave mergers on the back burner.
Things are definitely not looking good for Simmons who have been in the headlines now for all the wrong reasons...lost talent, failed merger talks, declining billings…after this, could be more bad news or more of the same bad news…
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Anonymous | 10-Jan-2011 11:47 am
Why does it need to focus on one or the other? Simmons is increasingly sub-scale and needs a merger. This would also provide increased resources for expansion in emerging markets.
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simon | 10-Jan-2011 1:59 pm
After large partners departures from China, Germany and Italy; it is time for the London headquarters to see exodus of key partners. What a future US merger candidate will find in the wedding basket ?
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Anonymous | 13-Jan-2011 6:02 pm
The above comments are ill-informed. Are you in a position to know whether those three corporate departures are regretted losses?
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Anonymous | 14-Jan-2011 2:33 pm
To the writer on 13-Jan-2011 6:02 pm: Are those three above you in a position to know whether those three corporate departures are regretted losses? Maybe not however, that's not worth the paper it's written on!!! The industry seems to think very much that the losses are regretted and perception plays a powerful ingredient into the final recipe called "BILLINGS" something that Simmons desperately needs. In fact, perception is what drives a market's performance, let alone a firm's performance.
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Anonymous | 15-Jan-2011 5:02 pm
And in reply....................you are insufficiently well-informed about the strategy for the firm to make that comment. Sorry.
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Anonymous | 19-Jan-2011 10:33 am
What now for Simmons China Strategy. They were not given a licence to open in Beijing last year.
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