Reed Smith finally secured its long-sought-after Chicago merger this week when it completed a deal with 140-lawyer Sachnoff & Weaver (see page 12).

The ambitious US firm, which has grown from humble origins in Pittsburgh, is now bedding down in two fairly major mergers. (For those that haven’t been paying attention, Reed Smith is also merging with Richards Butler in the UK.)

Dynamic chairman Greg Jordan will not rest easy though. Texas and China are next on the hit list and Jordan hopes to add a Richards Butler-sized acquisition in New York before the year’s out.

Jordan has openly expressed his admiration for Orrick’s similarly ambitious chairman Ralph Baxter. Along with DLA Piper‘s Nigel Knowles, they form a triumvirate of merger-happy globalisers, who are all regarded as gurus by their partners.

Knowles and Baxter’s fight for the global mid-market has been most amusing. Baxter and Jordan are friends and both hail from the same hometown. Is it a little premature to imagine them forming a Stop Knowles Alliance? Get the latest news and an irreverent commentary delivered to your desktop every Wednesday by subscribing to Lawyer News Weekly.

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