But almost all the top New York firms are adamant that they have no interest at all in merging with a London firm. Nevertheless, competitors are watching to see whether the combined firm does, in fact, win a lot more international business. There are other obstacles to big New York-London mergers. Lawyers are prickly, and merger partners often fall out on the way to the altar. Even in successful mergers, keeping all the partners happy is often impossible.
Pay is another stumbling block.
In addition, most top-tier New York firms also share profits among partners based on how much business each brings in. But there is no agreement on how firms can provide this. Most New York firms scoff at these arguments. It is convinced that this will not hamper its ability to win work on the biggest transactions. Bob Joffe, Cravath's presiding partner, maintains that the most demanding and lucrative international assignments will always go to firms with the highest-quality lawyers, not those with the most lawyers in the most places.