A&O Top Leader Will Take Charge If Shearman Merger Vote Approved

Allen & Overy’s current senior leadership will head the combined operation of A&O Shearman & Sterling, if the deal is approved.

Senior partner Wim Dejonghe and managing partner Khalid Garousha will lead the newly combined firm in their current roles, according to several people with knowledge of the situation.

Current Shearman senior partner Adam Hakki is expected to play a senior role in the new firm’s leadership, including sitting on its executive committee, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.

Hakki has been instrumental in discussions with Dejonghe to forge the deal.

“While the principles for shared governance of the combined firm have been agreed, the specifics will be further developed after the vote as part of the integration process,” a joint statement from both firms said.

Other leadership roles will be formalized prior to the merger’s completion, people familiar with discussions said. The firms are aiming to complete the merger no later than May 2024.

Partners at both firms began voting on whether to approve the merger on Sept. 28, with the vote scheduled to close Oct. 13.

Dejonghe and Garousha may not have long in their roles to oversee the nascent combined firm.

Both the senior and managing partner positions at A&O currently run until May. 1.

Garousha, who took up the managing partner role on a caretaker basis following the sudden departure of predecessor Gareth Price, is unlikely to run again for the role, according to two partners at the firm.

Dejonghe is in his second term as senior partner and served two terms as managing partner prior to that. Currently, A&O’s partnership deed prevents someone running for a third term in either role. Dejonghe has previously declined to say whether he will seek another leadership role at the newly combined outfit.

The transformative deal would create a global firm with more than 3,900 lawyers and $3.4 billion in combined revenue.

Dejonghe and Hakki have spent months visiting offices across the globe to drum up enthusiasm for the merger.

As well as formal hustings from management, both firms have organized get togethers for their rank and file partners ahead of the vote.

Several meetings have been held since the summer for groups of partners across the US, UK and Europe. Partners have been encouraged to socialize but avoid discussing information such as compensation and other sensitive areas, according to people at A&O.