Winston, Taylor Wessing London Talks Led to ‘Compelling’ Merger

When Winston & Strawn’s Stephen D’Amore met Taylor Wessing’s Shane Gleghorn for the first time in London earlier this year, they saw similarities in their businesses.

The meeting led to formal merger talks, and on Dec. 15 they announced a deal. Both firms’ leaders said they see a transatlantic tieup coming from a place of opportunity rather than necessity.

“Someone asked me the other day whether a combination like this was necessary for purposes of competitive survival,” D’Amore, Winston & Strawn’s chair, said in an interview. “I reject that as a premise. It is a compelling transaction that we both want.”

The combination of Winston, one of the oldest law firms in Chicago, and the UK’s Taylor Wessing would create a 1,400-lawyer operation that both leaders feel confident will deliver on their individual goals. D’Amore said his firm has wanted a strong presence in London, while Gleghorn described Taylor Wessing’s goal of getting access to US markets.

“If you look at the relative financial performance of the two organizations, they’re both on the up,” said Gleghorn, Taylor Wessing’s UK-based managing partner. The merger brings “macro-success of the combined organization, but also micro-economic success for all of the participants, for all the partners,” he said.

The planned merger, set for a vote of both firms’ partnerships at the end of next month, would create a juggernaut that the firms say would bring in about $1.75 billion in revenue. Based on the most recent American Lawyer rankings for 2025, Winston Taylor would rank as the 31st largest firm by revenue, up from 46th, where Winston & Strawn ranked.

The announced deal came as law firms are increasingly looking at mergers as a way to grow scale while demand for legal services grows only modestly. A Citi report released earlier this month found that demand growth of less than 2% will likely prompt more consolidation in the law firm marketplace, whether that be through lateral hiring or mergers.

Seattle’s Perkins Coie and UK law firm Ashurst are expected to merge next year, while Manhattan’s Kramer Levin and UK-Australia firm Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer officially combined in June. UK’s Allen & Overy and New York’s Shearman & Sterling combined to form A&O Shearman in May 2024.

Leadership Roles

D’Amore, a Chicago-based trial lawyer who has led Winston & Strawn for one-and-a-half years, will chair the new firm, while London-based Gleghorn, a banking and fraud litigator who has led Taylor Wessing UK for seven years, will serve as managing partner of Europe and the Middle East.

Steve D’Amore

Winston & Strawn

Renowned Winston litigators Dan Webb and Jeffrey Kessler will retain their co-executive chair titles in the new law firm. Nicholas Warr, the former head of Taylor Wessing’s international private wealth group and chair of its supervisory council, will also retain his title as senior partner.

Other leadership positions in the combined firm will be sorted out ahead of the merger’s completion in May 2026, D’Amore said.

As a result of the merger, Taylor Wessing’s UK-led business will exit the Taylor Wessing verein to combine with Winston. Taylor Wessing Netherlands will exit the verein and will enter into an agreement with the newly combined Winston Taylor to operate under its brand. Winston Taylor will have a referral relationship with the remainder of the Taylor Wessing verein.

Compensation

The similarities between the two firms the leaders saw and liked when they met in London included revenue growth.

Taylor Wessing’s UK arm touts 15% revenue growth in its most recent year compared with the previous period, according to the firm. Winston & Strawn grew revenue nearly 7% year-over-year based on figures the firm reported to the American Lawyer for fiscal 2024.

The leaders also saw similarities in how the two firms deal with partner compensation, D’Amore said. The combined firm will have a single pool through which profits are shared among the new partnership.

Winston & Strawn brings a client base that includes Abbott Laboratories Inc., Cisco Systems Inc., and Comcast Corp. Taylor Wessing is known for work in technology, life sciences and private wealth.

The combined firm’s strengths will include major litigation, critical transactions, strategic intellectual property and private wealth, D’Amore said.

Clients have a “desire to have one team across the Atlantic,” he said, “that can help them in their global operations in the areas that matter most—the areas that drive capital and that drive innovation.”