Seven years before Allen & Overy merged with Shearman & Sterling, CMS masterminded what was at the time the biggest law firm merger the U.K. market ever seen, with CMS Cameron McKenna combining with Olswang and Nabarro.
Since then, the firm has made little secret of its quest for a U.S. presence, with managing partner Stephen Millar saying in 2018 that “it would put us into quite a different place”, especially given that the firm considers New York, Silicon Valley and Houston “important centres for us”, given its purported strengths in financial services, tech and energy.