US litigation law firm Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan has confirmed it had preliminary talks over a possible merger with Washington DC firm Williams & Connolly. Managing partner John Quinn said that the firms had met but it was 'very preliminary and we don't know what, if anything, will come of this.' However, Dane Butswinkas, chairman of Williams & Connolly, denied any plans to merge with Quinn Emanuel, saying that his firm was 'happy just the way we are. We have no plans to merge with them or any other law firm.'

Discussions

According to Legal Business which broke the story, discussions between the two began in the past month. Williams & Connolly has a turnover of $420 million whilst Quinn has global revenues of $1.2bn and a profit per equity partner at more than $5m compared with Williams & Connolly where it is $1.6m.