Leading law firms Withers and Speechly Bircham have said that merger talks that were first announced in March this year (see eprivateclient 25/03/2013) have been called off after both firms agreed that a merger would not be advantageous for either party.

In a joint statement the firms said that “following detailed discussions between the management and partnerships of Withers and Speechly Bircham, both sides have now concluded that a merger would not be in the best interests of both firms and have agreed not to pursue this further. The talks have enhanced the respect that both firms have for...