The firms likely would have merged in May 2027
European firm Taylor Wessing and global firm Stephenson Harwood have scrapped plans to combine, reported the Law Society Gazette.
The firms reached a mutual decision to discontinue the combination after initial discussions, they said in a joint statement. Taylor Wessing and Stephenson Harwood partners were scheduled to vote on the merger by the end of the year.
The combination would have likely happened in May 2027.
“Both firms have been impressed by each other’s businesses and market positioning. Following constructive talks, we have mutually agreed not to take the proposed merger forward. We have valued the opportunity to get to know each other better and wish each other every success for the future,” the firms said in the joint statement, a snippet of which was published by the Gazette.
The combination was initially publicized last month after it came out that Taylor Wessing and Stephenson Harwood were discussing the creation of a fully integrated firm. In the same month, Stephenson Harwood announced the departure of chief executive Eifion Morris from the leadership role on December 31, with global banking and finance head James Linforth being named as Morris’ replacement.
At the time, Stephenson Harwood said that the management change would not affect the talks with Taylor Wessing; nor would the new appointment impact Stephenson Harwood’s strategy, priorities, and international growth commitment.
In May of this year, Taylor Wessing’s UK arm merged with Winston & Strawn LLP to birth Winston Taylor, which operates across the US and the UK. The entity also included Taylor Wessing the Netherlands and Belgium; it employs over 1,400 lawyers across the US, the UK, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East.
Winston Taylor also entered into a cooperation and referral arrangement with Taylor Wessing verein, in Germany and elsewhere – a merger that created “a transatlantic law firm in the major hubs of innovation and capital in the US, Europe, and the Middle East,” said Shane Gleghorn, Taylor Wessing UK’s managing partner, in a February 2026 media release.
As a result of the Winston Taylor combination, Taylor Wessing broke away as an independent European firm in June.
In late October, merger talks between Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP also broke down, leading to Weil's announcement that it would be winding down.
