US penchant for business casual is a test for transatlantic tie-up
There are many wonderful things about transatlantic mergers: offices in exciting places, new colleagues infused with American positivity and niceness, and of course access to a legal market worth a staggering $437 billion (£340 billion).
But there are downsides, too: the pressure to work longer hours to keep up with superior US productivity, the awkward chats about politics with the Make America Great Again contingent, the terrible coffee, the popular embrace of business casual wear…
Which brings us to the law firm-branded fleece gilet (pictured above) that Womble Bond Dickinson’s US arm is flogging, along with a host of other awful pieces of clobber, from its new ‘Team Store’ (strapline: ‘Telling our brand’s story through amazing products’).
It’s safe to say that it wasn’t this aspect of Womble Carlyle that drove the UK’s Bond Dickinson into its arms when the two hooked up last year to create a megafirm with revenues of approximately £340 million, and over 420 partners and 1,000 lawyers across 24 offices globally.
The Womble Bond Dickinson Team store — which was first spotted by RollOnFriday — also features branded goods for the home, the office and the golf course.
So far the Womble Bond Dickinson merger has been considered a success, albeit in a buoyant market without any major headwinds. How the firm collectively deals with its branded fleece gilet will surely be the first real test.
