Integration is a word bandied around a lot in the year following a law firm merger. But rarely is there agreement on the ideal timeframe in which this can be achieved, or indeed on what is the right means to create a so-called “shared culture”.

At some firms, post-merger, partners seem unsure of why the tie up has occurred in the first place. But in the case of Squire Sanders and Patton Boggs, there seems to be no delaying.