“Everyone sees it as more positive than linking us to [Scots firm] Maclays but people need to know a lot more before they form a view,” says one Addleshaw Goddard partner of the firm’s merger talks with Hunton & Williams.

The news, which broke on Tuesday, has not been confirmed by either firm, but insiders at Addleshaws told Legal Week that discussions with the US firm have been in progress for up to nine months.