Merger talks between Ashurst Morris Crisp, the UK law firm, and US counterpart Fried Frank Harris Shriver & Jacobson have collapsed.

The merger was scrapped because the two firms, which had been in talks for about a year, were not persuaded that the long-term benefits would have been worth the upheaval. They said in a joint statement: "Together we have concluded that there are too many uncertainties in the path of completing a combination of two partnerships of substantial size and histories."