Law firms’ merger goes live as SJ Berwin completes its tie-up
SJ BERWIN will this morning officially combine with King & Wood Mallesons to create a law firm with turnover of $1bn and more than 2,700 staff worldwide.
The combined firm will be headquartered in Asia, and is to be known as King & Wood Mallesons everywhere except in Europe, where it will keep the name King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin in the UK, Europe and the Middle East for a transitional period.
Wang Junfeng – the founding partner King & Wood, which merged with Australia’s Mallesons in 2012 – will be global chairman of the new firm, with Stuart Fuller as managing partner and SJ Berwin’s current senior partner Stephen Kon as the combined group’s co-deputy chairman.
“Since announcing the combination on 31 July we have seen a significant increase in the number of our clients exploring the potential opportunities of the Asia market, with the firm already working on numerous joint matters and having completed a number of them,” said Fuller.
The firm will operate across 30 offices under a Swiss Verein financial structure.
It will have more than 2,700 lawyers including more than 550 partners.