Ashurst and Perkins Coie complete law firm merger

Ashurst and Perkins Coie have completed their planned combination, formally creating Ashurst Perkins Coie as a globally integrated law firm spanning 52 offices in 20 countries and regions.

The merged firm brings together more than 950 partners and 3,500 client-facing practitioners, with major hubs in Seattle, London, Sydney and New York. The combination follows partner approval earlier this year and completes a transaction uniting two firms with established international practices and what the firm described as a shared focus on innovation and AI-enabled legal services.

Focus on key sectors

Ashurst Perkins Coie said it will center its work on clients in technology, energy and infrastructure, and financial services. According to the firm, those sectors sit at the heart of global economic transformation and are increasingly overlapping through the growing use of artificial intelligence.

The firm said its lawyers will advise on complex cross-border transactions, high-value litigation and regulatory matters, combining global market knowledge with practical legal expertise for clients working across multiple jurisdictions.

Bill Malley said the firm would concentrate on industries driving global economic change, particularly technology, energy and infrastructure, and financial services. He added that the increasing convergence of those sectors through AI creates new opportunities for clients and that the combined firm aims to help businesses navigate those developments.

Paul Jenkins said Ashurst Perkins Coie enters the market with the ambition of becoming a leading global adviser to companies shaping the future economy. He said the merger provides the scale, capability and sector focus needed to help clients address increasingly complex cross-border legal challenges.

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Leadership and structure

The new firm is led by Global Co-CEOs Bill Malley and Paul Jenkins. Karen Davies and Brian Eiting are serving as Global Co-Chairs, in line with the leadership structure announced before the merger was completed.

Karen Davies said the firm’s long-term success would depend on its people and highlighted collaboration, professional judgement and client service as shared values across the combined organisation.

Brian Eiting said innovation has been a longstanding part of both firms’ histories and that Ashurst Perkins Coie intends to build on that legacy while continuing to develop its technological capabilities.

Ashurst Perkins Coie also said it has organized its business into eight divisions designed to reflect client demand, market opportunities and the firm’s sector expertise.

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