Mallesons Stephen Jaques and King & Wood have announced the combination of their firms to create King & Wood Mallesons, a new legal powerhouse centred in Asia.
Effective from 1 March 2012, this will be the first verein alliance law firm of its type in the world, combining a Chinese and Western law firm. With over 380 partners and 1800 lawyers it will be the largest law firm in Asia, the largest firm in the world headquartered outside of the US and UK, and a market leader in three of the world’s most dynamic economies: Mainland China, Australia and Hong Kong.
Situated in these markets, King & Wood Mallesons is perfectly positioned to capitalise on the growing importance of the Asian economies. The combination is driven by the desire to support clients who are seeking a streamlined service to help them to realise the significant opportunities in Asia-Pacific markets. It reflects the need to re-orientate around Asia as the new economic centre of gravity, accounting for over half of the world’s GDP by 2050 and with China’s economy forecasted to overtake that of the US in real terms in 2016.
King & Wood Chairman, Wang Junfeng, will be the Chairman of the combined firm. Stuart Fuller, who succeeds Robert Milliner as Chief Executive Partner of Mallesons on 1 January 2012, will become Global Managing Partner of the combined firm, based in Hong Kong.
Wang Junfeng said: “The combination of King & Wood and Mallesons creates a regional powerhouse for legal services with a shared vision to create a global law firm in Asia. Our combined network will allow us to better support clients as they seek to take advantage of the opportunities in Asian markets. In particular, this combination offers an unrivalled platform to help international businesses within Mainland China and Chinese companies and investors as they ‘go out’ to global markets.”
Robert Milliner, Chief Executive Partner of Mallesons, said: “The strategic rationale for this combination is compelling. Clients will benefit from the combination of Mallesons’ cross-border transaction skills as well as its management capabilities, together with King & Wood’s unrivalled expertise and deep relationships in China.”
Wang Ling, Managing Partner of King & Wood added: “Mallesons is one of the best managed law firms in the world, and we are excited to be joining with them and to further developing the professionalisation and internationalisation of our services to clients.”
Stuart Fuller said: “From day one, we will drive an integrated offer. With a common approach to clients, the markets in which we work and the services that we will offer, the combined firm will provide innovative business solutions and insight into the region’s key markets. We share common values, and our approach to who we recruit, and how we retain and nurture our talent is closely aligned. All in all, the combination of the two firms creates an outstanding opportunity for our clients, our people and our firms.”
