UK-founded Ashurst is set to merge with US law firm Perkins Coie, in a landmark deal set to create a top 20 global law firm by gross revenue.
The combined firm – to be known as Ashurst Perkins Coie – will have 3,000 lawyers across more than 50 offices and is expected to have annual revenues of around $2.7bn. It will focus on the technology, energy and infrastructure and financial services sectors, Ashurst said.
The merger is expected to close in Q3 of 2026, subject to a partner vote at both firms. The combined firm will be led by Ashurst CEO Paul Jenkins and Perkins Coie managing partner Bill Malley as global co-CEOs.
“Our ambition for many years has been to grow in the US with the right partner: a firm with deep, trusted expertise that complements our own,” Jenkins said in a statement. “We have now found that partner – Perkins Coie is an ambitious, forward-thinking law firm meeting its clients at the forefront of technological change.”
The tie-up is the latest in a string of large transatlantic law firm mergers, following Allen & Overy’s $3.5bn combination with New York’s Shearman & Sterling last year and the formation of HSF Kramer in June, as firms seek greater scale to outpace rivals and shore up profits.
The merger will combine Perkins Coie’s tech sector focus alongside its corporate, litigation and IP expertise and privacy, fintech, environmental and life sciences practices with Ashurst’s complex cross-border transactions offering expertise in the energy, financial services and real estate sectors.
Jenkins told the Financial Times the merger would be “50-50” in all respects, including membership of the combined firm’s board and leadership team, and that the firms would be fully integrated and pool profits.
The two firms are broadly similar in terms of revenue – Ashurst’s 1,600 lawyers brought in just over £1bn ($1.3bn) in FY25, its ninth consecutive year of growth, while Perkins Coie had turnover of just under $1.3bn in 2024, according to data published by Law.com. Profit per equity partner was also close – £1.39m ($1.83m) at Ashurst compared to $1.9m for Perkins Coie.
Ashurst Perkins Coie’s leadership will also include co-chairs Karen Davies, Ashurst’s chair, and Brian Eiting, co-chair of Perkins Coie. Mark Birnbaum, the current chair of Perkins Coie’s executive committee, whose regular term expires at the end of 2025, will continue serving in that role through closing. The combined firm will not have a single headquarters and will instead have “hubs” in Seattle, London, Sydney and New York.
The merger hands Ashurst the footprint in the lucrative US market so valued by international law firms. Almost all of Perkins Coie’s roughly 1,060 lawyers are based across 17 US offices, alongside small teams in Taipei, London and a Beijing base the firm is set to close as it refocuses its Chinese operations on the booming southern city of Shenzhen.
Perkins Coie’s Malley said the tie-up would help the firm to meet the increasingly cross-border needs of its clients and that Ashurst complemented its geographic reach and capabilities. Ashurst, which merged with Australia’s Blake Dawson more than a decade ago, has 30 offices across 18 countries, including three in the US in Austin, Los Angeles and New York.
“Together, we will combine resources and expertise to accelerate growth and set new standards for world-class legal service,” Malley added in a statement.
Kent Zimmermann, a principal at Zeughauser Group who advised on the merger, said it was a “transformational deal” that would create a firm with a “deeper and higher profile in areas for which it aspires to be known”.
“In the legal industry, firms that develop greater depth of quality and profile in chosen areas of focus typically see a reinforcing cycle: a deeper bench and larger practice in given areas leads to higher visibility; higher visibility leads to increased demand and access to more desirable work and talent; and that, in turn, drives greater productivity, higher rates and enhanced profitability,” he said.
“Scale also enables a data advantage. Firms with larger practices in areas they chose to focus on are often able to gather and use more data to win pitches and deliver superior client outcomes. That data advantage becomes even more powerful when combined with the traditional benefits of scale – more money to spend on comp and to invest in the firm’s future, and a larger revenue base over which to spread rising compensation and other expenses and from which to benefit as rates compound year after year.”
Executive order
Ashurst and Perkins Coie began talks early this year, with the deal agreed despite the latter being hit with an executive order by US president Donald Trump in March that a judge said posed an “existential risk” to the firm. The order was later blocked by a federal court, although the Department of Justice has said it will appeal the ruling.
Their tie-up comes amid increased merger activity involving US law firms, with 47 completed in the first three quarters of 2025, according to Fairfax Associates, up from 43 in 2024.
Activity was focused on small and mid-size firms, though there was one large merger – defined by both firms having at least 100 lawyers – in Q3 between McDermott Will & Emery and Schulte Roth & Zabel. The deal created a top-15 US firm by revenue when it went live at the start of August.
While the bulk of US merger activity remains domestic, Robert Bata, principal at strategic advisers WarwickPlace Legal, which also advised on the deal, predicted there was "much more to come" when it came to international deals, with his consultancy "seeing enormous interest from major players, ranging from leading internationals to regionals to classic independents, in developing and executing cross-border market entry strategies".
He said: “The drive among leading law firms for a global presence is accelerating in response to opportunities in emerging practice areas and geographical locations. In addition, practices in M&A, private equity, infrastructure development, capital markets, tech, private credit and cross-border dispute resolution remain vibrant, with significant international growth potential. The Ashurst Perkins Coie transaction responds spot on to this business environment."
Client opportunity
Zimmermann said a compelling aspect of Ashurst and Perkins Coie’s combination was the immediate client opportunity, with partners in the merged firm well positioned to serve historic Ashurst clients with needs in the US in Perkins Coie’s areas of strength, as well as historic Perkins Coie clients with needs globally in Ashurst’s areas of strength.
“This unlocks the development of more large, institutionalised client relationships across more practices and geographies – a priority for nearly every major firm because it creates stickier relationships and durable competitive advantage, particularly for clients that pay a firm’s rates and use it for its strengths,” he said.
Zimmermann added that the wave of law firm mergers was set to continue, as firms pursue M&A in response to intensified competition, alongside adapting their compensation models and partnership structures and ramping up lateral hires.
“We’re currently working on term sheets for some clients, developing and testing the business case for others,” he said. “For others that aren’t as far along, we’re advising on which prospective partner firms have sufficient cultural and strategic alignment to merit a closer look and a preliminary conversation.”
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