China’s King & Wood has voted in favour of a union with Australian firm Mallesons Stephen Jaques, following preliminary discussions in July and a vote of support by partners at Mallesons in late November.
The two firms will combine under a Swiss verein structure in March 2012 under the name King & Wood Mallesons, boasting 1,800 lawyers across 21 offices, including a presence in London and New York.
The union takes King & Wood closer to becoming the first Chinese law firm to globalise operations, and is in line with Mallesons’ ambition to later combine with both a US and UK firm.