Herbert Smith and Freehills have agreed to a full equity merger. The new firm, Herbert Smith Freehills, will have 2,800 lawyers and will launch on October 1.
The combined firm's intellectual property department will have 19 partners and a total of 100 fee earners, including associates.
Mark Shillito (opposite, bottom) leads the Herbert Smith IP practice and Sue Gilchrist (opposite, top) leads the team from Freehills. The leadership structure of the combined IP department has yet to be decided.