The law firm of Squire, Sanders & Dempsey will combine with the one of Western Australia’s oldest and most progressive law firms, on October 1st, Minter Ellison
This is the firm’s second major expansion this year, and the combination greatly increases Squire Sanders’ presence in the quickly growing Asia Pacific market.
With the combination of the firms, Squire Sanders will have over 1,300 lawyers in 36 offices and 17 countries. This includes the eighty plus attorneys from Minter Ellison, as well as the 500 plus attorneys in Europe who joined Squire Sanders via the January 2011 combination with former United Kingdom firm Hammonds.
As ranked by The American Lawyer’s Global 100, the combined global legal practice is among the top 20 by headcount, as well as one of the 15 largest US-based legal practices, per the National Law Journal’s NLJ 250, according to a press release at the firm’s website. And, with anticipated revenue of $725 million, the combined practice will be among the top firms ranked in Legal Business’ Global 100.
James J. Maiwurm, Squire Sanders chair and chief executive officer, was quoted as saying: “Our growth is guided by our clients’ evolving business needs. We gauge success by our clients’ enthusiasm and interest in legal services that provide more value on a global scale.”
Maiwurm explained that attorneys in Tokyo and Washington D.C. recently worked with Western Australian lawyers on a client’s energy project. As well, Western Australian lawyers collaborated with the London office to provide advice to a global company doing business in Australia.
Perth managing partner John Poulsen was quoted as saying: “Our clients very quickly sized up the benefits to be had by working with an established cost-effective Western Australia firm that now has global reach. I am very pleased by our clients’ overwhelmingly positive reaction.”
James Maiwurm has over three decades of experience as a business and transactional lawyer. He focuses his practice on the representation of a diverse range of businesses, from technology startups to Fortune 50 manufacturers, in private equity infusions, public offerings and sophisticated domestic and international acquisitions, dispositions, financings and joint ventures.
Maiwurm’s wealth of experience includes implementing turnaround initiatives, dealing with clients all over the world, negotiating and managing major asset dispositions, orchestrating debt restructurings, and building relationships with bondholders, stockholders, joint venture partners, employees and customers. As well as being active in a variety of community organizations, he has served on the boards of a variety of companies, and is listed in Who’s Who in America, as well as several other Who’s Who directories.
John Poulsen is the Managing Partner of Minter Ellison’s Perth office. He has played a significant role in improving the consistency and quality of service provided by the Perth team. Under his leadership, staff engagement has increased, and turnover has decreased. This has served to improve client relationships and quality of service, and contributed to the overall growth of the firm. John has been recognized as one of Western Australia’s leading finance lawyers and acted for leading financiers including the four major banks, Macquarie Bank, Babcock & Brown, St. George and Rabobank.
Founded in 1890 in Cleveland, Ohio, global law firm Squire, Sanders & Dempsey has 36 offices in 16 countries.
Minter Ellison has been ranked the largest Australian-based international law firm, with offices in 14 cities and five countries.