The law firm of K&L Gates LLP has announced that it is in merger discussions with the Australian national law firm known as Middletons. Should the two firms complete a successful merger, there will be 2,000 lawyers working for the firm in 45 offices across North and South America, Australia, Asia, Europe and the Middle East.
“Our leadership teams believe that the client-driven consolidation and globalization evident in the market for legal services will continue unabated and the potential synergies that would arise from the combination of our firms deserve (and are receiving) serious consideration,” Peter J. Kalis and Nick Nichola said. Kalis is the Chairman and Global Managing Partner for K&L Gatessaid K&L Gates. Nichola is the National Managing Partner for Middletons.
The merger talks between the two law firms have been in the works for a couple of months now. Before the 2012 year comes to an end, formal proposals for a merger will be presented to each firm.
From the press release published by K&L Gates: “In addition to expanding the combined firm’s global platform to a fifth continent and fortifying its position in the Asia-Pacific Region, the combination would allow the firm to capitalize on shared practice strengths in areas such as corporate, energy and resources, banking and financial services, labor law and industrial relations, litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property, infrastructure and projects, real estate, competition and regulatory, technology, biotechnology and life sciences, and capital markets, among others.”