Blake Dawson merges with Ashurst

The seemingly never-ending parade of global law firms hitting Australian shores is continuing, with Ashurst’s Asia-Pacific division announcing it will merge with local firm Blake Dawson.

Blake Dawson will be rebranded as Ashurst in Australia, by next year, while the full merger would be completed by 2014.

The law firms said the combination of their Asian practices would provide scale, depth and reach in the fastest growing region in the world.

Ashurst senior partner Charlie Geffen said there was a great deal of synergy between the two companies.

Ashurst has 230 partners and 900 lawyers in 16 locations around the globe, while Blake Dawson has 192 partners, 828 lawyers in offices around Australia, China, Indonesia, Singapore and Japan.

“We are confident that the initial combination will materially strengthen our businesses in the Asia Pacific region and also allow us to create significant momentum in achieving our goal of being among a small group of premier global law firms,” Mr Geffen said in a statement.

The local law sector is flush with high-profile UK-based firms, beginning with the arrival UK giant Allen & Overy to Perth just over a year ago via the recruitment of about a dozen Clayton Utz partners.

Fellow UK 'golden circle' firm Clifford Chance moved into the Australian market when it merged with Perth’s Cochrane Lishman Carson Luscombe and Sydney’s Chang, Pistilli & Simmons in May.

In other moves, the Australian practice of Deacons became Norton Rose Australia and has officially joined the UK-based Norton Rose Group while Phillips Fox joined the DLA network and now trades as DLA Piper.

In August, US-based Squire Sanders & Dempsey announced plans for a merger with the local office of Minter Ellison.

And last week, UK-based law firm Holman Fenwick Willan officially opened its Perth office, five years after entering the Australian market through Melbourne in 2006.