King & Wood Mallesons and SJ Berwin have announced that they will combine to increase their global reach and capabilities.

SJ Berwin will join the King & Wood Mallesons network on Nov. 1, 2013. Although the UK firm will change its name to King & Wood Mallesons, it will temporarily operate under the name King & Wood Mallesons SJ Berwin in the UK, Europe and the Middle East.

Following the combination, King & Wood Mallesons will have more than 2,700 lawyers, including around 550 partners in 30 offices across Asia, the United States, Europe and the Middle East.

The combined revenue of the two law firms is more than $1 billion.

King & Wood Mallesons, which was formed last March through a merger between China’s King & Wood and Australia’s Mallesons Stephen Jaques, operates under a Swiss Verein structure. SJ Berwin will join the Verein from Nov. 1 this year.

Kanishk Verghese is North Asia journalist at ALB. Follow us on Twitter: @ALB_Magazine.

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