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Innovation is our tradition: Ashurst Perkins Coie launches as a globally integrated law firm
Leading global firm Ashurst has been advising on African matters for more than half of its 200-year history. Now it has merged with US-headquartered Perkins Coie, creating a firm with 52 offices worldwide, across 20 countries and regions, including Africa
As artificial intelligence (AI) brings sectors driving global economic transformation closer together (particularly technology, energy, infrastructure, and financial services), Ashurst Perkins Coie is uniquely positioned to help clients harness this convergence and move forward with confidence, says Bill Malley, Global Co-CEO.
Malley, who was previously the managing partner of Seattle-headquartered Perkins Coie, shares leadership of the newly merged global law firm with fellow Global Co-CEO Paul Jenkins, who was previously global CEO of Ashurst.
Karen Davies and Brian Eiting are the Global Co-Chairs of Ashurst Perkins Coie.
The legacy firms both bring strong financial momentum and a shared tradition of innovation, including early integration of AI. Ashurst Perkins Coie has a footprint of 52 offices across 20 countries and regions, over 950 partners and 3,500 client-facing practitioners, with flagship hubs in London, Sydney, New York, and Seattle.
“Reaching this milestone, where we are operating as one firm … has been an incredible journey, made possible by the support of our people globally,” says Jenkins. “Our brand statement, ‘innovation is our tradition’, reflects a mindset grounded in our long history of supporting progress for our clients.”
The Ashurst branch of the newly merged firm has a long history of advising on African matters, supporting progress across the continent for more than 120 years.
In an important milestone, it opened a new office in Casablanca in December as a key part of its Africa strategy. Project finance and M&A expert Ouns Lemseffer leads a “stellar” multilingual team in Morocco that brings “an unmatched mix of international standards with “a very deep understanding of local laws and close working relationships with the regulators” in markets where the firm operates.
Celebrating the merger this week, Ashurst Perkins Coie says it is a global law firm for the future economy, bringing global scale, deep insights and capability, with key strengths in technology, energy and infrastructure, and financial services sectors.
Innovation has long been its tradition, says Ashurst Perkins Coie, and together it will build on its legacy with continued investment in AI and tech-enabled services, helping clients navigate complex challenges and turn uncertainty into opportunity.