The National Trial Lawyers
  • Home
    • Meet Our Team
    • Contact Us
    • Mission & Goals
    • FAQ
  • Webinars
  • News
  • Membership Directory
    • Top 100 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 100 Map – Criminal Defense
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Civil Plaintiff
    • Top 40 Under 40 Map – Criminal Defense
  • Top 100
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 100 President’s Message
    • Diplomat
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 100 Badge
    • Media
  • Top 40
    • Civil Plaintiff Officers / Executive Committee
    • Criminal Defense Officers / Executive Committee
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Bootcamp
    • Benefits
    • About
    • Top 40 President’s Message
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Top 40 Badge
    • Media
  • Specialty Assoc
    • About
    • Shop
    • Officers
    • Membership Renewal
    • Member Profile Updates
    • Media
  • Nominate
    • Top 100
    • Top 40
    • Specialty Association
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer of the Year
    • Trial Team of the Year
    • America’s Most Influential Trial Lawyer
    • America’s Most Influential Law Firm
    • Lifetime Achievement Award
  • Shop
  • Magazine
    • A-List
  • Education and Networking Agenda
    • Trial Lawyers Summit
      • Summit Sponsors
    • Top 40 Under 40 Trial Academy Boot Camp
    • Mass Torts Made Perfect
    • The Lanier Master Class 5.0 Trial Academy 2021
    • Webinars
  • Hall of Fame
    • Trial Lawyer Hall of Fame

K&L Gates in Talks with Australian Law Firm

Posted on December 10, 2012 by velocity9999

Thomson Reuters; August 17, 2012

(Reuters) – Seeking to strengthen its position in the Asia-Pacific region, the Pittsburgh-based law firm K&L Gates has engaged in discussions to acquire the smaller Australian full service commercial law firm Middletons.

If a deal is consummated, K&L Gates, which employs roughly 1,900 lawyers in 41 offices worldwide, would gain offices in Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, and up to 300 more lawyers.

The firms said in a joint statement that discussions had been under way for several months and that they expected to present formal proposals to both partnerships later in 2012 if talks are successful.

The potential deal marks the latest effort by K&L Gates Chairman Peter Kalis to expand internationally. K&L Gates has added hundreds of lawyers through several mergers and acquisitions since its 2007 inception, when Seattle’s Preston Gates & Ellis merged with Pittsburgh’s Kilpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham to create a 1,400-lawyer firm. If K&L Gates acquires Middletons, the firm’s headcount will rise to more than 2,000 lawyers.

In 2011, K&L Gates grossed $1.06 billion, according to The American Lawyer, while Middletons was ranked 16th in revenue for Australian firms, according to a Down Under publication, Business Review Weekly. The magazine put the firm’s revenues for fiscal 2011-12 at $112 million. In 2010 the firm advised Harbert Australian Private Equity in its investment in Emeis Holdings, the owner of the Aesop cosmetics business. Other Australian clients have included Converse, Skechers and American Crew. Middletons is also the official law firm of the Australia Open, according to the firm’s website.

K&L Gates’ and Middletons’ leadership declined to speak further about the merger talks since the negotiations are ongoing, but legal experts said Australia has recently become an attractive location for law firms to position themselves, mainly because of its proximity to China.

China has made investments in natural resources and infrastructure projects in underdeveloped and developed areas throughout Australia, which has led to close relationships between China and law firms in the southern continent, according to legal experts.

“China has people, whereas Australia has lots of empty land and resources,” said Bill Brennan, a consultant with Altman Weil. “As a result they are becoming tied economically, which will help Australian law firms penetrate the Chinese marketplace.”

Other law firm marriages in Australia in the past several months have included the merger between China’s King & Wood and Australia’s Mallesons Stephens Jaques and between the UK’s Herbert Smith and Australia’s Freehills.

http://newsandinsight.thomsonreuters.com/Legal/News/2012/08_-_August/K_L_Gates_in_talks_with_Australian_law_firm/

Posted in Blog | Tagged Australia, K&L Gates, mergers, Middletons

Comments are closed.

Recent Posts

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

Toyota Will Pay $180M to Settle Violations of the Clean-Air Act

January 15th, 2021

The U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced today that the United States has[Read More...]
Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

Boeing's Insitu Will Pay $25M to Settle a Whistleblower Complaint About Used Drone Parts

January 13th, 2021

Bingen, Wash.-based Insitu, a Boeing subsidiary, has agreed to pay $25 million to settle allegations that it used recycl[Read More...]
Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

Deutsche Bank Agrees to Settle Criminal and Civil Charges for $130M

January 11th, 2021

DEUTSCHE Bank AG agreed to pay US$130 million to settle criminal and civil charges that it bribed foreign officials and manip[Read More...]
Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

Boeing Pays $2.5B to Settle Charges Tied to the 737 MAX Crashes

January 8th, 2021

Boeing has agreed to pay just over $2.5 billion to resolve a federal charge of “criminal misconduct” for how its [Read More...]
Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

Texas Attorney General Seeks $43M in Google Antitrust Lawsuit

January 6th, 2021

The mass exodus of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's top staff over accusations of bribery against their former boss has le[Read More...]

Contact Us | Terms of Use | Privacy Policy

Attorney information and content provided on this website is provided for the benefit of members of The National Trial Lawyers and as a public service by Legal Associations Management, Inc. The website and all data are the property of Legal Associations Management, Inc. Data, including without limitation attorney information and content, on the site may not be mined, sold, or used commercially for any purpose without the explicit written consent of Legal Associations Management, Inc. This site may not be accessed by any automated program for extracting data for any use. By accessing and using the site you agree that you will not develop, support or use software, devices, scripts, robots, or any other means or processes (including crawlers, browser plug-ins and add-ons, or any other technology) to scrape data or otherwise copy profiles and other data. Unauthorized use or attempted unauthorized use of this system may subject you to both civil and criminal penalties.