Morgan, Lewis & Bockius has emerged as a potential partner to King & Wood Mallesons (KWM), despite the US giant also being targeted by CMS Cameron McKenna as its long-coveted US suitor.
A Morgan Lewis partner has told Legal Business that talks to combine with KWM had been on and off for months but KWM had been eager to press ahead with conversations in recent weeks. With 520 equity partners, the top 20 US law firm has a profit per equity partner (PEP) of $1.54m and revenues in 2015 of $1.84bn. In contrast KWM has over 550 partners around the world and PEP of $900,000.
