Ashurst LLP

Ashurst
Ashurst Logo
No. of offices30
No. of lawyers1,600+
No. of employees2,800+
Major practice areasGeneral practice
Key people
  • Karen Davies (chairman)
  • Paul Jenkins (global chief executive officer)
Date founded1822 (London)
Company typeLimited liability partnership
Websiteashurst.com

Ashurst was a British multinational law firm headquartered in London. It had 30 offices in 18 countries across Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and North America. Ashurst was 55th in the list of 100 largest law firms in the world by revenue, and 6th in the list of largest UK law firms by revenue.

Its principal business focus was in mergers and acquisitions, corporate and structured finance. The firm also had practices in other areas including investment funds, antitrust, energy, transport and infrastructure, intellectual property, IT, dispute resolution, financial services, tax, real estate, regulatory, telecommunication and employment.

In June 2026, the firm merged with United States-based Perkins Coie, forming Ashurst Perkins Coie.

History

Ashurst Morris Crisp

The firm was founded by William H. Ashurst in 1822. John Morris, and Sir Frank Crisp were recruited to the firm in the 1860s.

Growth and financial crisis

In November 2008, the firm voted in corporate partner Charlie Geffen to succeed Geoffrey Green as senior partner.

Combination with Blake Dawson

On 1 March 2012, Ashurst merged its Asian business with that of Australian law firm Blake Dawson, a member of the Big Six, Blake Dawson being renamed as Ashurst across all offices. Ashurst also gained new offices in Adelaide, Brisbane, Canberra, Jakarta, Melbourne, Perth, Port Moresby, Shanghai and Sydney. This significantly increased Ashurst's resources in the energy & resources, infrastructure and financial services sectors.

Combination forming Ashurst Perkins Coie

On 17 November 2025, Ashurst announced a merger with the Seattle-headquartered firm of Perkins Coie LLP, to form Ashurst Perkins Coie, with 3,000 attorneys. The following April, the partners of both firms voted in support of the merger, which was completed in June 2026, forming Ashurst Perkins Coie.

References

  1. ↑ "What we do". Ashurst. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  2. ↑ "Ashurst". www.law.com. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  3. ↑ "The 2023 Global 200 Ranked by Revenue". Law.com International. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  4. ↑ "Ashurst website". Archived from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2010.
  5. ↑ "Ashurst - True Picture - Chambers Student Guide". www.chambersstudent.co.uk. Retrieved 14 July 2024.
  6. 1 2 Thomas, David (13 April 2026). "Perkins Coie, Ashurst partners approve law firm merger". Retrieved 16 April 2026.
  7. ↑ "Ashurst". Non-billable. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "PE in Power". Private Funds CFO. 1 November 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  9. ↑ "Ashurst and Blake Dawson announce Asia business combination and future merger plans". Private Equity Wire. 29 September 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2025.
  10. ↑ "Law firms Ashurst, Perkins Coie agree merger to create global top-20 outfit". Reuters. 17 November 2025. Retrieved 25 August 2026.
  11. ↑ Basham, Victoria (29 June 2026). "Ashurst, Perkins Coie complete $2.8bn transatlantic merger". The Global Legal Post. Retrieved 29 July 2026.
  12. ↑ "Ashurst Perkins Coie Sets Up as Alternative Business Structure". Law.com. Retrieved 25 August 2026.