Legal Moves Today: The Merger Edition
Two of today’s three lead items are firm mergers at the top of the market: Ashurst closed its final year before merging with Perkins Coie on a decade-high set of numbers, while partners voted to approve the Hogan Lovells–Cadwalader tie-up, creating a 3,100-lawyer global finance platform. The third, Crowell & Moring’s new CIO, hired from Cadwalader, looks like a routine appointment until you notice the common thread running through all three: scale, AI, and a Cadwalader bench in motion.
Ashurst Banks a Decade of Growth on the Eve of Becoming Ashurst Perkins Coie
Ashurst closed its final full year under its own name with record numbers, handing its incoming merger partner, Perkins Coie, a firm on an unambiguous upward trajectory. Revenue for the year ended 30 April 2026 rose 11% to £1.152bn, while profit per equity partner climbed 15% to £1.592m. The combination forms Ashurst Perkins Coie, with the first full year of combined financial reporting due in 2028.
The growth was broad rather than concentrated. Double-digit revenue gains landed across the Middle East (33%), the US (18%), Continental Europe (17%), Asia (14%), and the UK (12%). For LPI readers, though, the more telling signal is how heavily Ashurst leaned on technology in framing the result: usage of its AI and tech-enabled services grew more than 50% year on year, its Ashurst Advance arm lifted revenue 11%, and the firm flagged an FT innovation award for work on how AI reshapes law-firm business models and pricing.
That emphasis is deliberate. Rather than presenting the merger defensively, Ashurst is casting it as an offensive move, positioning the combined firm as “a global legal platform underpinned by innovation.”
Partners Approve Hogan Lovells–Cadwalader Merger, Forming a 3,100-Lawyer Global Finance Platform
Partners have voted to approve the combination of Hogan Lovells and Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft, clearing the way for a merged firm, Hogan Lovells Cadwalader, of roughly 3,100 lawyers across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. The deal pairs Hogan Lovells’ strength in regulated sectors, corporate and M&A, IP, and disputes with Cadwalader’s market-leading finance, structured products, and capital markets practices, creating what the firms describe as a scaled global finance platform serving key G20 markets. By footprint, the combined firm would rank second-largest in Washington, DC, in the top 10 in London, and in the top 25 in New York, with one of the largest offices of any major firm in Charlotte.
Crowell & Moring Hires Cadwalader’s Andrea Markstrom as CIO to Drive AI Push
Crowell & Moring has appointed Andrea Markstrom as chief information officer, recruiting her from Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft to lead the firm’s global technology platform and operations, and to set its technology strategy. Markstrom, who will be based in New York, brings 30 years of experience across legal and corporate IT, with prior senior roles at Schulte Roth & Zabel, Taft Stettinius & Hollister, Blank Rome, Faegre Baker Daniels, and Target. COO Joseph Palermo framed the hire around keeping pace with a “rapidly changing legal market,” while Markstrom pointed explicitly to supporting the firm’s “ongoing AI initiatives.”
