In its second major expansion in less than a year, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey combines on 1 October 2011 with the Perth-based partnership of one of Western Australia’s oldest and most progressive law firms. The combination significantly expands Squire Sanders’ presence in the fast-growing Asia Pacific market.

The Western Australia combination brings Squire Sanders’ total global headcount to more than 1,300 lawyers in 36 offices and 17 countries. That global total includes more than 80 Perth-based lawyers joining from Minter Ellison, and more than 500 lawyers in Europe who joined Squire Sanders through the 1 January 2011 combination with former UK firm Hammonds.

The combined global legal practice is among the top 20 by headcount in The American Lawyer’s Global 100, and one of the 15 largest US-based legal practices, as ranked by The National Law Journal’s NLJ 250. With US$725 million in anticipated revenue, the combined practice will be among the top firms ranked in Legal Business’ Global 100.

But the global legal practice’s true measure of success is client response to expanded capabilities, said James J. Maiwurm, Squire Sanders chair and chief executive officer.

“Our growth is guided by our clients’ evolving business needs. We gauge success by our clients’ enthusiasm and interest in legal services that provide more value on a global scale,” Maiwurm said.

For example, he said, lawyers in Tokyo and Washington DC recently teamed with Western Australian lawyers on a client’s energy project, and Western Australian lawyers tapped the London office to advise a global company doing business in Australia.

Perth managing partner John Poulsen said clients in Western Australia welcome the global resources they have access to as a result of the combination.

“Our clients very quickly sized up the benefits to be had by working with an established cost-effective Western Australia firm that now has global reach,” Poulsen said. “I am very pleased by our clients’ overwhelmingly positive reaction.”