The decision follows successful votes by the respective partnerships yesterday. The new international legal practice will be called Norton Rose Group, and will take effect from January 1st, 2010.
The new Norton Rose Group will have more than 1,800 fee earners in 29 offices worldwide.
Norton Rose will be led by Group Chief Executive Peter Martyr, the current Norton Rose LLP Chief Executive, and Deputy Group Chief Executive Don Boyd, the current Deacons Australia Chief Executive Partner.
Deacons Australia is one of the fastest growing large law firms in that country since 2000, and is now eighth largest by revenue and partner numbers. It brings over 500 fee earners with offices in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Canberra and Brisbane, and teams in Singapore and Jakarta.
The Norton Rose Group is a leading international law firm. It offers business law services from 21 offices across Europe, the Middle East and Asia. With around 1000 lawyers, its practice specializes in five key areas: corporate finance, financial institutions, energy and infrastructure, transport and technology.