US firms Foley & Lardner and Edwards & Angell are in talks to create a 1,200-lawyer giant in the latest pan-national merger talks to hit the American legal market.

A successful deal would substantially bolster the East Coast practice of the 900-lawyer Foleys, bringing in Edwards’ 275-lawyer practice and offices in Rhode Island, Boston, New York, New Jersey, Hartford, Stamford, West Palm Beach and Fort Lauderdale.