US firm Kilpatrick Stockton has agreed to merge with San Francisco’s Townsend and Townsend and Crew, creating a $400m (£250m) practice, reports The Am Law Daily.

The combined 650-lawyer firm, which will be named Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton, will officially launch on 1 January next year, and will have 17 offices throughout the US. The two firms pursued a possible union earlier this year, but called off the talks in July, citing client conflicts.