Bingham McCutchen has agreed to merge with Washington DC’s Swidler Berlin, in a move that will give the leading national firm a 200-lawyer practice in the US capital.

As first reported on legalweek. com (8 December), Bingham has signed a letter of intent to integrate the 140-lawyer Swidler with its 53-lawyer local branch in the first quarter of 2006, creating a top 20 US law firm with a turnover of more than $700m (£399m).