As of 31 March 2026, King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) – the high-profile Sino-Australian law firm formed in 2012 as a result of the merger of King & Wood and Mallesons Stephen Jaques – will no longer exist. The recently announced demerger of the King & Wood and Mallesons Swiss Verein structure follows a long and painful – often publicly played out – falling out between the partners of both entities. In announcing the demerger, a familiar question in legal circles has been reignited: ‘Have Australian law firms finally given up on Asia?’ The short answer to that question is: ‘No.’ What this demerger really reflects is a commercial reality, rather than the abandonment of a particular strategic ideology.

Drawing on insights from a recent Citi law firm survey report, this article examines the continued use of pre-negotiated discounts and AFAs and asks whether firms are moving toward value-based pricing or entrenching a price-taker mindset.

Social media company considers cutting unit’s budget by as much as 30%

Clients don’t buy hours they buy understanding, insight and progress. In this post we set out what law-firm clients truly value and how reframing your service around usefulness changes everything.

New York firm that represented Sam Bankman-Fried and Ghislaine Maxwell would be among first to bring in investors