Mapped: What Would the Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing Merger Look Like?

16 December 2025

Last Friday, news broke that Winston & Strawn and Taylor Wessing are planning to merge. The combination would create Winston Taylor, a transatlantic law firm of around 1,400 lawyers and a combined revenue of more than $1.75bn.


The merger will not include all of Taylor Wessing's operations and is set to trigger a split of the Swiss verein structure. The firm's UK-led business (which includes the UK, Ireland, Dubai, and San Francisco) will exit the Taylor Wessing verein in order to combine with Winston & Strawn. Taylor Wessing Netherlands (which includes the Netherlands and Belgium) is also set to follow. This will primarily leave the firm's German operation of over 230 Partners to form a new structure.


The announcement is the latest in a number of major merger stories. If approved, it will mean yet another transatlantic combination, since the establishment of A&O Shearman and HSF Kramer. It also follows the news of recent merger discussions between Alston & Bird and Cadwalader, and Ashurst and Perkins Coie.


Using publicly-available data tracked by Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP), we've taken a look at which locations & practices would grow under the merger, and how many Partners might be expected to leave throughout the talks.

By Merging With Taylor Wessing, Winston & Strawn Would Bolster Their European Footprint, Primarily in London

Winston & Strawn would increase Partner headcount in London (+118), Brussels (+5), and likely the Bay Area (+4). The firm will also expand into several new locations; Amsterdam (+15), Eindhoven (+13), Dublin (+11), Dubai (+5), and Cambridge (+4).

Maps showing Winston & Strawn's partner headcount before merging with Taylor Wessing in the US and Europe. Green = increase; blue = decrease; grey = no change.
Map of Winston & Strawn's partner headcount change after merging with Taylor Wessing, showing offices in US and Europe. Green = increase; blue = decrease; grey = no change.

Taylor Wessing's Depth in Corporate, Litigation, and Real Estate Means Winston & Strawn Would Expand in Those Practice Areas

Bar graph comparing partner headcount by practice group for two firms in 2015.

Both Firms Could Expect to Lose a Small Number of Partners Between Now and the Completion of the Merger

Green bar chart showing decrease in partner headcount between merger announcement and completion, 2018-2025.

Note on methodology

Source: publicly-available data tracked by Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP)

Notes: Based on all current Taylor Wessing Partners staying post-merger, attorneys with multiple locations have been equally distributed across each

Timeframe: Data as of December 2025

Analysis powered by Pirical Legal Professionals (PLP)

Pirical Legal Professionals is the largest attorney database built with the most comprehensive data on the market. Specifically designed for legal recruitment and legal market research.


Pirical seamlessly aggregates data from a wide range of public sources, tracking over 700,000 attorney profiles worldwide. Our data helps law firms source lateral talent quicker, identify candidates with key client relationships, map competitor firm strategies & team structures, and much more.

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