International firm Berwin Leighton Paisner (BLP) is in preliminary merger talks with US-based Greenberg Traurig in a move that would create a practice with more than 2,500 lawyers.

BLP said today that its senior leadership will be working ‘to assess the merits of this opportunity over the coming months’. Any merger would be subject to a BLP partner vote.

Lisa Mayhew (pictured), managing partner at BLP, said: ‘BLP has always been a game-changer in the legal sector and hungry to explore opportunities that will improve the quality and breadth of our service to clients.’

The firm would not comment further on the discussions.

Greenberg Traurig has 1,950 lawyers, with offices in the US, Europe, Asia, Israel and Latin America. BLP has 850 lawyers across 14 offices in Europe, Asia and Israel.

The merger would particularly focus on the real estate and infrastructure sector, but would also expand the two firm’s global practices in areas including corporate, finance, M&A and private equity; litigation and corporate risk, dispute resolution and regulatory; and technology, media and entertainment.