Ashurst closes Stockholm office

London-headquartered law firm Ashurst has closed its Stockholm office and all of its Swedish team have moved to Stockholm-based law firm Hamilton.

As part of the transaction, which brings Hamilton’s headcount to 80 lawyers and 110 employees, the firms will maintain a referral relationship.

“The relationship with Hamilton will ensure that international clients undertaking business in Sweden will continue to have access to top-class Swedish legal advice and Swedish clients will be able to access Ashurst's international network for outbound work,” Paul Jenkins, managing partner of Ashurst, said in a statement.

When asked why the firm decided to shutter its operations in Sweden, a spokeswoman for the firm said that it was “a mutually beneficial arrangement that will benefit both firms and the clients.”

Although the firm will no longer have an office in Sweden, Ashurst will continue to provide legal services from its offices across Europe.

The firm will operate under the Hamilton name, and will combine Hamilton’s “leading position in dispute resolution and insolvency” with Ashurst Stockholm’s strengths in M&A and banking and finance, according to a statement from Hamilton.

Former Ashurst Stockholm partners Jon Ericson, Pontus Bergsten, Eric Halvarsson and Mats Johnsson have all become partners of Hamilton, according to the statement.

Ericson and Bergsten are both corporate lawyers with experience in private equity transactions. Ericson specializes in public and private mergers and acquisitions and private equity transactions. Bergsten focuses on domestic and cross-border private mergers and acquisitions, restructurings and real estate transactions. 

All 25 of Ashurst Stockholm's lawyers in the private M&A team, which also runs all private equity matters, joined Hamilton on 1 July. Altogether, the team now consists of more than 35 lawyers, out of which 10 are partners.