Dewey Ballantine and Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe are in merger talks, in a bid by the US firms to create one of the world's largest law firms.

New York-based Dewey confirmed this morning (12 September) that it is in early talks about a possible merger with San Francisco's Orrick. An internal announcement was sent out at Dewey yesterday confirming that the two firms were committed to ongoing discussions.

If the merger goes ahead it would create a firm with more than 1,000 lawyers and revenues of almost $1bn (£535m).

Chairman Morton Pierce is leading the talks for Dewey, while it is understood Orrick chairman Ralph Baxter is negotiating on the other side of the table.

The merger talks are the latest in a series for Orrick. In November last year the firm sealed its merger with Paris M&A leader Rambaud Martel to create a 100-lawyer French practice and is also took on the London and Moscow offices of Coudert Brothers last year.

Meanwhile, talks between Orrick and its Californian rival Cooley Godward collapsed in 2003 – dashing what would have created the biggest West Coast tie-up in US legal history.

Orrick has been growing rapidly and last year achieved a 14% increase in turnover to $554m (£296m) and a 13% rise in profits per equity partner to $1.24m (£663,000). In contrast, Dewey had a less successful year with turnover increasing just 3% to $392m (£210m) and profits rising by only 1% to match those of Orrick.