The tie-up between Australia's Mallesons Stephen Jaques and China's King & Wood will operate under a three-partnership Swiss verein structure it has emerged, as final details of the combined firm are disclosed.

The combination will see three separate partnerships created in Australia, China and Hong Kong as a result of Chinese regulatory constraints that mean the firms cannot combine financially in a full merger.

Mallesons' Beijing and Shanghai offices will relocate into King & Wood's local premises with all staff given the opportunity to join the combined firm, while both firms' Hong Kong offices will function as one partnership, but remain in separate offices for the time being.

The news comes after it was announced earlier this month that the firm will operate under the banner King & Wood Mallesons, with the deal set to go live effective 1 March 2012.

The combination received more than 95% partner backing from each of the respective firms and will create an outfit with over 380 partners and 1800 lawyers.

Mallesons chief executive Robert Milliner said: "We have been talking with King & Wood since late November last year, so this has been a long and carefully thought out proposition to not only make sure that we were the right fit for each other, but also that the strategy and execution of it would benefit the clients and people of both businesses.

"The world is changing quickly and dramatically and the economic and business axis has moved significantly to Asia. We see this move to create a truly powerful Asian based international firm as a game-changer in the market. Over time we will also look to carry out further expansion in other key markets."

King & Wood chairman Wang Junfeng will become chairman of the combined firm, while Mallesons' partner Stuart Fuller, who is set to take over as the firm's chief executive from Milliner effective 1 January 2012, will become global managing partner and relocate from Sydney to Hong Kong.

King & Wood previously had a strategic alliance with Australia's Gilbert + Tobin, which ended in March this year in light of its talks with Mallesons.

The tie-up will make the joint entity the largest law firm in Asia and the only combined firm able to offer Australian, PRC, Hong Kong and English law under a common brand.

Profits per equity partner (PEP) at Mallesons are understood to be higher than that of King & Wood. In 2009-10 Mallesons' average PEP stood at A$1.2m (£750,000), while according to The Australian Financial Review, the firm's best-paid partners received as much as A$1.9m (£1.2m) for 2010-11.

Mallesons currently has around 1,000 legal staff working across nine offices, including four outside Australia in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Beijing and London.

Meanwhile, King & Wood has around 950 legal staff across 13 offices in China, New York, Tokyo and Palo Alto.