Speechly Bircham and Charles Russell have announced that they are in talks over a possible combination, that would create a UK top 25 law firm with revenues around £126.3m.

In a joint statement the firms said: "City law firms Charles Russell and Speechly Bircham LLP have confirmed that they are in preliminary talks about a potential merger between their two firms."

Speechly reported turnover of £57.5m for 2012-13 while Charles Russell came in at £68.8m. A merger would create a firm with joint revenues of £126.3m placing it at 24th place in last year's UK top 50 law firm rankings.

The firms' statement added that the two had "complementary practice areas" in commercial, real estate and private wealth.

"A combination would further strengthen these core practice areas while providing a strong platform for the firms' shared ambitions for growth in the UK and internationally," the statement continued. "We are now consulting with our partners and other key stakeholders."

Speechly was in talks with Withers over a potential tie-up last year, before plans were called off in May. Speaking at the time Speechly senior partner Michael Lingens (pictured) said: "Our discussions with Withers were interesting and positive but both sides separately concluded that we should pursue independent paths.

"For Speechly Bircham, that means continuing our strategy of developing our well-established commercial and private wealth practices in an increasingly international context."

The firm recently launched in Paris after hiring a four-partner team. The Paris base is the firm's fourth new overseas office to open in just over two years.