Kilpatrick Stockton LLP said today that it has gained the major West Coast presence it has desired for at least a year.

The law firm said it is acquiring Townsend and Townsend and Crew, which has offices in Denver, Palo Alto, Calif., San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Walnut Creek, Calif., Washington, and Tokyo.

Kilpatrick Stockton is based in Atlanta but has a prominent office in Winston-Salem.

Once the merger is completed on Jan. 1, the combined firm will be known as Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP. The combined law firm will have 17 offices in the United States, Asia and Europe.

The announcement of the deal comes about 3½ months after Bill Dorris, a co-managing partner with Kilpatrick Stockton, said on July 23 that talks between the firms had been broken off because of “client-related conflicts could not be resolved.”

Rumors of a potential deal began circulating in May on the legal blog “Above the Law.”

Dorris, who will serve as chairman of the combined firm, could not be reached for immediate comment on how the firms resolved the conflict.

Diane Prucino of Kilpatrick Stockton and Maureen Sheehy of Townsend will serve as co-managing partners.

“The merger combines the experience of some of the nation’s preeminent attorneys representing a who’s who of corporate clients across an extensive range of industries,” Dorris said in a statement.

“From intellectual property to corporate to litigation, Kilpatrick Townsend clients will have access to a diverse group of nearly 650 attorneys with the resources to offer clients expanded, strategic expertise.”

The deal is Kilpatrick Stockton’s second on the West Coast in the past month.

On Oct. 4, it bought Bell, Rosenberg & Hughes of Oakland, Calif., a boutique group that focuses on construction and infrastructure developments. Kilpatrick Stockton added five partners, one counsel and four associates in that deal