In the field of maritime and oil/gas-relat[ds_preview]ed law firms a merger has been announced: Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) will join forces with Legge, Farrow, Kimmitt, McGrath & Brown from beginning of next year.
The merger is described by UK-based HFW as »a major strategic development for both firms«. Houston would be an important geographical market for, being a key touchpoint for several of the firm’s chosen sectors – energy, marine and aviation in particular. The city is second only to New York as a home to Fortune 500 companies and is known as a major energy centre for the oil and gas industry lifecycle.
According to HFW, the merger follows collaboration between the firms on several cross-jurisdictional client projects in the energy and marine markets and takes their relationship to the next level. The merger brings HFW closer to existing clients in the region, giving it a physical presence in the US for the first time.
Legge Farrow hopes to get access to an international network of 16 offices in South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia. The merger will bring the total headcount at HFW to 170 Partners, 450 lawyers plus other fee earners and staff totalling 915.
Richard Crump, HFW’s Global Senior Partner said: »Houston represents a major business hub for us. Having an on-the-ground US office has been a goal for some time and this merger will bring us closer to our existing clients in the region, and enable us to develop more business in our key sectors of oil and gas, marine and aviation, which are key growth sectors in the region, as well as building out our sector capability.«
Glenn Legge, one of the founding Partners of Legge Farrow said: »We are extremely pleased to be formalising our long-standing relationship with HFW.« Paul Dean, Head of HFW‘s Oil and Gas practice and who led the US expansion added: »I see this exciting development as an investment in the businesses of both our and Legge Farrow‘s clients in Houston«.
