© 2013 The Texas Lawbook.
By Brooks Igo
Staff Writer for The Texas Lawbook
The two Texas firms announced strategic alliances with law firms outside of the U.S. this week: Baker Botts with the International Legal Group (ILG) in Kuwait and Haynes and Boone with MMA Lawyers of Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.
Baker Botts said in a press release that a principal objective of the alliance is the enhanced ability of both firms to better serve foreign companies active in Kuwait and Kuwait-based companies active internationally.
“We have done work in Kuwait for quite some time,” Baker Botts Managing Partner Andrew Baker said. “The alliance is a natural outgrowth of that practice and will enable us to more readily offer local expertise in conjunction with our international practice.“
The ILG alliance, which had been in the works since late last year according to Baker, is the next chapter in Baker Botts’ 40 years in the Middle East region. The firm already has more than 25 lawyers in offices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates and Riyadh in Saudi Arabia.
Baker anticipates lawyers from many offices, including Texas, to benefit from the alliance.
After working together with MMA Lawyers over the last two years on cross-border M&A, infrastructure, tax and litigation matters, Haynes and Boone entered into a cooperation agreement with the Brazilian firm.
Haynes and Boone Managing Partner Terry Conner said in a press release that the MMA alliance should help strengthen the firm’s Houston and energy practices by increasing the firm’s cross-border energy work, while creating a “Brazil-China-U.S.” triangle that supports both firms’ inbound Asia strategy.
“The firm already has significant engagements in Brazil both in the energy and mining sectors and in infrastructure-related work,” said Tim Powers, a member of Haynes and Boone’s board of directors and the partner who oversees the firm’s international practice. “With this agreement, Haynes and Boone will be even better positioned to obtain work in one of the world’s strongest emerging markets with a vibrant energy base and growing trade links to Houston, Texas and the rest of the U.S.”
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