© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(June 30) – The largest law firm in Texas has finalized a merger that significantly expands its operations in New York and Washington, D.C., and adds gravitas to its corporate mergers and acquisitions practice.
Norton Rose Fulbright, which has most of its U.S. operations in Houston, announced Friday that it has closed its consolidation with Chadbourne Parke, a 400-lawyer firm based in New York.
The combination of the two firms gives Norton Rose Fulbright more than 4,000 lawyers in 58 offices spanning 32 countries and generating more than $2 billion in annual revenues.
Chadbourne has no lawyers or offices in Texas. Norton Rose Fulbright has about 450 lawyers in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
In 2013, Houston-based Fulbright & Jaworski and London-based Norton Rose entered into a joint operating agreement under a business structure called a Swiss verein, which allows its global regional offices to operate financially independent of one another.
Norton Rose Fulbright’s U.S. Managing Partner Daryl Lansdale, who is a lawyer in the firm’s San Antonio office, told The Texas Lawbook earlier this year that the combination grows the firm’s New York office to more than 300 lawyers, making it one of the 25 largest legal operations in the financial capital of the world.
“We are able to double the size of our presence in the strategic New York market and it significantly enhances our energy and project finance practices,” Lansdale said. “We also have had a stated goal of expanding into Mexico.”
Chadbourne, which has a significant presence in the energy, infrastructure, banking and finance sectors, also gives Norton Rose Fulbright additional heft in the energy M&A market.
Lawyers at Chadbourne advised clients on two of the 20 largest deals for Texas-based companies in 2016. The firm represents Florida-based NextEra on its ill-fated $18.4 billion acquisition of Oncor and the subsequent $6.8 billion formation of Vista Energy, which is the umbrella company for TXU Energy and Luminant.
While Chadbourne advised in only three transactions involving Texas businesses in 2016, those three deals had a combined value of $27.7 billion. By comparison, Norton Rose Fulbright’s 32 deals were valued at $1.8 billion.
“Our international reach will complement our Texas clients with global capabilities. Both Norton Rose Fulbright and Chadbourne & Parke stand as leaders in the areas of energy and project finance, which will provide enhanced offering to our clients in Texas, which have strong businesses across the East coast,” Norton Rose Fulbright Global Chief Executive Peter Martyr said in a written statement. “Our Texas based energy transactional and finance practices are highly compatible, and our combined firms have capabilities that few firms can match.”
In his earlier interview, Lansdale added: “Our combination with Chadbourne substantially increases the depth and breadth of our offerings while preserving our unique, collegial culture. Our client service focus remains unchanged and our ability to meet our clients’ needs has greatly expanded.”
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