© 2017 The Texas Lawbook.
By Mark Curriden
(Feb. 21) – Norton Rose Fulbright, which has its U.S. operations based mostly in Houston, announced Tuesday that it is “combining” forces with Chadbourne & Parke, a 400-lawyer firm based in New York.
Chadbourne has no lawyers or offices in Texas. Norton Rose Fulbright has about 450 lawyers in Austin, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio.
By adding Chadbourne under its umbrella, Norton Rose Fulbright grows to more than 4,000 lawyers in 58 offices spanning 32 countries, including more than 1,000 attorneys in the U.S.
Most importantly, Norton Rose Fulbright leaders say this will grow 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.
Chadbourne is known for having a significant presence in the energy, infrastructure, banking and finance sectors. Chadbourne’s addition also provides Norton Rose Fulbright new offices in Mexico City, São Paulo and Istanbul.
“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,” said Norton Rose Fulbright’s U.S. Managing Partner Daryl Lansdale. “We also have had a stated goal of expanding into Mexico.”
The Norton Rose Fulbright combination with Chadbourne is not a technical merger because Norton Rose Fulbright operates as a Swiss Verein, which is a business structure that allows regional operations or offices to function financially independent of other parts of the law firm.
The combination is expected to be completed before June 30.
“Our combination with Chadbourne substantially increases the depth and breadth of our offerings while preserving our unique, collegial culture,” said Lansdale, who is a San Antonio-based M&A lawyer. “Our client service focus remains unchanged and our ability to meet our clients’ needs has greatly expanded.”
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