Law firms Salans, SNR Denton and Fraser Milner Casgrain (FMC) have agreed to combine to create a new global law firm, which will be known as 'Dentons'.
The new firm will connect clients to the skill and expertise of more than 2,500 professionals in 79 locations and 52 countries across North America, Western and Emerging Europe, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. The combined firm will become the seventh largest law firm in the world when it is launched during the first quarter of 2013. Moreover, the combined firm--Dentons, will result in the world's largest fully integrated global real estate platform.
Eric Rosedale and Evan Lazar, leaders of Salans' real estate practice, commented:
"The combination will bring us into an entirely new league in terms our size, practice strength and geographic coverage. It's particularly interesting for us because it expands our traditional European and emerging market reach into dynamic markets in Asia, the Middle East and Africa while at the same time filling gaps we had in our UK and North American developed markets coverage.
"While it will take some time to fully integrate what will be the largest real estate group platform among leading international law firms, we are confident that clients will benefit from Day One of the combination."
David Hall and Robert Fernandez, leaders of SNR Denton's US real estate practice, agreed adding:
"This is a real win for our clients. No other firm on the globe can offer the real estate industry the same 'one-stop shop' service covering Canada, the US, continental Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Africa. From real estate finance to construction and development to equity investing, the combined global Dentons Real Estate Practice will provide our clients with unparalleled service and counsel."
All regions in the global network will benefit from, and be strengthened by, the combination.
Robert Nikelski, leader of FMC's real estate practice, commented that:
"The combination gives us the ability to provide our Canadian real estate clients with access to strategic advice and legal expertise in the UK, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia and the US as they increasingly explore global development and investment opportunities. We look forward to providing strategic advice to the new firm's international clients seeking development and investment opportunities within our Canadian markets while continuing to serve our clients in our very active local Canadian marketplace."
Richard Budge and Andrew Bedford, leaders of SNR Denton's UK and Middle East real estate practice, echoed the benefits of the combination, stating that:
"The combination gives us additional depth in the UK, Europe's largest real estate market, while our clients now have access to real estate specialists and local market intelligence in key Western and Emerging European markets."
Alex Wang, leader of SNR Denton's Asia real estate practice, concurred:
"Given the increased volume of capital outflow from the Asia region into the developed markets, including both sovereign wealth funds like Chinese Investment Corporation and private sector players, the combined firm will further strengthen our position by providing access to stellar real estate teams on the ground in Europe and Canada. We also have many common multinational clients who would appreciate the integration of their legal service providers in these key markets."
Real estate is an important interdisciplinary practice at all three legacy firms. The combined real estate group will have acknowledged leading market positions in real estate equity investing, finance, construction and development, emerging markets, hospitality and related energy and tax practices.
The combined real estate team will also include a large number of highly rated real estate experts who specialize in national markets as well as having a wealth of cross-border experience.
Lazar and Rosedale also noted: "The new platform will enable us to capitalize on the latest global real estate capital flow trends and a
