International law firm Holman Fenwick Willan (HFW) will be merging with Houston-based energy, marine and insurance firm Legge, Farrow, Kimmitt, McGrath & Brown LLP, HFW announced Nov. 29. HFW said the merger is a major strategic development for both firms, bringing significant benefit to their clients.

The merger will take effect on Jan. 3, 2017.

HFW said in an announcement that Houston is an important geographical market for the firm and its clients, being a key touchpoint for several of the firm’s chosen sectors—energy, marine and aviation in particular.

The merger follows successful collaboration between the firms on several cross-jurisdictional client projects in the energy and marine markets. It brings HFW closer to existing clients in the region, giving it a physical presence in the U,S, for the first time. It also creates opportunities for the firm to expand its client base and develop business elsewhere in the US and throughout the Americas.

For Legge Farrow, the merger with HFW provides its clients with the significant strategic benefits of access to an established and well recognised international network of 16 offices in South America, Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Australia, according to the press release.

The firm's Houston office can now service the international needs of its existing clients with support from over 450 lawyers involved in transactional and dispute resolution matters around the world. The merger allows us to assist clients from Beaumont to Baku, in South Texas or Singapore, on the Gulf of Mexico or the North Sea.

“We are extremely pleased to be formalising our long-standing relationship with HFW. We are very similar in terms of culture and providing pragmatic, cost effective services. Further, we both value the importance of in-depth sector knowledge,” Glenn Legge, one of the founding Partners of Legge Farrow said. “Through the merger, we are able to offer HFW an opportunity to enhance its existing presence in the U.S.; and for us the merger provides our multinational clients with access to an established and well recognised international network.”