Law firm agrees merger

LAW firm Squire Sanders, which has an office in Leeds, has announced a deal to merge with Patton Boggs.

Operating under the name Squire Patton Boggs, the firm will consist of around 1,600 lawyers spanning 45 offices in 21 countries around the world, placing the firm among the top 25 firms globally in terms of lawyer headcount, and eighth by number of countries where they have offices.

“Today marks an important day in the history of our firm. Patton Boggs is the premier public policy firm in the world, and this combination establishes us as the ‘go-to’ firm for public policy work. We also gain a leading position in the Middle East and several new locations in the United States, while deepening our bench in a number of important practices areas, all of which strengthen our service platform,” said Jim Maiwurm, chair and global CEO of Squire Sanders.

Thomas Hale Boggs, Jr., chairman of Patton Boggs, said: “Since the time Patton Boggs was founded over 50 years ago we set out to create an innovative firm that brings legal expertise and lobbying know-how to government and business leaders around the world. That firm evolved into an industry game-changer.

“Through our combination with Squire Sanders we are doing it again, by bringing together our rich experience with one of the world’s most expansive practice and geographic footprints.”

The merger is expected to take effect by June 1.

Squire Sanders merged with Yorkshire law firm Hammonds in 2011 and has since opened offices in Perth, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul.

Its third largest office is in Leeds, which employs around 270 people.

Patton Boggs specialises in public policy, litigation and business law. Its core practice areas are government relations and lobbying, administrative and regulatory, commercial and transactional, litigation and dispute resolution, intellectual property and international law.

It has offices in Anchorage, Dallas, Denver, New York, and Washington DC, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and Riyadh.