Squire Sanders in merger deal

Operating under the name Squire Patton Boggs, the combined firm will operate in 21 countries and have 1,600 lawyers. This places the firm among the top 25 firms globally in terms of lawyer headcount.

Jim Maiwurm, the chairman and global chief executive of Squire Sanders, said yesterday: “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.”

Ed Newberry, managing partner of Patton Boggs. added: “Squire Sanders is recognised as one of the industry’s leading global law firms with practice and industry expertise in key financial markets spanning the Americas, Europe, Asia-Pacific and the Middle East,

The merger is expected to take effect by June 1.

Squire Sanders merged with historic Yorkshire law firm Hammonds three years ago. Since the deal completed, Squire Sanders has opened offices in Perth, Sydney, Singapore and Seoul. Its largest office is in London; its third largest is in Leeds, which employs around 270 people.

Hammonds could trace its roots to late Victorian Bradford. In 1988, it merged with another Bradford law firm, Last Suddards. The merged firm was called Hammond Suddards.

In 2000, Hammond Suddards merged with Midlands-based Edge Ellison, to become Hammonds Suddard Edge. The firm later expanded to include practices in Belgium, Spain and China.

Squire Sanders was founded in Cleveland, Ohio, in the late 19th century.

In January 2011, Squire, Sanders & Dempsey - which is now known as Squire Sanders - and Hammonds marked the completion of their merger by holding a champagne reception at Leeds City Museum.