DWF launches in France through merger with Heenan Paris

Innovative UK top 20 firm DWF has launched in the French legal services market for the first time through a merger with boutique Paris firm Heenan Paris.

The move follows on from a series of DWF-driven mergers in 2016, including expansion outside the United Kingdom with launches in Brussels, Cologne and Munich (the latter two through a tie-up with German boutique Bridgehouselaw). As The Lawyer reports, DWF’s latest merger with Heenan Paris provides a pipeline to work in South Africa due to the latter’s partnership with Thomson Wilks.

Andrew Leaitherland, chief executive of DWF, commented: “As one of Germany’s largest and most significant trading partners, the merger also complements our growing European footprint. France plays a key role too as a gateway to Africa, which is of strategic importance to our clients in the Middle East and Germany. Africa is an emerging growth region in its own right, with many opportunities to develop business and revenues in sectors that play to our strengths such as energy, regulation, regulated activities, insurance and financial services.”